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Kenya set to host key meeting on food crisis |
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09:28, June 16, 2008 |
A five-day United Nations-sponsored meeting to try to develop solutions to ease the escalating food crisis in Africa is set to begin in Nairobi on Monday.
The African countries will be deliberating on the acute food crisis in the continent in the wake of global climatic changes.
The 25th food security conference sponsored by the UN Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) to be held between June 16-20 in Nairobi will be officially opened by Kenya's President Mwai Kibakiand FAO's director-general Jacques Diouf later this week.
Kenya's Agriculture Permanent Secretary Dr. Romano Kiome said the conference would deliberate on agricultural policies and emerging trends affecting agricultural development, food security and livelihoods.
Kiome said that the conference would provide a platform to enhance and strengthen relations between Africa nations and international agencies on way of mitigating the looming food insecurity in the globe.
He added that the conference would review the progress in the implementations of scaling up agricultural water management and land policies on the continent.
The meeting comes as the African leaders want to mitigate the impact of the steep rise in staple food prices and prevent food shortages worsening.
The World Food Program (WFP) says an extra 100 million people cannot afford enough food because of higher prices. Food has become increasingly expensive, triggering unrest in several African countries.
The UN said the farm subsidies and excess consumption by the world's rich nations were among the leading contributors to the crisis.
Kiome also said that activities in the region during the 2006-2007 would be reviewed further with particular focus on the Millennium Development Goals.
The permanent secretary also said that the conference would provide Kenya the platform to showcase its potential and opportunities for investment and international market access.
Source:Xinhua
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