The world may need up to 40billion U.S. dollars annually to feed the hungry and boost agricultural production worldwide amid soaring food and fuel prices, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Friday.
"The financial implications related to this crisis will require substantial political and financial commitments," Ban told a plenary session at the General Assembly.
"Estimates suggest that between twenty-five and forty billion dollars annually may be needed," he said.
The secretary-general warned that the double jeopardy of high food and fuel prices threatens to undermine much of the progress made in achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
To meet the MDGs, a set of anti-poverty targets to be achieved worldwide by 2015, Ban called for a Global Partnership for Food, bringing together governments, donors, UN agencies, international financial institutions, business, academic communities and civil society.
He welcomed Friday's proposal by the European Commission for a special funding facility to provide more than 1.5 billion U.S. dollars for a rapid response to the global food crisis.
Source: Xinhua
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