FAO calls on countries to take measures to tackle food price volatility

Price volatility will continue-Ministers from 30 countries gather to discuss international food prices

FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva addressed the ministers of the 30 countries attending the meeting.

20137 October, Rome-Despite the current period of calm in the markets, the issue of global food prices is not over, FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva told 30 agriculture ministers attending a ministerial meeting on international food prices today.

The Director-General acknowledged that this year's meeting was in a quieter period than in October 2012, when international food prices surged three times in five years and ministers gathered to discuss ways to deal with it.

"The outlook for the international food market seems to be calming this year," he said. "Food production has picked up and the increase in the stock-to-use ratio has contributed to price stability. The FAO Cereal Price Index is down 20 percent from a year ago."

the Director-General believes that, although prices have stabilized, they should not be taken lightly.

He warned: "Although international prices have fallen recently, they are still above their historical levels, and prices are expected to continue to fluctuate in the next few years."

long-term solutions

but Graziano da Silva also stressed that although the decline in food prices has relieved poor consumers, the rise in prices is not necessarily all bad news, because it comes after three decades of stagnation, which has adversely affected agriculture in many poor countries.

He urged countries to take advantage of this period of relative calm to prepare for future market volatility and to find lasting solutions to the problem of food price volatility.

"If prices continue to be high and volatile, we have to find ways to adapt," he stressed.

Two key issues that countries must address are how to help poor small farmers benefit from rising food prices, and how to protect low-income families affected by price increases, he said.

"The current situation provides farmers with an opportunity to reinvest in agriculture," he continued, calling for a set of policies that would effectively ensure that small farmers have the means to take advantage of current opportunities.

Social protection

at the same time, in order to protect low-income families, it is also necessary to strengthen social protection schemes, including cash grants to special hardship case families, and to open up new ways to link social protection with agricultural production support measures, the Director-General said.

"Countries around the world have had great success in using the tools of social protection and production support to fight hunger and poverty," he added.

Global Governance

improved global governance has played an important role in countering the surge in food prices that occurred after July 2012, Graziano da Silva said.

In particular, the Agricultural Market Information System (AMIS), created by the G-20 in 2011, has proved to be an effective new weapon in curbing excessive price volatility, providing reliable information and increasing transparency in international food markets, according to the Director-General.

today's ministerial meeting on international food prices coincides with the opening of the meeting of the committee on world food security. The CFS meeting at FAO headquarters will last until 11 October.

http://www.fao.org/news/story/zh/item/201939/icode/

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