Food riots in developing countries will spread unless world leaders take major steps to reduce prices for the poor, the head of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) said on Friday.
Despite a forecast 2.6 percent hike in global cereal output this year, record prices are unlikely to fall, forcing poorer countries' food import bills up 56 percent and hungry people on to the streets, FAO Director General Jacques Diouf said.
"The reality is that people are dying already in the riots," Diouf told a news conference.
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Diouf called on heads of state and government to attend a food crisis summit at FAO headquarters in Rome on June 3-5.
He said the priority was a "massive seed transfer" -- to ensure farmers in poor countries could buy seeds, fertiliser and feed at prices they could afford.
Other necessary measures include creating financial mechanisms to ensure poorer food importing countries could continue to buy the food they need and give a larger proportion of aid budgets to agriculture, Diouf said.
The comments echoed those of British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who called this week for a coordinated response to the food crisis which would include reaching a deal on the Doha trade talks and the possible use of market-based risk management instruments to avert food price volatility.
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