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On Wednesday the head of the U.N.'s Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) said that food riots like those seen recently in Egypt, Cameroon, Haiti, and Burkina Faso are likely to occur "in countries where 50 to 60 percent of income goes to food," Reuters reported.[1] -- Jacques Diouf, formerly minister of scientific research in Senegal and now director general of the Rome-based FAO, said "that world cereal stocks were enough to meet demand for eight to 12 weeks, while grain supplies were at their lowest since the 1980s," Mayank Bhardwaj wrote. -- "Global food prices, based on United Nations records, rose 35 percent in the year to the end of January, markedly accelerating an upturn that began, gently at first, in 2002," Bhardwaj noted. -- "Since then, prices have risen 65 percent. In 2007 alone, according to the FAO's world food index, dairy prices rose nearly 80 percent and grain 42 percent." -- Rice recently "joined a wider rally that has buoyed other grains like wheat and corn. -- Rice prices in Thailand, the world's biggest rice exporter, have doubled since the start of this year after India heavily restricted and then banned the export of non-basmati rice to ensure it had enough to feed its people." -- AFP emphasized that Diouf called for "a summit in early June to discuss what he described as an 'emergency' global food shortage."[2] -- India's Financial Express said that Diouf of the FAO was joined by the chiefs of two other U.N. agencies -- UNIDO and IFAD — in warning about the consequences of rising food prices across the world.[3] -- The Financial Express mentioned (as Reuters and AFP did not) that Diouf "singled out [the] bio-fuel program as one of the major contributing factor to the global price rise as it has caused diversion of farmland from food to fuel crops and the prices of bio-fuels which scaled up in tandem with the prices of fossil fuels in turn affected the food prices." -- Diouf said "that global food stocks were at historic low since 1980s. He said that another reason for the price rise was the high GDP growth rate in populous countries like India and China where rise in disposal income had caused a change in life style and increased demand." ...

NEW DELHI -- Food riots which have struck several impoverished countries could spread with shortages and high prices set to continue for some time, the head of the United Nation's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said.

A combination of high oil and fuel prices, rising demand for food in a wealthier Asia, the use of farmland and crops for biofuels, bad weather, and speculation on futures markets have pushed up food prices, prompting violent protests in a handful of poor states.

Jacques Diouf, director general of the Rome-based FAO, said on Wednesday during a trip to India that there was a growing risk of social instability in countries where families spent more than half their income on food.

"The problem is very serious around the world due to severe price rises and we have seen riots in Egypt, Cameroon, Haiti, and Burkina Faso," he told reporters in New Delhi.

Five people have been killed in a week of demonstrations in Haiti over high food prices in the poorest country in the Americas, while unions in the West African nation of Burkina Faso called a general strike over soaring food and fuel costs.

"There is a risk that this unrest will spread in countries where 50 to 60 percent of income goes to food," Diouf added.

He said world cereal stocks were enough to meet demand for eight to 12 weeks, while grain supplies were at their lowest since the 1980s.

"This is due to higher demand from countries like India, China, where GDP grows at 8-10 percent and the increase in income is going to food," Diouf said after meeting India's farm minister, Sharad Pawar.

He said he was advising governments to invest in irrigation, storage facilities and rural infrastructure and increase productivity to meet the challenge of food scarcity.

Global food prices, based on United Nations records, rose 35 percent in the year to the end of January, markedly accelerating an upturn that began, gently at first, in 2002.

Since then, prices have risen 65 percent. In 2007 alone, according to the FAO's world food index, dairy prices rose nearly 80 percent and grain 42 percent.

Some of the world's most populous countries have felt the impact of higher prices after rice joined a wider rally that has buoyed other grains like wheat and corn.

Rice prices in Thailand, the world's biggest rice exporter, have doubled since the start of this year after India heavily restricted and then banned the export of non-basmati rice to ensure it had enough to feed its people.

In Manila, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo unveiled a series of measures to boost rice production as troops armed with M-16 rifles supervised the sale of subsidized grain and the government threatened to jail hoarders for life.

The FAO in a recent report said Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Egypt, Indonesia, Ivory Coast, Mauritania, Mozambique and Senegal have seen unrest in the last several weeks related to food and fuel prices.

In India, wholesale price inflation hit its highest in more than three years in March at 7 percent, posing a headache for the ruling coalition in Asia's third-largest economy with elections for local and national assemblies creeping up.

Price pressures had been building for several weeks, in large part driven by foodstuffs, and the government has stepped in with a string of duty cuts and export restrictions.

Analysts say fiscal steps were unlikely to roll back prices, and Indian leaders have said ensuring food security by boosting domestic production was a priority.

"I welcome economic growth in India and China, but I also hope they will invest in agriculture because these two countries account for 2.2 billion people out of 6 billion," Diouf said.

NEW DELHI -- The head of the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization on Wednesday urged world leaders to attend a summit in early June to discuss what he described as an "emergency" global food shortage.

"In the face of food riots around the world like in Africa and Haiti, we really have an emergency," FAO chief Jacques Diouf told a news conference in New Delhi.

Diouf said as populations have moved to the cities, food output has stagnated, prices have risen, and food stocks are at their lowest since 1980.

He said this crisis should be addressed by the 191 members of the FAO in Rome in early June.

Diouf said that in fast-growing countries such as India and China, which together account for a third of the world's population, "demand for more milk and more meat because of economic growth of eight to 10 percent means higher demand for more cereals" that in turn worsens food shortages.

Lennart Bage, the president of the U.N.'s International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), said government were waking up to the problem.

"There is a real realization that we cannot take food and food security for granted anymore," said the official, who was speaking at the end of an U.N. conference on agrobusiness.

The head of the U.N.'s Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), Kandeh Yumkella, said wider trade links and a focus on agrobusiness, or the business of food production, were the long-term answers to the shortages.

He said by 2030, more than half the world's population will live in urban areas and require sophisticated methods to bring in food.

"We need to look at supermarkets and how they deliver food to be processed to the the consumer. We need to pass that technology to developing countries and understand the processes to increase shelf life of basic foods," he said.

At least five people have died in violent protests against high food and fuel prices in Haiti's capital, while there have been similar deadly disturbances in Cameroon, Ivory Coast and Mauritania.

NEW DELHI -- The chiefs of U.N. agencies -- FAO, UNIDO and IFAD -- have cautioned about food riots in the near future if corrective steps were not taken in time. They expressed concerns over the rising food prices across the world.

Briefing mediapersons in New Delhi on Wednesday, the director-general of U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Jacques Diouf said: "World food prices have risen 45% in the last nine months and there are serious shortages of rice, wheat, and maize."

He singled out bio-fuel program as one of the major contributing factor to the global price rise as it has caused diversion of farmland from food to fuel crops and the prices of bio-fuels which scaled up in tandem with the prices of fossil fuels in turn affected the food prices.

The heads of the three U.N. agencies are here in India to participate in the meeting of the Global Agro-Industries Forum.

Diouf also said that the climate change has had its impact like droughts, floods, and natural calamities at places. He called for smoothening of the demand-supply chain. He informed that global food stocks were at historic low since 1980s. He said that another reason for the price rise was the high GDP growth rate in populous countries like India and China where rise in disposal income had caused a change in life style and increased demand.

The FAO chief suggested that the governments should step up their investments in agriculture, particularly in irrigation, storage, feed and livestock, infrastructure and mechanism for ensuring sanitary and phytosanitary measures. "The critical situation of today is due to the wrong policies pursued in the last 20 years," he said.

Regarding global market he said that it should ensure a level playing field and should not be distorted by subsidies and high tariffs.

The UNIDO Director-General, Kandeh K Yumkella said, "industry can play a major role in post-harvest management, processing and in supply of inputs."

The president of International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), Lennart Bage said that his organization was ready to fund projects for ensuring food security and increasing income of farmers.