UN General Plan

In Rome, the International Food Conference in the capital of Italy begins today, the three -day international conference "World Food Safety: Climate Changes and Bioenergy" begins. The leaders of all countries included in the food and agricultural organization of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), as well as representatives of international humanitarian organizations, are invited to the summit.

Before holding a conference, FAO from February to April organized several preliminary meetings on the food problem. In each of the meetings, 30-40 largest experts in ecology, agriculture and related areas took part. As a result, the circle of the most acute problems facing modern agriculture was determined: increasing food prices and the possibility of reducing them, climatic changes and their impact on food, the problem of malicious insects and diseases, as well as the issue of using a new energy source - biofuel.

The press release, widespread FAO on the eve of the summit, explains the reasons for the concern of this organization. “Climate changes will soon affect everyone. However, they will be most strongly reflected in hundreds of millions of small farmers, fishermen and people living at the expense of forests - on those who do not feel safe today, ”the document says. The organizers of the FAO summit also believe that with a decrease in the areas of cultivated land, water resources, the biological diversity of species and with increasing food prices, the demand for biofuel will grow. But since biofuel is produced from certain agricultural crops, this demand will greatly affect the life of ordinary farmers.

In addition, according to FAO experts, agriculture is far from a victim of climatic changes. In fact, farmers themselves created the problem from which they now have to suffer. The fact is that agricultural activity is one of the main factors of global warming. And not only because 70% of artificially produced water goes to irrigation of agricultural land. The result of agricultural activity and deforestation, according to FAO, is the release of a third of the total volume of all greenhouse gases that humanity produces. This number includes 25% hydrocarbon, 50% methane and 75% of nitrogen oxides on a global scale.

FAO sees a solution to the problem in the so -called adaptation strategy. “In order to be effective, adaptation measures should be applied to vulnerable agricultural lides in the field,” the summit’s press release says. “Planning at the levels of households, communities and the whole country can reduce the damage from climatic changes.” How to switch to a planned economy, the conference participants have yet to be decided.

Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fuda raised this problem yesterday. On the final day of his visit to Germany, he spoke about the position of Japan regarding the food problem. According to Fukuda, to decide it, it is necessary to take short -term, medium -term and long -term measures. Short -term measures should solve the problem of reducing the export of the main agricultural countries in the world. Medium -term - to help developing countries, first of all, Africa, will be able to expand agricultural production. Finally, in the long run, the world community should think about the transition to biofuel, but in such a way that this transition does not affect the economy negatively. Fudu also promised that Japan will double the volume of material assistance to African countries over the next five years.

Meanwhile, President Zimbabwe Robert Mugaba, who is usually closed to Europe, arrived at the Roman conference yesterday. A policy that zealously criticizes Western neocolonialism in Africa is prohibited from entering the EU countries. However, this time we are talking about the UN conference in which Mugaba has the right to take part. There are fears that the Zimbabvian leader uses the current summit in the same way as three years ago. In 2005, at the Pugabe food conference, the then Prime Minister of Great Britain Tony Blair and US President George Bush accused of the “wickedness” of the food conference.

06/03/2008 / Igor Kryuchkov, the material was published in the newspaper No. 101 dated 03.06.2008.