Pope Urges World to Invest in Agriculture

Says "Determined" Effort Necessary to Combat Global Hunger

(AP)  The world must take "determined and effective" action against hunger after the global economic crisis pushed the ranks of the undernourished to a record 1 billion, Pope Benedict XVI said Friday.

Developing countries need more investments, especially in agriculture, to ensure their populations don't go hungry, the pope said in a message to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization on World Food Day.

"This crisis requires governments and the members of the international community to make determined and effective choices," Benedict said in the message read at an FAO ceremony. "Access to food is more than a basic need, it is a fundamental right of individuals and peoples."

Benedict has frequently spoken out on the crisis, calling for a new world financial order guided by ethics and urging the world not to let its poorest and most vulnerable inhabitants suffer the consequences of the downturn.

The crisis "is especially serious for the agricultural world, where the situation becomes dramatic," Benedict said in his message. "Agriculture must have at its disposal enough investments and resources."

The FAO said this week that aid and investment in agriculture have been declining over the past two decades, contributing to increased hunger.

This year, the number of hungry people around the world reached 1.02 billion amid high food prices and the global financial meltdown, according to the Rome-based agency.

The FAO says global food output will have to increase by 70 per cent to feed a projected population of 9.1 billion in 2050. To achieve that, poor countries will need $44 billion in annual agricultural aid, compared with the current $7.9 billion.

Earlier Friday, among other events to mark World Food Day, the FAO named five new goodwill ambassadors including track and field great Carl Lewis and fashion designer Pierre Cardin.

[miami_don]

"This crisis requires governments and the members of the international community to make determined and effective choices," Benedict said in the message read at an FAO ceremony. "Access to food is more than a basic need, it is a fundamental right of individuals and peoples."
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The Catholic church has assests estimated at $750 Billion US Dollars. There are 1 Billion undernorished people who need help and the G20 (except China) nations are recovering from the greatest recession since the great depression. Hmmm?

[vermontgirlincolorado]

Yes "miami"...this is really "rich" isn't it... coming from the one who represents the one of the single largest accumulations of wealth in the world.

I've been saying for a very very long time...the catholic church needs to pony up...sell off the land and baubles...replace your staff with those than don't require constant legal representation...AND SOLVE WORLD HUNGER.

[AttentionDeficit]

The world should invest in hemp. High quality plant protein, enriches the soil, grown without pesticides.