The recent global food crisis can be seen as a wake-up callwhich can be turned into an opportunity by developing countries andthe international community to revitalize global agricultureproduction and trade and do more to rectify the systemic imbalancesin global agricultural production and trade that have contributed overthe years to today’s problems.
The crisis has highlighted inherenttensions that exist with regard to the agricultural food sector.Responses to the crisis will have to include both short-term andlonger-term measures, reflecting the fact that the crisis has bothshort-term and underlying structural causes and implications. Ofcourse, the immediate and urgent priority is to ensure that adequatefood is delivered to the people in need. This task is being welladdressed by the humanitarian and emergency agencies. It does notstop there, however – responses to the more fundamental and deepseatedfactors are equally important.
From a trade and developmentperspective, and within the framework of a comprehensive approachto the crisis by the United Nations system, UNCTAD recommends anumber of policy measures and concrete actions in respect of trade,investment and agriculture development at the national, regional andinternational levels.
