WASHINGTON — Soaring global food prices are a wake-up call to action to avoid a new food crisis that would pitch millions more of the world’s poor into hunger, researchers said on Thursday. Warning that prices were edging toward crisis levels seen in 2007-2008, the International Food Policy Research Institute urged policymakers to learn lessons from that crisis to prevent another one.
“Another food crisis can be prevented but urgent actions are needed,” Shenggen Fan, IFPRI Director-General, told reporters at a briefing on a new study of the last food crisis. Data shows the 2007-2008 food crisis emerged in a perfect storm of factors, according to the “Reflections on the Global Food Crisis” report released by the Washington-based institute.
The combination included increased energy costs and growing demand for biofuels that diverted food crops like corn (maize) into energy production. A weaker dollar and trade shocks related to export restrictions, panic purchases, and unfavourable weather also contributed to the crisis, the researchers said.
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