MSIAN PREMIER CALLS FOR GLOBAL POLITICAL WILL TO INCREASE FOOD SUPPLY

By Tham Choy Lin

BEIJING, Oct 25 (Bernama) -- Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has
called for global political will to address severe food shortages and
help developing countries reduce hunger and poverty as the situation becomes
more critical with the international financial turmoil.

He said many countries were finding it difficult to meet the basic needs of
their people because of rising food prices and rapidly growing population,
noting that global food prices have soared sharply by 57 per cent by the first
quarter of the year.

"The scale of the present food crisis has never been experienced before. We
are actually facing a new challenge which is new in its severity, its
pervasiveness, and its global dimension," he told fellow leaders at the
Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) on Saturday.

The still rising food prices had already caused unrest in more than 30
countries and an estimated 850 million could suffer hunger daily within the next
two years, he said.

"All of this means a greater demand for food. These challenges are not
merely humanitarian but also strategic in nature. The present turmoil in the
global financial sector, energy crisis and climate change has contributed to
making the situation more critical," Abdullah said.

The Malaysian leader urged for renewed interest in agriculture to increase
food supply as the sector had been overshadowed by services, manufacturing and
technology developments.

He said every country must establish an adequate balance between imports
and
domestic supply to avert any food-triggered emergencies.

"It is my earnest hope that the international response to the global food
crisis would focus on helping developing countries improve their capacity to
feed themselves, to market their products and, in the process, lift themselves
out of the cycle of poverty," he said.

Abdullah also asked for a proper balance between the use of agricultural
land for food and biofuel crops which was impacting on global food security.

The annual use of farm land for biofuel production had jumped from one
million hectares to 25 million hectares in the last seven years, the size of
which could have produced 100 million tonnes of food crops, he said.

Abdullah urged for greater use of and research into alternatives like
cellulosic biomass from non-edible crops like Jatropha, a hardy shrub that
thrives on wasteland, and for fibre wastes to be used to make biofuel.

Malaysia, he said, was already making use of waste fibres and shell residue
from oil palm to produce energy.

The country has also embarked on increasing domestic food supply by
investing in agriculture infrastructure, high quality seeds, biotechnology, pest
and disease control, and converting idle land for food production.
-- BERNAMA