United Nations News Centre

23 June 2011 – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) welcomed today’s declaration adopted by the Group of 20 (G20) as a message that the world’s largest economies are serious about helping the poor and strengthening food security.

G20 agriculture ministers meeting in Paris, plus international specialists, announced a series of measures they said are aimed at stabilizing world food prices.

“Today’s agreement sends a clear message that the world’s largest economies are serious about protecting the poorest and most vulnerable from the crushing impact of high and volatile food prices,” WFP Executive Director Josette Sheeran said, commenting on the agreement. “It offers hope for the nearly one billion people on the frontlines of hunger.”

Ms. Sheeran, who was at the negotiations in Paris, said the agreement would
• ensure the hungry have access to food through WFP in emergencies by removing export barriers for humanitarian food;
• give vulnerable nations predictable access to sufficient food in times of need;
• protect humanitarian food supply chains against price and supply shocks;
• and strengthen assessments of food needs by launching a new global Agricultural Market Information System (AMIS) and a Rapid Response Forum.

The declaration, “which comes at a critical moment for the world’s hungry,” would reaffirm “the right of all people to safe, sufficient, nutritious food and the critical importance of rapid action to meet urgent food requirements,” she added.