Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2009-11-25-Speech-3-432"
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"en.20091125.27.3-432"2
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"Madam President, I would like to thank my colleagues who have already contributed.
The first point I would like to make is that I think the recent spike in world food prices serves as a wake-up call to all of us. The doubling of grain and rice prices has had a disproportionate impact on some of the poorest people in developing countries around the world. Indeed, it is estimated that an extra 75 million people around the world went hungry as a direct result of the higher food prices in 2007 and 2008. That is something we have to take very, very seriously. Indeed, in many countries, we have seen food riots and political instability as a result of the spike in food prices.
With world population predicted to rise to over nine billion and climate change predicted to have a major impact on our ability to feed ourselves, food security is, I would argue, a major issue that we must confront and address and find solutions to. The European Union must do all it can to help developing countries to develop sustainable farming and food production systems that enable them to feed themselves. That requires finance – as the Commissioner outlined in his statement – and it requires open markets. Here, there is a recognition that Europe has gone a long way to assist in opening up and liberalising markets. But also many of the problems that developing countries face result from a failure of politics and a failure of the legal system. No amount of help will actually correct that problem until you have got a stable political system and a stable legal system that allows farmers to flourish and to reap the benefits of higher market prices.
It is estimated that EU production will have to rise by over 70% just to meet rising demand in the future. I would argue that European agriculture has a major role to play, not only ensuring that we are self-sufficient here, but also ensuring that we can contribute to global food security in the future."@en1
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