Developing countries warned about food shortage in 2000

JAKARTA (JP): Developing countries should prepare themselves for food shortages predicted to hit various parts of the world in 2010 as predicted by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), says an Indian scientist.

Dr. Vandana Shiva, director of India's Research Foundation for Science, Technology and Natural Resources Policy, said every country in the world would be faced with food problems in the next five to 15 years.

"According to the prediction made by FAO, when the GATT (General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade) is implemented in 2010, every country, including those in Europe, will have to import food from the United States," Shiva said during a visit to Jakarta last week.

The newly signed GATT treaty calls for a sweeping liberalization of trade that includes the politically sensitive food sector, an area many countries in the world have protected at almost any cost for fear of becoming too dependent on imports.

The professor in physics and science philosophy said that a lack of common ground on how to tackle the problem in the developing countries could bring about a situation where they would become potential victims of a United States wielding food as a new weapon.

"It will become a serious problem if the United States, which already feels that it owns the world, uses food as a weapon," she added.

Shiva believed, however, that Indonesia, given its rich biodiversity, would be able to the pass through the difficult times.

She said that the developing countries needed to improve their cooperation in economical and political terms in order to face future challenges with confidence.

She added that these countries should pay more attention to sustainable agriculture to better protect their natural biodiversity.

She believed that the developing countries located in the southern part of the globe would more readily endure food shortages than the European countries as they are strong in biodiversity.

Shiva said that people living in Third World countries also possessed stronger resilience and endurance to cope with hardships, enabling them to solve their own problems. (par)