Developing countries warned about food shortage in 2000

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)