FAO Says Biofuels Threatening Food Security

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has warned that diverting food crop land to extensive cultivation for biofuels would damage biodiversity and lead to a serious threat to food security.

"Poor countries will have to cope with a nine percent rise on food imports and the poorest, which will import most, will pay an extra 10 percent", the FAO report said Thursday.

It noted that prices of secondary cereals and vegetable oils used to produce biofuels have gone up while meat and milk product rose by 46 percent last November because of increased fodder prices.

The 2007 world cereal production is expected to exceed two billion tonnes, six percent more than 2006, but will barely meet demand, it said.

The FAO Genetic Resource Commission during their June 11-15 meeting is scheduled to discuss the state of animal, vegetable and aquatic genetics and develop long-term strategies for world food and agricultural biodiversity.

Source-IANS
MED/L