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FAO / DIOUF G20
STORY: FAO / DIOUF G20
TRT: 3.33
SOURCE: FAO
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: FRENCH /NATS
DATELINE: 18 OCTOBER 2011, ROME ITALY / FILE
18 OCTOBER 2011, ROME
1. Wide shot, press conference, FAO Headquarters, Rome
2. SOUNDBITE (French) Jacques Diouf, Director-General, Food and Agriculture Organization:
“Food prices are expected to remain high and volatile for years to come. This is why it is important to put into place appropriate policies and systems to reduce volatility and to limit its impact, especially, on the poorest populations and vulnerable groups. With this in mind, the G20 has come up with concrete projects.”
FILE – SWAZILAND 2010
3. Various shots, people at markets, woman in maize field
18 OCTOBER 2011, ROME
4. SOUNDBITE (French) Bruno Le Maire, French Minister of Food, Agriculture and Fishing:
“For years and years, donors have organized conferences. Each time they promise to discuss how to find billions of euros to help people suffering from hunger in Africa. They hold a meeting to pledge two billion euros, the money never materializes, and people in developing countries still suffer from hunger. I decided do away with this approach. And I take full responsibility for this. I don’t believe, and I want to be clear in saying this, that we will never strengthen world food security through North-South financial and material donations. That is the twentieth century way of doing things. I’m talking about a vision for the twenty-first century, a vision whereby we help developing countries from the South to be autonomous, independent, to achieve their own food security. I think that one euro spent on research on the genetics of water stress-resistant wheat in Africa is more useful than one euro to buy a sack of rice for African countries. I’m telling you what I really think.”
FILE - PAKISTAN
5. Various shots, street and market scenes, women working on farm
As the Committee on World Food Security held its second day of meetings at FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization) headquarters in Rome, Director-General Jacques Dioufl spoke with journalists about the need for the G20 group of nations to tackle global conditions leading to food price volatility and food insecurity.
Diouf said that food prices were expected to remain high and volatile for years to come and that it was important to put into place policies and systems to reduce volatility, especially on the poorest populations and vulnerable groups. “With this in mind, the G20 has come up with concrete projects,” he added.
French Minister of Food, Agriculture and Fishing Bruno Le Maire said he decided to ‘do away’ with the traditional approach to donor conferences saying ‘the money never materializes, and people in developing countries still suffer from hunger.”
He added that world food security will “never be strengthened” through North-South finances and material donations, adding it was the “twentieth century way of doing things.”
Le Maire believes developing countries from the South need to be autonomous, independent and to achieve their own food security. “I think that one euro spent on research on the genetics of water stress-resistant wheat in Africa is more useful than one euro to buy a sack of rice for African countries. I’m telling you what I really think”
The news conference took place in the lead up to the meeting of the G20 in Cannes in November.
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