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UNITED NATIONS - UN chief Ban Ki-moon called Monday for global leadership against the global food crisis as a United Nations task force met for the first time to design an action plan to curb soaring prices.
During the closed-door meeting, Ban said "tackling this issue will require international leadership and coordination at the highest level," his press office said in a statement.
The task force's primary aim is to "promote a comprehensive and unified response to the global food price challenge in support of governments and affected populations," the statement said.
The food crisis has sparked riots, protests and export restrictions worldwide.
Global food prices have nearly doubled in three years, according to the World Bank, with experts blaming the soaring prices on trade restrictions, poor growing weather, rising use of biofuels that rely on staples like corn and the hike in fuel prices that make transporting food more expensive.
The UN task force is also to prepare the ground for a high level meeting of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) on food security, to be held in Rome June 3-5, and follow up on the implementation of the action plan.
"This strategy is expected to outline short and longer-term actions, such as food aid, social protection initiatives and agricultural boosts ... Today, the High Level Task Force agreed to present the elements of such a strategy" at the Rome conference, the statement from Ban's office said.
The UN chief has urged world leaders to attend the meeting, called the High-Level Conference on World Food Security: the Challenges of Climate Change and Bioenergy.
The food crisis task force, whose creation was announced by Ban in Bern, Germany on April 29, brings together the leaders of 15 groups and agencies from the United Nations, International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank.
It is under the direct authority of Ban and is being co-ordinated by UN humanitarian chief John Holmes.
In Bern, the IMF, World Bank and United Nations urged world leaders to take steps to ensure more equitable global trade, with Ban urging a repeal of export restrictions in countries such as Brazil and Egypt.
Argentina, Brazil, Vietnam, India and Egypt have all imposed limitations on the export of certain produce in order to ensure food security for their populations, but Ban says the move has reduced supplies and raised prices.
World Bank President Robert Zoellick has said two billion people across the world are struggling with high food prices, and 100 million people in poor countries may be pushed deeper into poverty by the crisis.
The FAO estimates that world production of rice will reach a new record in 2008 but that prices will stay elevated in the short term.
Ban has said the first priority is to feed the hungry, and urged nations to contribute to international funds to help stem the crisis.
The UN World Food Program is seeking contributions for a US$755 million emergency fund while the FAO is raising US$1.7 billion to provide seeds to the poor and boost output.
The UN's new top advisor on food, Olivier de Schutter, this month joined the growing chorus accusing biofuels -- until recently cast as a miracle alternative to polluting fossil fuels -- of usurping arable land and distorting world food prices.
"The ambitious goals for biofuel production set by the United States and the European Union are irresponsible," Schutter charged, describing the biofuel rush as a "scandal that only serves the interests of a tiny lobby." - AFP/vm
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