FAO urges farming investment to combat hunger

The world community should urgently boost investment in agriculture to fight hunger and malnutrition in the face of soaring food prices, the United Nations' food agency FAO said on Wednesday.

In a report ahead of the World Food Security summit in Rome on June 3-5, FAO called for a twin approach to feed the most vulnerable groups while also giving a long-term boost to agriculture to counter high prices and market volatility.

Food prices at their highest in nearly 30 years in real terms have triggered protests and riots in some developing countries and panic buying in some parts of the developed world.

But high prices also encourage farmers to boost output, the Food and Agriculture Organization said.

"This is a unique moment in history: for the first time in 25 years, a fundamental incentive - high food commodity prices - is in place for stimulating the agricultural sector," FAO Director General Jacques Diouf said in a statement.

Governments and international organizations should boost public investment in such "long neglected areas" as agricultural infrastructure and research, and create a favorable environment for private investments, the Rome-based agency said.