Without concerted action, millions of people “could fall into poverty and hunger,” said UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon in a message marking World Food Day. “To bolster food security in a changing climate, countries must address food and agriculture in their climate action plans and invest more in rural development.”
Seventy percent of the world’s poorest people rely on subsistence farming, grazing or fishing for their food and income, says the UN. Ban said agriculture must become more resilient, productive, inclusive and sustainable as it responds to the rising temperatures and more extreme weather that is forecast due to climate change. At present, 800 million people suffer from hunger worldwide.
“Climate change is not waiting, neither can we,” said Ertharin Cousin, director of the UN World Food Program during a World Food Day gathering in Rome. World Food Day marks the founding of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization.