World Food Day: 16 October 2011

“Food prices - from crisis to stability” has been chosen as this year’s theme for World Food Day to shed some light on price volatility and what can be done to mitigate its impact on the most vulnerable.

This year’s celebrations will be held in Mqanduli village near Mthatha in OR Tambo District in the Eastern Cape Province.

Ms Rosebud V. Kurwijila, the FAO Representative in South Africa, together with Ms Tina Joemat-Pettersson, the South African Minister of the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries and Ms Zoleka Capa, the MEC for Agriculture and Agrarian Reform in the Eastern Cape Province will join hands in honour of this day.

The purpose of the day is to sensitise policy makers to develop policies and frameworks that will help to implement the Zero Hunger Plan. This will ensure food security for all particularly the vulnerable. The economic recession, rising food prices, the rand/dollar exchange rate, natural disasters and rising crude oil prices have all directly contributed to food insecurity with the developing world being hard hit.

According to the World Bank, in 2010-2011 rising food costs pushed nearly 70 million people into extreme poverty.  The crisis is particularly affecting small-scale farmers and rural areas in poor countries, where 70 percent of the world's hungry live and work.

Details of the event:

Venue:  Mqanduli village (at the Milling plant), Mthatha, Eastern Cape

Date:    16 October 2011

Time:    08:00

For more information please contact: Mr Tshepiso Ngoma Tel: 012 354 8536 Mobile : 083 2961 503 Email : Tshepiso.Ngoma@fao.org