to introduce emergency measures to confront global food crisis
- President Jagdeo urges 63rd UN General Assembly to move away from rhetoric, take concrete actions which global crises demand
‘If we are to accept published statistics that the global demand for food is expected to double by 2030, then measures for the short and longer term supply including increased productivity and transfer of technology must be adopted and implemented urgently by the international community to stave off widespread starvation’ – President Jagdeo

PRESIDENT Bharrat Jagdeo yesterday called on the United Nations General Assembly to introduce emergency measures to confront the crisis of soaring food prices, pointing out that the food crisis posed grave problems for the poorest inhabitants of developing countries and threatened to undermine recent improvements in nutrition and health indicators in those nations.

‘The climate change challenge will not slow down to meet the pace set by the UN - our response must speed up to meet the pace of climate change’

The international community must urgently introduce new measures, including an increase in agricultural production, if it is to stave off widespread starvation, he said, adding that agriculture has to be central to poverty reduction strategies.

Mr. Jagdeo, in his address at yesterday’s opening of the UN General Assembly in New York, stressed the need for stronger safety nets to be developed so that the poor continue to have access to food and maintain basic nutrition levels through the current crisis.

“It is also urgently necessary for large developed countries to re-examine ways in which current inefficient and distortionary trade policies, particularly subsidies that support inefficient domestic production and tariffs that protect against more competitive imports, can be restructured to reduce distortions in the global marketplace,” he said.

“If we are to accept published statistics that the global demand for food is expected to double by 2030, then measures for the short and longer term supply including increased productivity and transfer of technology must be adopted and implemented urgently by the international community to stave off widespread starvation.”

More importantly, Mr. Jagdeo said the international community must acknowledge the inextricable link between agricultural development and food security.

He recalled warnings by the World Bank that priority must be given to the agricultural sector in the development process if the Millennium Development Goals of halving extreme poverty and hunger by 2015 are to be realised.

Some 75 per cent of the world's extremely poor people live in rural areas and depend directly or indirectly on agriculture for their livelihood.

There is thus a comparative advantage for agriculture in relation to poverty reduction strategies, President Jagdeo told the distinguished high-level gathering.

CLIMATE CHANGE
Climate Change was another important issue focused on by President Jagdeo in his address to the UN General Assembly. Here, he said future generations demand that this concern be translated into rapid action.

“The climate change challenge will not slow down to meet the pace set by the UN - our response must speed up to meet the pace of climate change. The facts are straight forward - if we are to avoid catastrophic climate breakdown, we need to stabilise annual greenhouse gas emissions at about 2 tonnes of CO2 equivalent per capita by 2050,” he stated.

He noted, however, that there have been some promising signs on the issue with a US$60 billion carbon market emerging from the Kyoto Protocol.

“But although common sense dictates that these financial flows should be proportional to the problem being addressed, the bulk of this money stays within the developed world,” President Jagdeo argued.

In this light, he took the opportunity to speak on his Climate Change initiative and the need for the country to receive capital flows to address tropical deforestation.

GLOBAL FINANCIAL CRISIS
President Jagdeo also alluded to the fact that the global financial system is in crisis.

“As we meet this week, the global financial system is confronting its sternest test in recent memory. The current crisis is systemic in nature, historic in scale, and global in reach. It comes at a time when the world economy is still wrestling with the most rapid escalation, and the highest real levels, ever recorded in the prices for fuel and food commodities.”

Together with the world's belated attention to the devastating economic and social implications of climate change, President Jagdeo said these developments define the current agenda before global institutions and national leaders, and make the theme for this year's debate both timely and necessary.

“Given the gravity and urgency of the issues before us, we must be careful not to conduct this year's debate in the customary rhetorical manner,” President Jagdeo charged.

“Instead, we must resolve to translate the detailed analysis, lofty statements, and good intentions for which this Assembly has become well known, into concrete actions which the current circumstances demand of us and on which history will judge us.”

“We must each, as countries approaching the floor to speak, be prepared to account for the pledges we have previously made. We must also be bold enough to embark on a project to achieve real change to the multilateral system. This change must be based on mandates that are relevant, institutions that are accountable, and a context that is increasingly reflective of integration and interconnectedness,” the Guyanese head of state declared.

On this note, he urged that the theme of the next General Assembly should emphasise accountability and coherence of action on the part of the developed world in matters related to aid, trade and development.

“Often when taken together the policies of these countries result in a significant net loss of welfare in the developing world and run counter to their declared intentions, for example the achievement of the MDGs by 2015.”

President Jagdeo also noted that an episode that manifested itself merely two years ago as a moderate decline in the housing market in some parts of the United States, and that evolved into difficulties for that country's sub-prime mortgage market, has now grown into a rapidly deepening systemic financial crisis of global proportions.

It is being described as the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression of the 1920s.

Over the past two weeks, the main financial markets have been characterised by prominent institutional failures, widespread flight by investors to quality investments, and unprecedented intervention by national authorities. The cost of the rescue package in the United States alone is estimated at US$700 billion.

The current episode reiterates the critical shortcomings in domestic regulation and supervision that are known to exist, and to failures by market mechanisms for governance and oversight.

According to Mr. Jagdeo, it also points to fundamental weaknesses in the global financial governance system.

He said there is clear evidence that many of the standards and much of the scrutiny that are applied routinely to smaller countries were not applied to some larger countries which actually pose much greater systemic risk.

“The troubles now being faced will inevitably result in the loss of thousands of jobs, as the inevitable consolidation of the financial sector progresses. The situation will exacerbate already depressed business and consumer confidence, and contribute to recession in the developed economies and lower growth prospects in emerging economies,” he asserted.

“And, it will result in a further tightening of credit, manifested by rising interest rates and increased risk aversion,” President Jagdeo posited.

He pointed out that even if they are not fully integrated with the global financial system, small vulnerable economies such as Guyana will bear the full effect of these developments as demand for exports, the cost of capital rises, foreign direct investment becomes scarce, and tourist arrivals and migrant remittances decline.

In short, economic growth and poverty reduction efforts will suffer a severe setback and the Millennium Development Goals will become even more elusive, the President declared.

‘If we are to accept published statistics that the global demand for food is expected to double by 2030, then measures for the short and longer term supply including increased productivity and transfer of technology must be adopted and implemented urgently by the international community to stave off widespread starvation’ – President Jagdeo

President Jagdeo has raised a critical issue at the UN forum about world food security. Already in some places of the world people are starving, especially in African countries and more can be done by every one to safeguard the world against this imminent threat as pointed out by Jagdeo.

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quote:

Originally posted by Eric's_Revenge:
Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz!

Can Manning deliver such an inspiring speech?

That as indeed one of the GREATEST speech given by a Caribbean Leader. Dat man Jagdeo gun take we far far into the Land of PROGRESS and PROSPERITY. God Bless De GREAT Leader!!!

quote:

Originally posted by Nehru:
That as indeed one of the GREATEST speech given by a Caribbean Leader. Dat man Jagdeo gun take we far far into the Land of PROGRESS and PROSPERITY. God Bless De GREAT Leader!!!

Nehru, it is the land of: Peace, Progress and Prosperity.

Bhai, Peace meh nah too sure Bout. But I hope I am wrong.

quote:

Originally posted by Nehru:
That as indeed one of the GREATEST speech given by a Caribbean Leader. Dat man Jagdeo gun take we far far into the Land of PROGRESS and PROSPERITY. God Bless De GREAT Leader!!!

Nehru Bhai

ah wha yu smoking. me want some.

Do you seriously believe the Mayor of Guyana has any influence at the UN?

The UN is a talk shop place and its resolutions carry little weight.

quote:

NEHRU: That as indeed one of the GREATEST speech given by a Caribbean Leader. Dat man Jagdeo gun take we far far into the Land of PROGRESS and PROSPERITY. God Bless De GREAT Leader!!!

That rum and poke gat you bad bhai?

quote:

Originally posted by Nehru:
That as indeed one of the GREATEST speech given by a Caribbean Leader. Dat man Jagdeo gun take we far far into the Land of PROGRESS and PROSPERITY. God Bless De GREAT Leader!!!

Read Animal Farm and tell me which animal you are.

Good ones Canecutta/CaribJ.