A doubling of food prices over the past three years could push 100 million people in poorer developing countries further into poverty and governments must step in to tackle the issue, World Bank president Robert Zoellick has said.
‘Based on a rough analysis, we estimate that a doubling of food prices over the last three years could potentially push 100 million people in low-income countries deeper into poverty,’ Mr Zoellick said in a statement at the end of the World Bank spring meeting.
‘This is not just a question about short-term needs, as important as those are. This is about ensuring that future generations don't pay a price too,’ he said.
Calling on governments to begin tackling the issue, Mr Zoellick said: ‘We have to put our money where our mouth is now so that we can put food into hungry mouths. It's as stark as that.’
