UN: Arab World Faces Major Food Crisis

UN: Arab World Faces Major Food Crisis

by Malkah Fleisher


(IsraelNN.com) If Arab countries do not begin to tackle agricultural deterioration, they will face a major food crisis, according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organizations's (FAO) Director-General Jacques Diouf.

Speaking at a seminar about "Arab Food Security and Agriculture Policies," experts noted that Arab agricultural lands are declining, due to drought, desertification, and water shortage, according to the Kuwait News Agency. Diouf said that over 40 percent of those suffering from hunger throughout the world live in Arab countries – 31 million out of 75 million.

Diouf said Arab countries were importing 50 percent of all of their food, with food production in Arab countries hovering at a meager 3 percent. Arab countries have been advised to increase their agricultural production from two to five percent in order to meet growing food demands.

The President of the International Fund for Agricultural Development, Lennart Bage, stated that his organization would work to solve the lack by promoting agriculture in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip.

Israeli agriculture makes up just 2.5% of Israel's Gross Domestic Product (GDP), but accounts for a whopping 95% of Israel's food requirements.