Council Conclusions on Food security and policy coherence – including FAO reform and the World Summit on Food Security, Agriculture and Fisheries Council meeting, Luxembourg, 19 and 20 October 2009

The European Community and its Member States recognize that while agricultural commodity prices have decreased globally since their peak in mid-2008, they remain relatively high, especially in many developing countries, compared to the situation before 2005. The food crisis has had devastating effects on the poor and vulnerable, many of whom have been unable to secure access to adequate amounts of food. In addition, the financial and economic crisis as well as climate change have further aggravated the global food security situation. As a consequence, it is estimated that the number of hungry and malnourished
people has increased by 150 million, and that the total number of hungry people in the world now surpasses one billion.