Fighting Against HungerVocabulary and Expressionsmicronutrients roadmapdo

Fighting Against Hunger
   To walk the talk means to keep your promises — to do what you said you would do. Walk the Talk is also the name of a new report by the .
   IFPRI says there has been a lot of talk about fighting hunger, but not enough action. As a result, it says the international community could fall far short of the goal of cutting the number of hungry people in half by next year.
   The report says an estimated 870 million people were hungry last year. 2 billion did not get enough micronutrients, vitamins and minerals. IFPRI Director General Shenggen Fan describes last year as a mixed year, for progress against hunger.
   He said that "African countries, India, China, Brazil continue to commit themselves to increase investment in agriculture, in agricultural research — to really increase their agricultural productivity at a global level. Donor agencies, the World Bank, USAID, have also increased their investment in agriculture, in food security and nutrition. "
   But Mr. Fans says a lack of political will limited progress on food security.
   " Last year, we had lots of debates, action discussions, conferences without a clear roadmap — without a clear, actual plan to implement. "
   After the food crisis a decade ago, many promises were made to increase investment in smallholder agriculture. Many countries have made progress in supporting smallholders. However, many other countries have also failed in doing that.
   Supporters of greater agricultural investment in poor countries have often criticized farm support programs in rich nations. They say subsidy in rich nations put developing countries at a disadvantage in producing and selling their goods. Now, countries such as India and China are also turning to subsidies.
   Mr. Fan says this year is an important year, both to review the progress of the Millennium Development Goals. He says that, "Ending hunger would have effects far beyond nutritional concerns. The global community will be more peaceful; probably will be more prosperous because if people don’t worry about the food they have the energy to think of something else. "