I agree what the assistant general director said in the article. Having a steady supply to meet the needs of people are vital. If not, there would be a famine and increment in death rate. Hence governing authorities should never neglect it. I hope that the problem will be solved soon, so as to cater to people's need of food, especially in the less developed countries.
Article:
UN calls for rice production boost in Asia
Posted: 09 March 2011 2112 hrs
Photos 1 of 1
BANGKOK : The UN's food agency on Wednesday called on Asian nations to help small farmers to grow more rice to prevent food shortages in the face of expanding populations.
Asia is the world's "food basket," said Hiroyuki Konuma, assistant director-general at the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation.
"It's a very important region particularly for rice. Almost two-thirds of rice in the international market comes from Asia. Thailand and Vietnam alone share nearly 50 percent of the market," he told AFP on the sidelines of a seminar in Bangkok.
About 90 percent of the world's rice is grown in Asia but much of it is consumed domestically.
The FAO estimates that world food production will have to increase by 70 percent by 2050 to meet growing demand. In developing countries, it believes output will need to double over the same period.
In order to prevent a food price crisis and to reduce poverty in Asia, "helping small scale farmers to grow more food to enhance food security is very important," Konuma said.
"The neglect of agriculture and food production by the international community and national governments must come to an end. This is a prerequisite for dealing with food price spikes," he added.
The UN agency said last week that food prices in February hit the highest level since it began monitoring them in 1990, and warned that a spike in oil costs could push them even higher.
Prices have risen sharply in many local markets, with retail prices of rice reaching record high levels in January in China and Indonesia, Konuma noted.
- AFP /ls
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Indigenious people- Australia Aborigines
Indigenous Australians are the original inhabitants of the Australian continent and nearby islands. Indigenous Australians are distinguished as either Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islanders, who currently together make up about 2.7% of Australia's population.
The Torres Strait Islanders are indigenous to the Torres Strait Islands, which are at the northern-most tip of Queensland near Papua New Guinea. The term "Aboriginal" has traditionally been applied to indigenous inhabitants of mainland Australia, Tasmania, and some of the other adjacent islands.
The earliest definite human remains found to date are that of Mungo Man, which have been dated at about 40,000 years old, but the time of arrival of the ancestors of Indigenous Australians is a matter of debate among researchers, with estimates dating back as far as 125,000 years ago.[2]
There is great diversity among different Indigenous communities and societies in Australia, each with its own unique mixture of cultures, customs and languages. In present day Australia these groups are further divided into local communities.[3]
Although there were over 250–300 spoken languages with 600 dialects at the start of European settlement, fewer than 200 of these remain in use[4] – and all but 20 are considered to be endangered.[5] Aboriginal people today mostly speak English, with Aboriginal phrases and words being added to create Australian Aboriginal English.
The population of Indigenous Australians at the time of permanent European settlement has been estimated at between 318,000 and 750,000,[6] with the distribution being similar to that of the current Australian population, with the majority living in the south-east, centred along the Murray River.[7]
The Torres Strait Islanders are indigenous to the Torres Strait Islands, which are at the northern-most tip of Queensland near Papua New Guinea. The term "Aboriginal" has traditionally been applied to indigenous inhabitants of mainland Australia, Tasmania, and some of the other adjacent islands.
The earliest definite human remains found to date are that of Mungo Man, which have been dated at about 40,000 years old, but the time of arrival of the ancestors of Indigenous Australians is a matter of debate among researchers, with estimates dating back as far as 125,000 years ago.[2]
There is great diversity among different Indigenous communities and societies in Australia, each with its own unique mixture of cultures, customs and languages. In present day Australia these groups are further divided into local communities.[3]
Although there were over 250–300 spoken languages with 600 dialects at the start of European settlement, fewer than 200 of these remain in use[4] – and all but 20 are considered to be endangered.[5] Aboriginal people today mostly speak English, with Aboriginal phrases and words being added to create Australian Aboriginal English.
The population of Indigenous Australians at the time of permanent European settlement has been estimated at between 318,000 and 750,000,[6] with the distribution being similar to that of the current Australian population, with the majority living in the south-east, centred along the Murray River.[7]
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)