World Food Day

The celebration includes many commemorative activities around the world, including artistic, sports, family, diplomatic and academic events, which seek to increase citizen awareness on food security, hunger, food challenges and agriculture.

Food Prices: from Crisis to Stability was selected as the theme for World Food Day 2011 in order to shed some light on this trend and on the measures that can be taken to mitigate its impact on the most vulnerable.

The recent phenomenon of rising food prices poses a serious threat to food security, especially for the poorest, since it reduces their access to food.

Farmers are also affected because they need to know what prices they will get for their crops at harvest, when it is still months away. If prices are likely to be high, they will plant more. Conversely, if prices are expected to be low, they will plant less and reduce costs. 

Price hikes may hurt poor countries, making it much more expensive for them to import food for their population. In 2010, Low-Income Food-Deficit Countries (LIFDC) spent USD 164 billion on imported food, which represents a record high and an increase of 20 per cent over the previous year.