The problem of food security “has universal importance and only a new balance in the use of resources will resolve it”. And in this regard, “Italy can and must play a very important role”, commented Foreign Ministry Secretary General Michele Valensise as he opened the conference “Nourish the Earth. Cultivate the Future”, organised by the Ministry, the Italian Permanent Mission to the UN in Rome and “Roma InConTra”, at Rome’s Ara Pacis for World Food Day.
Italy’s commitment ahead of Expo 2015
“An increase in productive investments”, beginning with the food and agriculture sector, “the use of adequate technologies in African countries” and “proper nutrition” that offer more balanced consumption models are only some of the solutions suggested by Valensise in confronting the challenge of hunger. With particular attention to the balance between production and consumption: “waste reduction alone could feed 3.5 billion persons per year”, Valensise observed, assuring that, ahead of the 2015 Expo, “our commitment to making sure that the Universal Expo leads to concrete solutions begins now”.
Attention to development in other countries
According to Foreign Ministry Director General for Development Cooperation Elisabetta Belloni, as a result of the crisis “the resources available are few but it should be noted, with satisfaction, that the Monti government has placed special attention on these issues, increasing, where possible, the resources earmarked for development”. The international crisis, according to Belloni, has moreover, demonstrated, “two things: that available funds must be spent effectively, and that economies are interdependent. Therefore, woe to anyone who disregards the development needs of the countries with which we are obliged to dialogue and interact”.
