By Laura MacInnis
BERNE (Reuters) - U.N. agencies and the World Bank pledgedurgent action on Tuesday to tackle an unprecedented rise inglobal food prices that is hurting developing countries.
The international bodies called on countries not torestrict exports of food to secure supplies at home, warningthat could only make the problem worse.
"We consider that the dramatic escalation in food pricesworldwide has evolved into an unprecedented challenge of globalproportions," the United Nations said in a statement.
This had become a crisis for the world's most vulnerablepeople, including the urban poor, it said after a meeting of 27international agency heads in the Swiss capital, Berne, tochart a solution to food price rises that have caused hunger,riots and hoarding in poor countries.
"Though we have seen wheat prices fall over the last fewdays, rice and corn prices are likely to remain high, and wheatrelatively so," World Bank President Robert Zoellick told ajoint news conference.
FEED THE HUNGRY
The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organisation's (FAO) FoodPrice Index, measuring the market prices of cereals, dairyproduce, meat, sugar and oils, was 57 percent higher in March2008 than a year earlier.
The surge in prices is due to several factors, includingincreased demand in developing countries, higher fuel costs,drought in Australia, the use of crops for biofuels, andspeculation on global commodity markets.
Higher costs of wheat, rice, and other staples have putextreme pressure on aid providers such as the World FoodProgramme (WFP), a U.N. agency aiming to feed 73 million peoplethis year.
"We could afford 40 percent less food today that we couldlast June simply due to the soaring food prices," said WFPExecutive Director Josette Sheeran.
The immediate priority is to feed the hungry, U.N.Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said, calling on theinternational community to provide the WFP all of the $755million (382 million pounds) in emergency funds it needs forthe crisis.
"Without full funding of these emergency requirements, werisk again the spectre of widespread hunger, malnutrition, andsocial unrest on an unprecedented scale," Ban warned.
The World Bank said it was considering setting up a rapidfinancing facility to help poor countries hit by the crisis,and will double lending for agriculture in Africa over the nextyear to $800 million, it said.
"We are urging countries not to use export bans. Thesecontrols encourage hoarding, drive up prices and hurt thepoorest people around the world who are struggling to feedthemselves," Zoellick said.
Rising food prices have hurt the growing mass of urban poorin developing countries most but have done little to help poorfarmers, who are wary of growing more food because of theconcurrent rise in fuel and fertiliser costs, Zoellick said.
Besides the short-term emergency response, theinternational community must focus on longer-term solutionsincluding efforts to bolster the world trading system, he said.
"The emergency is critical, but we can't stop there. Wehave to work with these other pieces," Zoellick said.
World Trade Organisation Director-General Pascal Lamy saidthe crisis was another urgent reason to conclude successfullythe Doha round of trade talks to open up world trade.
The round, launched in 2001, is liberalise trade in foodand other goods and services by cutting tariffs and subsidies.
"If you want supply to increase then you have to make surethat trade works," he said.
(Editing by Jonathan Lynn)