CII to set up task force

NEW DELHI : In the wake of the rising food prices owing to a globalshortage, the Confederation of India Industry (CII) has decided to setup a task force to chalk out steps to raise farm production, improveproductivity and encourage private sector participation in fooddistribution. In a statement here on Sunday, the apex chamber noted that therising food prices was a matter of concern and called for an immediateglobal response by way of a platform for dialogue and action to managethe crisis."The entire issue of food prices needs to be seen in a globalperspective and not just as an issue emanating from specific countries.There is a need for greater flow of global information on foodproduction, consumption and reduction in food wastage," CIIDirector-General Chandrajit Banerjee said.According to the chamber, the main factors for the current foodcrisis include diversion of farm produce to generate bio-fuels,changing weather conditions across the globe leading to droughts andlower food production in several countries and huge farm subsidieswhich encourage leaving land fallow to maintain global prices ofagricultural products. The current crisis, the CII said, should trigger a global discussionto build stronger information networks on consumption and production sothat corrective measures could be taken across the globe. The global food management system could be developed under the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO), it said.Meanwhile, CUTS International, an economic policy research andadvocacy group, has criticised United States President George Bush forhis remarks on food prices going up partly due to the rising prosperityof India's middle class. In a statement released here, CUTS Secretary General Pradeep S.Mehta and Research Director Siddarth Mitra said: "George Bush's remarkson India being the cause for high food prices reflects his utter lackof intelligence, poor understanding on economics and sheer ignorance ofbasis statistics on food consumption.""The average American's food consumption in calories is 50 per centmore than the average Indian's; in addition it is still increasing overtime at a rate which is faster than that of half-starved India. Thecurrent average American intake of 3770 calories, a figure provided bythe FAO Statistical Yearbook, is the maintenance diet of a sedentaryperson weighing 114 kg. Indians, on the other hand, still consume only2440 calories per capita – just enough to support a much leaner 74 kg,"they said.-Hindu.com

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