Food prices: from crisis to stability

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has been working for the past 66 years to assist governments and people around the world to fight hunger and to ensure food security for all.

Hunger has emerged as the world's number one health risk, with one in seven people not receiving sufficient food to lead a healthy, active life.

Challenges faced in ensuring food security are highlighted each year by FAO on the anniversary of its creation October 16, 1945. The theme for this year's celebration was 'Food Prices: From Crisis to Stability'.

This theme had been chosen as this year's World Food Day theme to seek options to mitigate the impact of fluctuating food prices on the most vulnerable communities in the World.

The official event was held at the Sri Lanka Foundation Institute on October 14 with participation of over 200 people including high level government officials, UN heads of agencies and staff, NGO partners, agriculture experts, farmers and schoolchildren.

After the traditional food demonstration, which was organized by the Department of Agriculture, the FAO Representative, Patrick T. Evans, commenced the official event by delivering the welcome address, followed by reading of the global address by the Director-General of FAO, Dr. Jacque Diouf.