Projections indicate that the goal set by the Summit in 1996, of halving the number of under-nourished people by the year 2015 to 400 million, will not be achieved unless approached with renewed determination. It lies well within current technical, institutional and financial capacities to win the battle against hunger. Two thirds of the poor people in developing countries are living in rural areas. Small farmers' families are usually amongst the poorest and least nourished.
Chronic hunger is both a cause and effect of poverty, the paper states.
In most economies the presence of widespread hunger stunts the potential for national economic growth. Only if people have enough to eat, will they be able to work and generate wealth, FAO said. Since the WFS in 1996, there is no evidence of a rise in international or domestic resources for agricultural development, according to the report. Instead, Official Development Assistance for agriculture has fallen steadily, according to the document. At the same time, a number of the most food insecure countries, while failing to mobilise resources for reducing hunger, have managed to increase their military expenditure.