Conflict, Migration Contributing to Food Insecurity in Near East, says UN Official

Feb 27, 2014 | United Nations
View Original

Conflict, the flow of refugees and migration are worsening food security in the Near East, along with constraints on food production and a growing dependence on imports, the head of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) told a conference in Rome today.

“We know that there is an intrinsic link between peace and food security, and between hunger and conflict,” Director-General José Graziano da Silva said, as he opened the two-day ministerial segment of FAO’s Regional Conference for the Near East and North Africa.

“Peace is fundamental for food security and food security is fundamental for peace. We have seen how disputes for food and natural resources such as land and water have triggered conflict.”