PM Erdogan calls on world leaders support small farmers

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday urged governments around the world to prioritize supporting small-scale agriculture in developing nations. Speaking in Rome at the World Summit on Food Security, organized by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Erdogan stressed the problems faced by farmers in developing countries during the global economic crisis. Erdogan spoke about the negative impact the crisis has had on global hunger and stressed that the crisis is not the only problem that farmers are trying to yields, water shortages, the rising frequency of droughts, and a lack of investment in agriculture still have not been solved, adding that such problems are being compounded by the economic crisis. "Official development assistance and emergency assistance from developed countries to less-developed countries is expected to fall due to the crisis," he said, adding that this would exacerbate the agricultural problems facing the developing world. Emphasizing the importance of supporting small farmers in solving global food issues, the premier said, "Giving priority to small farmers in agricultural support and facilitating their access to production inputs will be quite beneficial in solving this problem." Erdogan also pointed to the role of global consumption patterns in current economic and agricultural crises. "The imbalance between countries, regions and continents, wasteful and near-unlimited consumption, and the voracious chasing of profits have all led to the economic crisis we find ourselves in," he said. "We can see the horrifying state of destitute countries and also see the endless consumption of rich ones. We know that this imbalance isn't sustainable, and it is vital that we close this gap."