The article briefly describes the background to the food crisis whose culmination to date was seen in the dramatic rise in global food prices and associated food riots of 2007/2008. It describes the response of the international community, which has come together in a 'Global Partnership for Agriculture and Food Security', and offers a critical assessment of the extent to which this can contribute to reducing the number of hungry people in the world, which currently stands at more than 1 billion.

Dr Claus Auer
Formerly High Level Task Force country coordination team
Rome, Italy
claus.auer@diplo.de