Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol proposed before the United Nations the establishment of a world food bank to arrest the worsening number of hungry people in the world. In his statement during the 40th Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Session Conference in Italy, Piñol said that the food bank would act as a “unique bank” where agricultural products could be deposited and loaned out to countries suffering from food shortages and famine. He said that the world food bank will not only ensure that commodities produced in excess by a country would not go to waste thus ensuring that the farmer will make money from his endeavor. Under Piñol’s proposal, any country producing a food commodity in excess, like wheat, corn, cassava or rice, could submit their excess products inventory to the world food bank. In a Facebook post, Piñol claimed that the idea is gaining interest from different groups, which see a lot of benefits, both for the food producing country and the countries suffering from food shortages.

Source: Manila Times July 06, 2017 16:52 UTC