DUSHANBE, May 21, 2013, Asia-Plus – The Islamic Development Bank (IsDB)’s website reports that in a statement delivered at the Forum on Innovations in Agriculture in Dushanbe, Special Adviser to the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon on Millennium Development Goals, Professor Jeffrey Sachs, noted on May 20 that global food security will get worst, and governments in various countries need to take this issue seriously.

“We are entering an age of increasing instability, major famine in the horn of Africa, and the United States had the worst drought in the last fifty years”, Professor Sachs told the attentive international audiences drawn from the 56 IsDB member countries, Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), World Bank, UEMOA, members of the academia and sister development institutions.

Professor Sachs stated that the UN Secretary General has requested him to establish a Global Knowledge Network to address these challenges and come up with new sustainable development goals.

“The challenges are going to get worst, global food supply is not sustainable, and water shortage will become more severe in dry land countries.  It is so huge that you think this is the highest priority, but governments are not paying attention to it”, he added.

In his remarks, the Deputy Prime Minister of Tajikistan, Mr. Murodali Alimardon reportedly said the meeting discussed the most important issue for Tajikistan, which is food security.  He called for more collaboration with IsDB.

In his welcome address, the Vice President of the Islamic Development Bank, Mr Birama Sidibe, stated that the Forum on Innovations in Agriculture is one of the most important events organized by the Islamic Development Bank.