World leaders must act to stop food crisis
The UN warned yesterday of a possible repeat of the 2007/08 food crisis and called on world leaders to act quickly to prevent a catastrophe, which would affect tens of millions of people. “The current situation in world food markets, characterised by sharp increases in maize, wheat and soya bean prices, had raised fears of a repeat of the 2007/2008 world food crisis,” the UN’s food agencies said yesterday. “But swift, co-ordinated international action can stop that from happening. We need to act urgently to make sure that these price shocks do not turn into a catastrophe hurting tens of millions over the coming months,” they said. In the statement, released by the Rome-based Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO), the agencies said leaders must tackle both the issue of high food prices, as well as the question of how food is produced and consumed. Along with the International Fund for Agricultural Development and World Food Programme, the FAO stressed that the risks were sizeable. – Sapa-AFP
Labour research to drive development
A new labour market research project would help drive economic development, Higher Education and Training Minister Blade Nzimande said yesterday. The Labour Market Intelligence Research Project would be led by the Human Sciences Research Council. “This project aims to set up systems for reliable data indicating skills needs, supply and demand in our labour market,” he said. This would enable the government and business to better plan skills training in accordance with the country’s needs. – Sapa