$160 needed per person to end world hunger: Food and Agriculture Organisation

NEW DELHI: A UN body today said only $ 160 (about Rs 10,000) is all that is needed annually per person living in extreme poverty to eradicate world hunger by 2030.

"Eradicating world hunger sustainably by 2030 will require an estimated additional $ 267 billion per year on average for investments in rural and urban areas and social protection so that poor people have access to food and can improve their livelihoods," Food and Agriculture Organisation ( FAO) said.

"This would mean average $ 160 annually for each person living in extreme poverty over the 15-year period," FAO said while releasing a joint report prepared by itself, the International Fund for Agriculture Development (IFAD) and the World Food Programme ( WFP).

FAO pointed out that nearly 800 million people -- most of them in rural areas -- today still do not have enough food to eat despite the progress made in recent decades.

It made a case for investment in the rural sector to eradicate hunger while pitching for cash transfers for immediate reduction of poverty.

The report comes ahead of the Third International Conference on Financing for Development in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia slated for July 13-16.

FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva said: "The message of the report is clear: if we adopt a "business as usual" approach, by 2030, we would still have more than 650 million people suffering from hunger."

He added: "This is why we are championing an approach that combines social protection with additional targeted investments in rural development, agriculture and urban areas that will chiefly benefit the poor."

Silva said that an estimated investment of $ 267 billion per year will be required over the next 15 years to eradicate poverty.

"Given that this is more or less equivalent to 0.3 per cent of the global GDP, I personally think it is a relatively small price to pay to end hunger," he added.