World Food Day observed on 16 October with Food Prices – From Crisis to Stability as Theme

World Food Day is observed every year on 16 October. In 2011, World Food Day was observed with the theme- Food Prices – From Crisis to Stability. Food Priices-from Crisis to Stability was chosen as the 2011 World Food Day theme to shed some light on what can be done to mitigate its impact on the most vulnerable.

World Food Day 2011 was observed with an objective to look seriously at what causes swings in food prices, and do what needs to be done to reduce their impact on the weakest members of global society.

Price upswings represent a major threat to food security in developing countries. According to the World Bank, in 2010-2011 rising food costs pushed nearly 70 million people into extreme poverty.

World Food Day is celebrated every year around the world on 16 October in honor of the date of the founding of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in 1945. It is also the Food Engineer day. World Food Day (WFD) was established by FAO's Member Countries at the Organization's 20th General Conference in November 1979.

Since 1981, World Food Day has adopted a different theme each year, in order to highlight areas needed for action and provide a common focus. Most of the themes revolve around agriculture because only investment in agriculture together with support for education and health can ensure food security.

The objectives of World Food Day are to:

•    encourage attention to agricultural food production and to stimulate national, bilateral, multilateral and non-governmental efforts to this end
•    encourage economic and technical cooperation among developing countries
•    encourage the participation of rural people, particularly women and the least privileged categories, in decisions and activities influencing their living conditions
•    heighten public awareness of the problem of hunger in the world
•    promote the transfer of technologies to the developing world
•    strengthen international and national solidarity in the struggle against hunger, malnutrition and poverty and draw attention to achievements in food and agricultural development.