A summit on the global food crisis is at risk of closing without a declaration of intent today because of squabbling over side issues.
Delegates from 183 countries at the Rome talks missed their Wednesday deadline for agreeing a final statement about "eliminating hunger and securing food for all".
"The food crisis which the world faces today is so serious that it would be disastrous for the survival of mankind if the conclusions reached suffer the same fate at this historic summit," said Ghana's President John Kufuor.
The problem was not the heated debate on biofuels, which are accused of diverting food to gas tanks, but disagreement between opponents and supporters of communist Cuba about mention of U.S. sanctions, and other marginal or region-specific issues.
"They will look at a new draft which they can either approve, try to amend or, in the worst case, reject," said a
U.N. official as the last day of the meeting began.
The summit was called by the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organisation to seek ways to secure food supplies in the face of rising demand -- especially from rapidly developing Asian countries -- poor harvests and rising fuel costs.
Those factors have contributed to a doubling of commodity prices over the last couple of years which the World Bank says has put 100 million people at risk of joining the 850 million already going hungry.
The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development sees prices of rice, corn and wheat retreating from peaks but still up to 50 percent higher in the next decade. The FAO says food production must rise 50 percent by 2050 to meet demand.
"They say it is not time anymore to talk, that it's time to act. I am waiting for them to act," said Momar Ndao, a Senegalese campaigner who took part in price riots in March.