WB: relax biofuel laws can help ease food crisisApril 15, 2011 - 14:05 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - The World Bank has called for the relaxation of laws requiring crops to be blended into petrol, saying that they are contributing to the global food price crisis. Robert Zoellick, the President of the Bank, said that a "toxic brew" of higher food and fuel costs was heightening popular unrest in regions such as the Middle East and North Africa and condemning millions more people to poverty. Among the many causes of high food prices are rules in countries, such as the United States, that require a certain percentage of petrol to come from corn-based ethanol, The WSJ reports. Hassan Zaman, a World Bank economist, said that although the Bank was not advocating the abolition of these laws, it believes that they should be relaxed when food prices surge beyond certain thresholds. The World Bank also urged governments to spurn restrictions on exports of grains, bolster supplies of information on food stocks and build on the $US7 billion ($6.6bn) a year that the Bank is investing in agricultural production and irrigation. An increase of only 10 per cent in the World Bank's food prices index could propel another ten million people into "extreme poverty", where they live on less than $US1.25 a day, Mr Zoellick said as he opened at the latest meetings of the Bank and the International Monetary Fund. He added: "Mix in price gyrations and then stir in higher fuel costs, and you get a toxic brew causing real pain and contributing to social unrest." Luc Lampriere, of Oxfam, said: "Immediate action must be taken to address underlying factors driving food prices and volatility, which are excessive speculation and demand for biofuels." Top stories Yerevan has dismissed Turkey’s demand to shut down the Armenian nuclear power plant as “inappropriate”. Armenia will loan 2.9 billion drams to Nagorno Karabakh (Artsakh), according to a draft government decision. The Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of Azerbaijan has “strongly condemned” Armenia’s decision. Kerobyan has said that for the first time in the history of Armenia, the volume of foreign direct investments amounted to about $1 billion. Partner news | 17 bridges collapse as a result of floods in Armenia As a result of floods in Armenia’s northern Lori and Tavush provinces, 17 bridges, including five large ones, have collapsed. Armenia: Top cleric to retain title as he bids to become interim PM Galstanyan said earlier that the interim government would be tasked with stopping the “destruction of our homeland”. Ex-mayor of Karabakh capital arrested in Yerevan Ex-mayor of the Nagorno-Karabakh city of Stepanakert David Sargsyan has been arrested for 20 days. 269 people evacuated amid severe floods in Armenia’s north According to the Interior Ministry, 269 people have been evacuated from their homes in Lori and Tavush provinces. |