PARIS: A UN body warned on Tuesday of a looming catastrophe unless farming is radically reformed, as the United States pledged $200 million to help poor nations combat a growing global food crisis.

The International Assessment of Agricultural Science and Technology for Development echoed fears of social and political upheaval voiced by world leaders in the face of rising food prices.

“Modern agriculture will have to change radically to better serve the poor and hungry if the world is to cope with a growing population and climate change while avoiding social breakdown and environmental collapse,” the UN-sponsored group of 400 experts said in a report.

The experts concluded that “continuing with current trends in production and distribution would exhaust our resources and put our children’s future in jeopardy.” Basic foodstuff prices have all risen sharply in recent months, sparking violent protests in many countries, including Egypt, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Mauritania, Ethiopia, Madagascar, the Philippines and Indonesia.

Prices in staple foods such as rice, maize and wheat are expected to continue to rise, said the report.

The director of the study group, Bob Watson, said calling for changes to agricultural practices was an “old message” that “has not always had resonance in some parts of the world.” “If those with power are now willing to hear it, then we may hope for more equitable policies that do take the interests of the poor into account,” said Watson.

The report came as The Philippines declared war on rice hoarders and thousands of Bangladeshi textile workers went on strike to demand action over rising food prices.

“Anyone caught stealing rice from the people must be thrown into jail,” Philippine President Gloria Arroyo said after a cabinet meeting in Manila.

The White House on Monday authorised the release of $200 million in emergency food aid to address the impact of rising commodity prices on US programmes.

White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said the money will be used “to meet unanticipated food aid needs in Africa and elsewhere”.

Earlier, UN chief Ban Ki-moon warned that the food crisis could trigger political upheavals and security risks.

“The rapidly escalating crisis of food availability around the world has reached emergency proportions,” he told a meeting of key UN financial, economic and trade institutions in New York.

The announcement of the extra US aid came one day after the head of the World Bank warned in Washington that 100 million more people could be pushed into abject poverty because of the steep rises in food prices.

Since March 2007, prices for soybeans have soared 87 per cent and for wheat 130 per cent at a time when global grain stores are at their lowest levels on record.

The trend has been partly attributed to increased demand in China and India as well as the alternative use of maize and soybeans for biofuels.

The UN Children’s Fund (Unicef) said increased prices were forcing children out of classrooms and into jobs to help pay for family food.

The impact of higher food prices is particularly marked in poor countries where 75 per cent of a family’s revenues go on food, compared to rich countries where just 15 per cent of a household’s income is spent on meals, UNICEF said.

A drop in school attendance is already being observed in Nepal, said World Food Programme spokeswoman Christiane Berthiaume.

In many countries, the only warm meal children get in a day is the meal served in school canteens. In Cambodia, the WFP has been forced to suspend food distribution to school canteens as local suppliers ended their contracts so they can sell elsewhere at a higher price.—AFP