Brasília, September 23, 2003 (Agência Brasil - ABr) - For the Minister of Food Security and Hunger Alleviation, José Graziano da Silva, the United Nations (UN) should lead the global effort to erradicate hunger. This idea, which appeared for the first time at the World Economic Forum, in Evian, Switzerland, will be presented once again by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva during his opening speech at the 58th Session of the UN General Assembly, today, in New York.

"To do away with hunger in the world, we must mobilize society. For this reason, Lula will request the UN to lead this process of convocation," Graziano explained. According to the Minister, this is the ideal moment to treat the first goal of the millenium with "the radical approach it warrants." "We cannot propose to reduce hunger in half. What will we tell the other half. For them to wait another fifteen years, fifty years, going hungry?" he asked.

"It is unacceptable for us to maintain a goal of reducing hunger in half by 2015. Many countries offer conditions to erradicate hunger by 2015. Brazil is one of them," the Minister argues. "There are many other countries, including ones in Latin America, that are also capable of doing this."

In Graziano's assessment, these countries, endowed with a dynamic agriculture and food export sectors, are unable to eliminate hunger because of the "perverse" domestic distribution of income and food. In his view, the first step to assure the end of hunger in these countries is to adopt a program of food security. (DAS)