The United Nations Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, has made an appeal for a global effort to end the food crisis, as he believes that the problem might reach an unprecedented scale. In his opinion the problem must be dealt with immediately, as the next few weeks are critical for the proper solving of the situation.

Ban considers a top priority to feed the hungry, claiming that more than 2 billion people food prices lead to a daily struggle, sacrifice and stress. He asked for immediate support in the funding process of the World Food Program. At this point, the funding presents a shortfall of $755 million, which in Ban’s opinion are crucial in order to avoid “the specter of widespread hunger, malnutrition and social unrest” as quoted by the Associated Press.

He explained that only 60% of the amount has been promised so far and less than $18 million has actually been received.

He also brought into the discussion the fact that besides the increasing food prices, another troubling reality lies ahead: due to the costs of fertilizers and energy, farmers plant much less and produce much less. "We must make every effort to support those farmers so that in the coming year we do not see even more severe food shortages," he said according to the AP.

Apparently, the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization has developed a $1.7 billion plan to aid farmers in the world’s poorest regions with seeds and other production needed utensils.

In a statement after Ban Ki-moon’s speech, BBC announced that the World Bank will double its lending for agriculture in Africa over the next year.