The SAARC Food Bank is likely to be operational soon with the completion of ratification by the member states, reliable sources said. According to a highly placed source, among the member states of the South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation (SAARC), so far four -- Bangladesh, Pakistan, India and Sri Lanka -- have ratified the declaration for establishment of the proposed SAARC Food Bank. The declaration is now awaiting the ratification by the other SAARC nations.

RAGHU DAYAL Shifting paradigms of food security and the impact of trade liberalisation on it FOOD SECURITY

Japanese prime minister Yasuo Fukuda left for Europe on Sunday for talks with fellow leaders on the global food crisis as he prepares to host the Group of Eight summit in July, officials said. Fukuda, facing slumping approval ratings, hopes to use the G8 summit of world leaders to boost Japan's diplomatic clout and highlight its efforts to help tackle global warming and food shortages in developing countries. On the first leg of his five-day European trip, he is to arrive in Berlin late Sunday to hold talks with German chancellor Angela Merkel, a government official said.

M.S. Swaminathan It is hoped that at the Rome Conference on world food security, Indian representatives will serve as a bright affirming flame in the midst of the sea of despair we see around us.

World leaders are set to gather in Rome on Tuesday for a high-profile summit on food security as runaway prices have sparked riots across the world. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon will open the conference by unveiling an "action plan" to confront the scourge, said diplomats ahead of the conference, which lasts through Thursday, at the Food and Agriculture Organisation's headquarters here. The plan was put together by a crisis team involving the heads of several U.N. agencies and the Bretton Woods institutions, said the sources.

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said on Sunday he would seek to convince world leaders gathering in Rome this week that ethanol is not to blame for global food inflation threatening millions with hunger. Brazil is the world's largest ethanol exporter and a pioneer in sugar-cane based biofuels, making it a target of critics who say ethanol is behind increases in world commodity prices.

Food prices will remain high over the next decade even if they fall from current records, meaning millions more risk further hardship or hunger, the OECD and the U.N.'s FAO food agency said in a report published on Thursday. Beyond stating the immediate need for humanitarian aid, the international bodies suggested wider deployment of genetically modified crops and a rethink of biofuel programs that guzzle grain which could otherwise feed people and livestock.

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said on Sunday he would seek to convince world leaders gathering in Rome this week that ethanol is not to blame for global food inflation threatening millions with hunger. Brazil is the world's largest ethanol exporter and a pioneer in sugar-cane based biofuels, making it a target of critics who say ethanol is behind increases in world commodity prices.

Leaders of the Group of Eight powers plans to issue a special statement on food security during their July summit in Hokkaido in a concerted effort to cushion the negative effects of surging food prices, Japanese government sources said Saturday. It will be the first time for leaders from Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia and the United States to issue a statement exclusively focused on food issues, the sources said.