The World Hunger Task Force, a body set up by the un to come up with proposals to reduce global hunger, presented a draft report at a recent meet in Delhi. It advocates a paradigm shift in eradicating global hunger. And it also dwells upon poverty, food security and gender equality; prioritising agriculture and rural development in national budgets are also recommended.

All these are important concerns. But they can also divert attention from the real issue. This is particularly so because the report does precious little to bring hunger into the political agenda. Influencing governments and politicians is limited to persuasion through research and studies highlighting costs of