The High-Level Task Force Mr. Ban set up last month to address the situation arising from the surge in food prices has recommended a number of steps, including improving vulnerable people's access to food and increasing food availability in their communities.
 
This includes expanding food assistance, boosting small-scale food production through the provision of key inputs such as seeds and fertilizers, and adjusting policies to allow the free flow of agricultural goods.
 
Mr. Ban noted that some countries have taken action by limiting exports or by imposing price controls, but called on nations to resist such measures as they only distort markets and force prices even higher. "As I have said before, I say again now: Beggar Thy Neighbor food policies cannot work," he stated.
 
While the international system is already contributing to immediate needs, the Secretary-General stressed the need to scale up efforts and act together to overcome the current crisis, noting that that "nothing is more degrading than hunger, especially when man-made."