The World Bank has warned that soaring food prices has pushed 44 million people into extreme poverty since last June.

World food prices, driven by rising fuel costs, are 36% above levels of a year ago, driven by problems in the Middle East and North Africa, and remain volatile, the bank said.

A further 10% rise would push 10 million more below the extreme poverty line of $1.25 a day, the bank said.

According to the WB, there are about 1.2 billion people living on less than $1.25 a day.

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said global food price index averaged 236 points in February, a new record high for the third straight month. It has gradually risen every month for the past eight months.

The index is a compilation of price data for sugar, cereals, oils, meat and dairy products.

February's monthly high is 36 points higher than the average for all of 2008, when soaring prices sparked rioting and food-export bans in some developing nations, according to FAO.

The trend began in July last year, when summer floods in Pakistan, droughts in Australia and Canada, and wildfires in Russia shrank global food stores and saw market speculators return in force to commodities.

A new surge in the global food price index is expected with the massive earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan in March and the escalating political instability in the Middle East.

Asian economy threatened

The Manila-based Asian Development Bank (ADB) also warned that if food and fuel prices continue to surge, economic growth in the Asian region could be reduced by up to 1.5% this year.

ADB noted that domestic food prices have risen at an average of 10% in many Asian economies this year and will likely to rise if oil prices continue to surge because of the crisis in the Middle East.

ADB's chief economist, Changyong Rhee, warned "The food crisis will badly undermine recent gains in poverty reduction made in Asia. Poor families who already spend more than 60% of their income on food, higher prices further reduce their ability to pay for medical care and their children's education."

Measures to Alleviate Impact

During the last record run-up in world food prices, FAO hosted a series of conferences aimed at encouraging governments to support agricultural development in poor countries.

"Efforts to stabilize food production should take centre stage, with greater investments in agricultural infrastructure to increase crop production and expand storage facilities," said Dr. Rhee.

"We have to put food first and protect the poor and vulnerable, who spend most of their money on food," suggested World Bank president Robert Zoellick.

To help alleviate the impact of high food prices on the poor, the World Bank encourages food-producing countries to ease export controls, and to divert production away from biofuels production when food prices exceed certain limits.

Other measures include targeting social assistance and nutritional program to the poorest, more investments in agriculture, the adoption of new technologies - such as rice fortification to make it more nutritious, and efforts to address climate change.

Meanwhile, negotiations are ongoing between nations on possible changes to the Food Aid Convention, a treaty that governs how countries distribute food aid. The United Nations wants rich governments to focus more financial development aid toward helping poor countries improve their own domestic agriculture sectors and markets.#30