At the same time, there is a general consensus that public policies in regard to food in many economies around the world have not provided adequate incentives to farmers to increase the supply of food and other agricultural products to comfortably match the growing demand over the medium term.
As regards prospects for the near future, there are severe imponderables, especially relating to the path of future prices of oil; progress in restoration of normalcy in financial markets, especially currency markets; and the extent of slow down in the U.S. economy and its consequential impact on the world economy as a whole.