US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on Friday urged the international community to act immediately to curb rising food prices, warning of the threat of a repeat of the 2007- 2008 crisis that triggered riots in dozens of countries, DPA reported.
"We must act now, effectively and cooperatively, to blunt the negative impact of rising food prices and protect people and communities," Clinton said during a visit to Rome.
She was speaking at the headquarters of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
On Thursday, FAO announced that food prices remained steady in April after falling in March following eight months of successive increases.
FAO noted that its Food Price Index was still 36 per cent above April 2010 and only 2 per cent below its peak in February 2011.
Clinton said the world could no longer "keep falling back on providing emergency aid to keep the Band-Aid on."
Clinton said there was a need to increase investments in agriculture, including improving seed quality and training farmers on the best practices.
She also urged countries should adopt policies favouring "transparency in markets and stocks," and refrain from introducing bans on the export of food products.