Anchor: As the World Food Summit wrapped up in Rome on Thursday, Ghana urged the international community to turn their statements on the global food crisis into action. Our reporter Liu Yan has more.

Reporter:
Mary Chinery-Hesse, chief advisor to the President of Ghana, told delegates at the Summit that it was Ghana's "fervent hope that for once, the rhetoric will be moved to definitive action."

"The food crisis which the world faces today is so serious that it would be disastrous for the survival of mankind if the conclusions reached at this historic summit suffer the same fate."

The comments came as world leaders wrapped up the three-day summit at the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation, or FAO, on how rapidly rising food prices are aggravating hunger worldwide.

US Agriculture Secretary Ed Schafer was satisfied with what the summit had achieved.

The short term problem here is one of a food crisis. We've seen a lot of talk about donations, about money being put on the table, about an effort to feed people who are hungry and in need, and that's a good outcome. The other good outcome here I think is the attention on agriculture on the way to solve these issues."

Meanwhile, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon called on nations to minimize export restrictions and import tariffs to help the poor cope with dramatically escalating food prices. He said world food production must rise by 50 percent by 2030 to meet increasing demand.

Lennart Bage, the President of the International Fund for Agricultural Development, said long-term investment was needed.

"We need to invest longer term in agriculture. That strong message that came out from the conference, came out from the Secretary General is key. It is not a quick fix, it is a long term re-engagement in the sector that needs much more investment."

A previous FAO summit pledge to halve world hunger by 2015 has proven elusive, and FAO director-general Jacques Diouf said that at the current rate the target "would not be reached in 2015 but in 2150."

Liu Yan, CRI news.