"Innovative approaches and technologies as well as a strong political will from countries are essential to combat hunger," according to U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who spoke Thursday night in Des Moines, Iowa, at an event to recognize the winner of the World Food Prize, the U.N. News Centre reports. This year's winner, Israeli scientist Daniel Hillel, developed "a new mode of bringing water to crops in arid and dry regions, known as 'micro-irrigation,'" the news service notes. An end to hunger "calls for harnessing the creativity of scientists and economists," Ban said, adding, "It requires developing new approaches and technologies to respond to climate change, water scarcity and desertification," according to the news service (10/18). "There is enough food to feed seven billion people, but because of climatic conditions, because of supply, market price volatility, there are still 870 million people who are going to bed hungry every night," Ban said, the Des Moines Register notes.