Rich nations pledge billions for food plan

Barack Obama and Nicolas Sarkozy take their places with junior delegates, including Brazil's Mayora Tavares (left) for a photograph at the G8 summit.

US PRESIDENT Barack Obama and the world's rich nations were last night due to unveil a three-year program of up to $US20 billion ($A25.8 billion) in agricultural investments to help the world's poor farmers grow and sell more food.

The initiative would be funded by G8 countries and international organisations including the World Bank, and would be disclosed after Mr Obama held a breakfast meeting with leaders of African nations and food-aid groups at the G8 summit, officials said.

The assistance would come on top of about $US5 billion a year in US food aid.

Kanayo Nwanze, the head of the UN's International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), said: "We expect President Obama to make this announcement and to call other G8 countries and emerging economies to support this initiative."

Dr Nwanze said that the US was to contribute $US3.5 billion to the initiative, which is to run over three years.

He welcomed the plans as a "shift from food aid, which is like providing medication after the child is ill, to providing assistance to help the countries themselves to put in place the right policies to be able to produce food by themselves".

The new money for agricultural development from farm to fork was designed to advance the fight against hunger, White House officials said.

"Our goals are to significantly reduce hunger and spur economic growth by building sustainable agriculture systems that create jobs, increase incomes and raise agricultural productivity while maintaining the natural resource base," another official, Denis McDonough, deputy national security adviser for strategic communications, told reporters in L'Aquila, Italy.

The program would not replace US food donations, Mr McDonough said.

Under the Global Partnership program, established by G8 countries at last year's summit in Japan, countries in Africa and elsewhere would develop a plan to increase agricultural productivity, an Obama Administration official said.

The program involves seed and fertiliser as well as storage bins and farm equipment, and regional trade pacts and marketing steps of modern high-yield agriculture.

Countries would come up with their own plans, then the World Bank, G8 contributors and international food-relief organisations would approve them and allocate money, the official said.

There are 500 million small-holder farmers in the world, and they produce 80 per cent of the food that feeds the world's population, according to IFAD.

Food security, or ensuring adequate access to food, has jumped to the fore of the political agenda recently. High prices last year led to food riots in some countries.

The prices have receded from mid-2008 highs, but they remain high. A recent estimate by the Food and Agriculture Organisation, a UN agency based in Rome, said the number of hungry people this year was a record 1 billion.

"We know that the best way to tackle poverty is through growth of the agricultural sector," said Oliver Buston, the European director of anti-poverty group ONE.

But he expressed concern that the amount of money to be pledged was not enough.

For Africa alone, Mr Buston said, an additional $US25 billion is needed over the next three years.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy has said that France will contribute 1.5 billion euros ($A2.7 billion) to the program over its three years, while Canada has said it will give $C600 million ($A660 million).

A Japanese spokesman said that his Government would make between $US3 billion and $US4 billion available.