G8 Commits $20 Billion to Boost Agriculture

Leaders from the world's leading economies pledged US$20 billion over the next three years to help farmers in developing countries, particularly in Africa, boost agricultural production as a way of fighting hunger. The G8 leaders, meeting in L'Aquila in Italy, said they wanted to focus less on food aid and more on providing farmers with seeds, fertilizers and other agricultural inputs to help them produce more and better crops.

U.S. President Barack Obama will make US$3.5 billion available to the three-year program. "We do not view this assistance as an end in itself," Obama said. "We believe that the purpose of aid must be to create the conditions where it's no longer needed."

In a joint statement, the G8 leaders said that they "encourage other countries to join in the common effort towards global food security through a coherent approach." The leaders also said that they "support public-private partnerships, with adequate emphasis on the development of infrastructure, aimed at increasing resources for agriculture and improving investment effectiveness."

The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) welcomed the initiative as "an encouraging policy shift in favor of the poor and hungry." FAO Director-General Jacques expressed confidence that the G8 heads of state and government would effectively translate that pledge into concrete action.

The joint statement is available at http://www.g8italia2009.it/static/G8_Allegato/LAquila_Joint_Statement_on_Global_Food_Security%5b1%5d,0.pdf For more information, read http://www.america.gov/st/peacesec-english/2009/July/20090710112456dmslahrellek0.8607294.html and http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/24457/icode/