G-8, G-5 countries pledge USD 20 bn for food security

V S Chandrasekar

L'Aquila (Italy), July 10 (PTI) After dealing with
issues of climate change, trade and global economic downturn,
the G-8 and G-5 countries Friday turned their attention to
food security pledging to mobilise USD 20 billion over three
years by substantially increasing aid to agriculture for
achieving food security across the nations.

Leaders of the world including those from powerful
industrialised countries like US' Barack Obama and those of
the emerging economies like Indian Prime Minister Manmohan
Singh also agreed at the summit here that markets must remain
open and rejected protectionism and factors that potentially
affect commodity price volatility, including speculation.

The leaders also committed themselves to reducing
trade distortions and refrain from raising new barriers to
trade and investment and to implement WTO-consistent measures
to stimulate exports.

To this end, the "L'Aquila Joint Statement on Global
Food Security and Regional Organisations" said the nations
would aim at an ambitious, comprehensive and balanced
conclusion of the Doha Development Round and called for
renewed and determined to bring it to a timely and successful
conclusion.

"We are committed to improving the access to
information, promoting conducive business environments and
investment in rural infrastructure such as transportation,
processing, storage facilities and irrigation schemes," the
joint statement said.

In order to achieve global food security, the summit,
which was also attended by additional countries like Angola,
Algeria and Libya and organisations like FAO and IFAD, said
"we will aim at substantially increasing aid to agriculture
and food security including through multi-year resources
commitments."

"In this, we welcome the commitments made by countries
represented at L'Aquila towards a goal of mobilising USD 20
billion over three years through this coordinated,
comprehensive strategy focused on sustainable agriculture
development while keeping a strong commitment to ensuring
adequate emergency food aid assistance," the joint statement
said.

It said other countries and private actors would be
encouraged to join in the common effort towards global food
security through a coherent approach.

"We are determined to improving coordination of
financing mechanisms and stand ready to ensure that new
resources complement existing facilities and programmes and
catalyse additional funds around country-owned strategies, in
particular to increase food production, improve access to food
and empower small holder farmers to gain access to enhanced
inputs, technologies, credit and markets."

The leaders expressed deep concern over global
security, the impact of the global financial and economic
crisis and last year's spike in food prices on the countries
least able to responding to increased hunger and poverty.

They noted that while the prices of food commodities
have decreased since their peak of 2008, they remained high in
historical terms and volatile.

The statement said the combined effect of longstanding
underinvestment in agriculture and food security, price trends
and the economic crisis have led to increased hunger and
poverty in developing countries, plunging more than a further
100 million people into extreme poverty.

The number of people suffering from hunger and poverty
now exceeds one billion.

The leaders said there was an urgent need for decisive
action to free humankind from hunger and poverty and the
issues of food security, nutrition and sustainable agriculture
to be addressed through a cross-cutting and inclusive
approach.

Effective food security actions must be coupled with
adaptation and mitigation measures in relation to climate
change, sustainable management of water, land, soil and other
natural resources including the protection of biodiversity.

The leaders of the major economies said sustained and
predictable funding and increased targeted investments were
urgently required to enhance world food production capacity.
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