World Food Crisis Summit

Billions pledged on food aid, but more needed

Article published on the 2008-06-04 Latest update 2008-06-04 15:17 TU

Kofi Annan at the UN summit
(Photo: Reuters)

International organisations have pledged some 1.7 billion euros in emergency aid to the world's poorest at the food price crisis summit in Rome Wednesday, but UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said that some 13 billion euros annually are necessary to avoid a major food disaster . Naming hunger as the enemy, he called for donors to pay regular attention to the agricultural sector.

Helping Africa's small-scale farmer will be the focus of a new initiative between former UN secretary general Kofi Annan's Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) and three UN food agencies that was inked Wednesday on the sidelines of the conference.

The World Food Program also announced 776 million euros in new food aid while the Islamic Development Bank would contribute 971 million euros for the agricultural interests in the world's poorest countries.

Food trade barriers hurt the world's poorest people, said World Bank President Robert Zoellick. He said that restrictions encourage hoarding and drive up prices as well as hinder humanitarian aid from getting through.

Humanitarian aid group Oxfam said that Zoellick's remarks distract from wealthy countries that need to re-examine their own trade policies.

"Oxfam recognises that export bans and price controls policies may not be the best response to the current food crisis in the long term, but criticising developing countries distracts attention from the urgent action required from the EU, US and others," said spokesperson Alexander Woollcombe.