A NEW program to be announced by the G8 group of nations at its meeting in Italy this week will invest $A15 billion to agriculture development over the next three years.
The G8 countries, including the United States, are turning their financial support for agriculture from food aid to agricultural investment, according to a report in the London Telegraph.
This week, the group is apparently set to announce more than $US12 billion for agricultural development over the next three years.
The aim is a "food security initiative," according to the report.
At the G8 summit, which opens Wednesday, the leaders are expected to pledge to reverse "the tendency of decreasing official development aid and national financing to agriculture," according to the report.
The draft documents reported on in The Telegraph note that underinvestment in agriculture and food security have led to increased hunger.
Officials in the Obama Administration, including US Ag Secretary Tom Vilsack and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, are both on record saying the US will go beyond focusing solely on food aid. The aim is to address the "root causes" of the problem, according to a recent speech by Clinton.
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