Leaders of the Group of Eight (G8) industrialised nations have pledged $20bn to help the world's poorest nations fight hunger.
The funding for agricultural investment, announced at the G8 meeting in L'Aquila, Italy, on Friday, was $5bn more than had been expected and is aimed at encouraging poor farmers to produce more of their own food.
The funding for agricultural investment, announced at the G8 meeting in L'Aquila, Italy, on Friday, was $5bn more than had been expected and is aimed at encouraging poor farmers to produce more of their own food.
- Staffan De Mistura, the vice-executive director of the World Food Programme, said Friday's deal was "greeted with great happiness by all of us in the conference room".
- "While we are rebuilding agriculture, we need to continue supporting food assistance because the financial crisis is pushing another 103 million people into hunger this year," De Mistura said.
- But Alan Fisher, Al Jazeera's correspondent in L'Aquila, said although the food security measure was an important step, the summit had achieved "little success" over the three days of meetings.
- According to the United Nations, the number of malnourished people in the world now exceeds one billion.
- Stephen Chan, a professor of African studies at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London, told Al Jazeera that it was important for poor countries to have self sufficiency.
- Chan said open markets become meaningful "when there's competition that goes both ways, when African states for instance are also able to compete against Western producers. And we're a long way from that right now".
- Charity workers previously expressed disappointment at what they saw as broken promises from leaders, after Italy announced a 56 per cent cut in its aid budget this year.
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