FAO calls for more aid to poor countries

The UN Food and Agriculture Organization summit in Rome has approved a final declaration within hours of convening. World leaders at the summit rallied around a new strategy to fight global hunger by helping poor countries feed themselves while rejecting a UN appeal, to commit 44 billion US dollars a year to fund it.

Leaders at the summit stressed the need to combat climate change to ensure food security in developing countries. At the same time, they drew attention to the problems fostered by inequalities within and among countries.

Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva speaks at the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) food security summit in Rome  November 16, 2009. The United Nations opened its world food summit on  Monday by saying that a climate change deal in Copenhagen next month is crucial to fighting global hunger as rising temperatures threaten  farm output in poor countries. Government leaders and officials met  in Rome for a three-day U.N. summit on how to help developing countries to feed themselves, but anti-poverty campaigners were already writing  off the event as a missed opportunity. REUTERS/Andrew Medichini/POOL

Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who has led a successful initiative in his country to combat hunger, criticized rich countries for being quick to bail out bankers while leaving the issue of hunger to one side.

Luiz Ignacio Lula Da Silva, Brazilian President said "In the face of the threat of an international financial collapse, world leaders did not hesitate in spending hundreds and hundreds of billions of dollars to save the banks. With less than half of that, it would be possible to eradicate hunger in the whole world."

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, however, highlighted the need for cooperation from developing countries to help poorer countries overcome the food problem.

Hosni Mubarak, Egyptian President said "In order for their efforts to be realized in human development, control of population growth and development of education, developing countries need assistance from developed and richer countries."

With the number of hungry people in the world topping 1 billion for the first time, the FAO called on leaders to commit to raising official aid spent on agriculture to 44 billion US dollars a year, against 8 billion now.

But the summit declaration adopted on Monday included only a vague promise to invest more money into agricultural aid, with no target or timeframe for action.

The FAO hoped countries would adopt 2025 as a deadline to eradicate hunger.

But the Declaration instead focused on a pledge set nine years ago to halve the number of hungry people by 2015.

The gathering had hoped to build on momentum generated at the G-8 summit in July, during which leaders of the developed nations pledged to spend 20 billion US dollars in the next three years to help farmers in poor countries.