G8 Promises Help for African Agriculture
By Scott Stearns
Rusutsu, Japan
Leaders from the world’s largest industrial nations are promising more food aid and agricultural assistance for Africa to help ease the impact of rising food costs. VOA White House Correspondent Scott Stearns reports from the Group of Eight summit in Japan where some non-governmental organizations say increasing demand for biofuels is partly to blame for higher food prices.
G8 leaders say they are concerned that the steep rise in global food prices could push millions of people back into poverty.
So they have pledged more than $10 billion in food aid since the first of the year and are calling on other donors to join them in providing seeds and fertilizers for the upcoming planting season.
G8 leaders say they will support improvements in agricultural infrastructure including irrigation, transportation, storage, distribution, and quality control while assisting in the development of food security early warning systems.
At their summit on the Japanese island of Hokkaido, G8 leaders promised to work with the International Monetary Fund to help food-importing countries and vowed to boost investments in African agriculture to double the production of key food staples within ten years.