G8 to commit $20bn for food security
World leaders on Friday pledged to commit $20bn over three years for a “food security initiative” to develop agriculture in poor countries, but aid agencies responded with scepticism, pointing to a chain of broken promises and a habit of switching around existing budgets.
The Group of Eight summit of rich countries in L’Aquila, Italy, had aimed to pledge $15bn (€10.8bn, £9.3bn). Ministers described how a last whip-round before delegations left came up with an extra $5bn to make a bigger headline figure. “There is an urgent need for decisive action to free humankind from hunger and poverty,” said a joint statement of 40 heads of government and international organisations, including the G8.
How much of the promised money was new or how it would be managed remained unstated. Officials said a substantial amount of the $3.5bn promised by the US was a new allocation. UK officials candidly admitted that their pledge of $1.8bn had been reallocated to food and agriculture from other aid lines.
Even some of the eight African leaders present were left in the dark about the substance.
Source/Full Story: FT.com
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