Obama set to feed the world

10 Jul 2009, 8:12 am   -   Source: AAP
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The United States will contribute $4.49 billion to the world food program, which is to run over three years. (File Reuters)

The United States will contribute $4.49 billion to the world food program, which is to run over three years. (File Reuters)

US President Barack Obama is to announce an international initiative worth billions to boost global food supplies.

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US President Barack Obama is to announce an international initiative worth $US15 billion to boost global food supplies, the head of the International Fund for Agricultural Development said.

"We expect President Obama to make this announcement (Friday) and to call other G8 countries and emerging economies to support this initiative," said the head of the UN agency, Kanayo Nwanze.

Speaking on the second of a three-day Group of Eight summit in L'Aquila, central Italy, he said that the United States was to contribute $US3.5 billion ($A4.49 billion) to the overall initiative, which is to run over three years.

Nwanze welcomed the plans as a "shift from food aid which is like providing medication after the child is ill to providing assistance to help the countries themselves to put in place the right policies to be able to produce food by themselves".

Italian prime minister and summit host Silvio Berlusconi said on the eve of the meeting that the G8 would launch a programme worth "10 to 15 billion dollars".

French President Nicolas Sarkozy has said that France would contribute 1.5 billion euros ($A2.67 billion), to the programme over its three years and Canada has said it would give 600 million Canadian dollars ($A659 million).

A Japanese spokesman said that his government would make between and $US3-4 billion ($A5.13 billion) available.

Record food prices last year and ensuing riots in a number of countries have shone the spotlight of the security of the supply of food in poor countries.

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