LEADERS FROM the world’s richest countries will turn their attention to Africa today when they announce a $15 billion (€10.7 billion) initiative on food security.
US president Barack Obama is providing €3-€4 billion for a new food security fund, which would invest in smallholder farmers and measures to support agriculture in poor countries, mainly in Africa.
He has already enlisted the support of Japan, which is expected to match the level of US funds committed. Other G8 states are backing the project, and emerging economies are also invited to donate funds that will promote sustainable farming rather than food aid.
“We will approve about $10-$15 billion for all the people in the world who are suffering from hunger,” said Silvio Berlusconi, who is hosting the G8 summit and who yesterday welcomed several African leaders to join the talks.
Funds to boost investment in agriculture are badly needed in Africa, where many states struggle to feed their people, and in other parts of the world.
A spike in food prices last year focused attention on the problem when riots broke out in a host of states, including Egypt and Indonesia. A week of rioting in Haiti led to the collapse of the government there, starkly illustrating to world leaders the danger that food security can pose to political stability.
“What happens in Haiti affects America and what happens in Egypt affects the whole Arab world. Food security, national security and global security are inter-related,” says Kanayo Nwanze, president of the International Fund for Agriculture Development, who will give a presentation to the G8 today.
He warmly welcomes the G8 initiative, which will build on existing efforts by aid donors to move away from providing food aid to more sustainable form of assistance to help smallholder farmers to increase production.
“When you invest in smallholder farmers, you build a safety net for rural communities,” says Mr Nwanze, who notes the recent success with sustainable agriculture in Malawi, which now exports food to Zimbabwe and Zambia.
The EU and Canada already ensure that most of their food aid is sourced as close to the country receiving the aid as possible, rather than simply using surplus agricultural stocks produced in Europe. The US is now following suit and adapting its aid policies to bolster smallholder agriculture in Africa – a move that Mr Obama will explain in a speech in Ghana tomorrow.
G8 diplomats said the shift in policy reflected the Obama administration’s willingness to work with partners and promote multilateral global action.
But today’s headline-grabbing announcement does not necessarily mean more cash for Africa, according to Olivier de Schutter, UN special rapporteur on food. He says most of the $4 billion pledged by the US has already been promised and the G8 initiative should be seen a “consolidation” of policy.
Mr de Schutter says the key to success for the new initiative is the method of disbursing the money to local communities in need.
“It shouldn’t only be a game between donors and national governments. It should also involve the organisations of farmers in the donor states,” he told journalists. “The battle against hunger can only be won if you reduce poverty in rural areas.”
The US initially floated the idea of setting up a trust managed by the World Bank to disburse the funds, but the draft G8 communique instead focuses on using existing structures to deliver the aid. EU officials warned that setting up new agencies would only lead to overlap and dilute the aid programme.
NGOs have reacted cautiously to the new plan, pointing to the G8’s broken promises over at least $15 billion of aid pledged to the developing world three years ago in Scotland, which hasn’t yet been delivered.
“I want to be excited by the hunger announcement. It is a big step forward that the G8 is prioritising food security. But experience shows that the commitments aren’t what they seem. The G8 must put significant new money on the table for food and farming,” says Meredith Alexander of the NGO ActionAid UK.
Only time will tell if the G8 can live up to its new commitment.