G8 summit to tackle food supplies

Leaders of developed G8 nations are to unveil new efforts to boost food supplies to the hungry, during the final day of their summit in Italy.

They are expected to commit as much as $15bn (£9.2bn) to efforts to help poor nations develop their own agriculture.

On Thursday, the second day of talks, the summit focused on climate change.

Leaders from both developed and developing nations agreed that global temperatures should not rise more than 2C above 1900 levels.

That is the level above which, the UN says, the Earth's climate system would become dangerously unstable.

On Friday, the summit in the Italian city of L'Aquila is turning to the issue of food security.

BBC economics correspondent Andrew Walker says the idea is to put more emphasis on helping people feed themselves.

That is to be achieved with more investment in the agriculture of developing countries, and the G8 are expected to pledge significant resources, our correspondent adds.

However, World Bank President Robert Zoellick, who is at the summit, emphasised that food aid would still be necessary.

Political breakdowns and weather problems will disrupt supplies he said, but he is keen to see more effort made to develop the farming sector.

US President Barack Obama will be meeting representatives of Angola, Algeria, Nigeria and Senegal, before embarking on an African tour later on Friday.

Source: bbc