EU pledges unused farm aid to food crisis

The European Union has pledged 1 billion euros (£792m) in unused farm subsidies to African farmers to help aid the global food crisis.

Soaring food prices and the political turmoil in Zimbabwe are high on the agenda at the three-day summit of G8 leaders in northern Japan.

The G8 - the US, Japan, France, Britain, Germany, Canada, Italy and Russia - has invited the leaders of Algeria, Ethiopia, Ghana, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa and Tanzania to join the opening day of talks held on the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido.

European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said: "The EU really can give a boost to agriculture in developing countries."

The new proposal will have to be approved by ministers from the EU's 27 countries and the European Parliament, and the new fund could begin operating from January, EU officials have said.

The aid, which will be used to boost a fund for seed and fertiliser and other agriculture projects in Africa, comes on top of 550 million euros £436m) that the EU has freed up in emergency aid in response to the food crisis.

In 2005, the G8 agreed to double aid to Africa by 2010 as part of a wider drive to alleviate global poverty, but a compliance panel has found that under current spending plans the group will fall £20 billion short of its target.

The World Bank has previously estimated that about £5 billion is needed in short-term aid to help poor countries face the global food and fuel price crisis.

Europe's Common Agricultural Policy accounts for over 40 billion euros (£32bn) a year in subsidies and other farm spending and some development campaigners have long criticised the subsidies as damaging for poor countries unable to compete.

"A lot of things about Europe's agricultural policies are not great for Africa, but this is a really positive step," spokesman for the anti-poverty One Campaign, Oliver Buston, said.

"We hope it will encourage EU member states to raise their own commitment bilaterally and also encourage the rest of the G8 to do more."

Max Lawson, a policy adviser to Oxfam, a charity and advocacy group, said: "It is important to see this summit as arguably the most important G8 summit in a decade.

"The world is clearly facing multiple crises, serious, serious economic problems, both rich and poor countries. But it is poor people who suffer the most, suffering hugely from food price increases."

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Gordon Brown has called for G8 leaders to send a strong message to Zimbabwe.

He was quoted as saying in a meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda: "I believe the G8 should send a strong message so as to ensure that democracy in Zimbabwe will be protected."

Zimbabwe has been condemned by the international community since President Robert Mugabe, who has held power since its independence from Britain in 1980, was declared re-elected after a run-off in June in which he was the only candidate after the opposition withdrew.

The G8 foreign ministers, as well as the UN security Council, issued statements last month deploring the situation in the African nation.

Last week, a summit of African Union leaders issued a resolution calling for talks leading to a national unity government in Zimbabwe.

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