On the first day of the G-8 summit in Japan, which is likely to be dominated by the global food and energy crises, the EU announced it would give 1 euros billion to African farmers. The money will be taken from unused farm subsidies.

      The European Union said it will give 1 billion euros ($1.6 billion) to African farmers to help alleviate the worst effects of the global food crisis. European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso made the announcement on Monday on the first day of the G-8 summit in northern Japan, where soaring food prices are high up on the agenda. The commission's president said the money, which has been earmarked to be spent in 2008 and 2009, will fund "fertilizers and seeds, for instance, to help poor farmers in developing countries." Barroso added it could also be used for food assistance and safety net measures.

     "The EU really can give a boost to agriculture in developing countries," Barroso said, promising a "strong and rapid agricultural supply response."

       According to Barroso's office, the Ђ1 billion will be taken from unspent EU farm subsidies. The aid will come on top of Ђ550 million the EU has already freed up in emergency and aid responses to the food crisis. The new pledge must still be approved by the European Parliament and EU Council of Ministers, which is comprised of the member states.More than Ђ40 billion ($62.6 billion) in subsidies are handed out to European farmers each year as part of the European Union's Common Agricultural Policy. The subsidies are often criticized by development campaigners, who believe they hurt poor countries that are unable to compete.

      "A lot of things about Europe's agricultural policies are not great for Africa, but this is a really positive step," Oliver Buston, a spokesman for the anti-poverty One Campaign, is quoted by Reuters as saying. "We hope it will encourage EU member states to raise their own commitment bilaterally and also encourage the rest of the G-8 to do more."

       In 2005, at the Gleneagles summit in Scotland, the G-8 agreed to double aid by 2010 to $50 billion (Ђ32 billion) -- half of which was earmarked for Africa. However, according to the Africa Progress Panel, which was set up to monitor the progress of the aid commitments, the G-8 will miss its target by miles: In a report published last month the panel predicts aid will fall $40 billion (Ђ25.6 billion) short of the target.

       "There are good plans being developed," One Campaign's Buston said. "We also know when efforts are made, great results can be achieved. But the problem is these plans are not being backed by serious financing."
       Also, at the start of the G-8 summit the Italian and French governments have come in for criticism from aid organizations, which have accused them from backing away from previous G-8 pledges to fight hunger and poverty. The Italian government, which will take over the G-8 presidency next year, recently announced plans to slash Ђ170 million ($266 million) from its annual aid budget for the next three years.

       Meanwhile, French President Nicolas Sarkozy has called for the lifting of export restrictions to alleviate the global food crisis. In an interview with Japanese newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun, Sarkozy said he supported proposals to allow the nations in most need access to surplus food from the rich nations and hoped the summit would pass a resolution on this. "In the 21st century we should be in a position to be able to feed the planet," he told the paper.

       Before the summit, German chancellor Angela Merkel wrote a starkly worded letter to the other G-8 leaders in which she warned about the consequences of rising food prices. Merkel also mentioned that the German government had already made available $750 million to ease food shortages in poor countries.

spiegel.de