Blog Post

G8 Pledges Increasing Support for Food Security in Africa

At the G8 summit held over the weekend, world leaders focused on the issue of food security in the developing world, announcing a new initiative to reduce hunger and poverty. The New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition is a collaborative effort among G8 countries, African countries, and the global private sector and aims to lift 50 million people out of poverty in the next 10 years. This ambitious plan hinges on sustainable agricultural growth, with particular attention paid to smallholder and women farmers. The private sector has responded strongly to this effort, with 40 companies already pledging $3 billion to kick off the initiative.

The New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition is unique in bringing together both aid and investment, a move that donor countries and organizations hope will spur more long-term growth and poverty reduction than aid alone. African countries have also made the important commitment to engage in policy reforms in order to create a more favorable environment for businesses and investors.

Read IFPRI Director General Shenggen Fan’s call for G8 ministers to prioritize increased development aid and scale up investments for food security on the Chicago Symposium’s Global Food For Thought blog .

Read the US Department of State’s press release on the New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition.