Washington, 30 June-(ANA)-Leaders from the world's industrialized economies should increase investment in agriculture in poor countries when they meet in Italy next week, global development group Oxfam said on Tuesday.
In a new report, Oxfam said agricultural assistance by Group of Eight donor countries had fallen sharply, to around $5 billion a year in 2007 from $20 billion in the 1980s.
The G8, which comprises the United States, Britain, Germany, Italy, France, Russia, Canada and Japan, will meet on July 8-10 to discuss international issues.
"A substantial increase in long-term agriculture investments is loose change compared to ongoing investments in rich countries or the trillions of dollars spent globally this year on the financial bailout," said the report's author, Emily Alpert.
"Strengthening the agricultural sectors of developing countries is a crucial part of the long-term solution to the world's food, financial and climate crises," she added. (ANA)
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