The European Parliament today (22 May) called for a major expansion of EU food production development aid.
The call comes in response to the civil strife faced by many developing countries due to food shortages and rising prices.
A formal resolution called for “an urgent and substantial increase in investment in agriculture, aquaculture, rural development and agribusinesses in developing countries, focused on poor farmers and small-scale farming”.
MEPs criticised the fact that just 4% of EU official development assistance (ODA) is dedicated to agriculture.
The Parliament also called on the European Investment Bank to investigate establishing a guarantee fund financing national micro-credit and risk-hedging schemes for developing country food producers.
