International Development Questions - Global Food Crisis

International Development

30-Apr-2008

Mr. Michael Moore (Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk) (LD): The Secretary of State is right to draw attention to the increasingly alarming reports of rising food prices and the resulting food shortages. At yesterday’s summit in Geneva, it was reported that the emergency appeal for assistance had reached barely half its target. I acknowledge the Government’s contribution, but the Secretary of State spoke of calls for international co-ordination. What tangible steps are our European partners and the G8 countries taking in response to that appeal, and is the British Government’s contribution a fixed financial amount or will it be used to buy a particular quality of food supplies?

The Secretary of State for International Development (Mr. Douglas Alexander): We do not tend to provide food aid in the same way as the United States Government, who purchase in bulk and then transfer food. We provide resources that are available to be used in-country, often for local sourcing. I should be happy to write to the hon. Gentleman listing the countries in which the money—approximately £30 million, or $60 million—to support the World Food Programme’s efforts to raise, I believe, $500 million is being used. The United States has made a significant contribution to that appeal as well.

We will continue to discuss this issue with our European partners. I strongly welcome yesterday’s statement by Ban Ki-moon, the United Nations Secretary-General, about the need for a co-ordinated response. I am also encouraged by the response from the Bretton Woods institutions—the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank—to the letter that our Prime Minister issued ahead of the spring meetings, arguing for exactly that focus at the G8 meeting that will take place in Japan in July.

View a full transcript of this speech

---