G8 to give $20b farm aid to poor nations

L'AQUILA, Italy: G8 leaders pledged $20 billion in farm aid to help poor nations feed themselves, surpassing expectations on the final day of a summit that has yielded little progress on climate change and trade.

The United States used the meeting of world leaders to push for a shift towards farm investment aid from food aid and will make $3.5 billion available to the 3-year program. But African nations reminded the rich of a need to honor past commitments.

"Working with the G8, African and European countries and multinational bodies, we had the satisfaction of increasing the $15 billion to $20 billion over three years," said Italian President Silvio Berlsuconi.