Green Times

Food supply and environmental issues will dominate next month’s summit of the Group of Eight major industrial nations in Japan, Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda said on Monday.”Water and food issues are critical not only to health, but also to socio-economic development,” said Fukuda in a video message at the World Economic Forum on East Asia held in Kuala Lumpur.

“It is imperative that issues such as water and food do not become impediments to Asian development,” he said, as the region grapples with rising fuel prices that have triggered protests and riots.

“I intend to focus on water, health and food issues at the upcoming G8.”

The Group of Eight - Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia and the United States - will hold their annual summit on July 7-9 in the northern Japanese resort of Toyako.

Fukuda, who will chair the summit, called on governments to boost agricultural production to alleviate the escalating global food crisis.

“I appeal for more agricultural development and the support of governments to see it through,” he said.

“I wish to examine a comprehensive and integrated response to issues such as climate change, development, water and food.”

“As chair of the G8 Hokkaido-Toyako summit, I will ensure that the assembled leaders hold a thorough discussion so that we will be able to state, as the G8, our determination to reach a solution to these issues.”

On Saturday the Group of Eight finance ministers meeting in Osaka warned that high oil and food prices pose “a serious challenge to stable growth worldwide” and may worsen poverty and stoke global inflation.

Source: Independent OnLine, South Africa