Summit struggles for consensus on global food crisis

Last-minute negotiations were under way at the world food summit in Rome last night aimed at reaching an agreement on the global response to rising food prices.

Negotiations on a final text were due to go on until late in the evening but officials at the food and agriculture organisation (FAO), hosting the summit, said the talks were aimed at watering down the joint declaration to the point at which all delegations could accept it.

While there was consensus that more immediate food aid was needed to help tackle world hunger and greater investment in agriculture was required around the world, there was no agreement on key policy disputes.

The US was leading resistance to a joint statement on the need to review the cultivation of crops for biofuels in light of their impact on the global food supply, which the Americans argued was minimal.

The biofuel issue has emerged as the most contentious at the summit, which was called to address the sudden rise in global food prices that in turn have triggered riots and instability in a number of countries.

Ed Schafer, the US agriculture secretary, told journalists yesterday: "I doubt there'll be a positive agreement on biofuels." Some hours later he appeared to reverse this position saying "consensus on this important issue is in reach".

There were heated exchanges at a meeting on biofuels. Where biofuel critics argued it was "morally reprehensible for us to develop biofuels" when there were hungry people in the world, delegates from Brazil and Mozambique accused the critics of seeking to deny their farmers a new source of income.

"This is neocolonialist thinking - that developing countries should stay developing and not look to alternatives for their development," a Brazilian delegate said.

Officials at the summit said the issue was most likely to be "parked", possibly by asking another international institution to examine it.

There was also uncertainty about whether a general agreement could be reached that countries would not impose unilateral food export bans in response to price rises. Such bans have amplified the volatility in world food markets, in turn attracting speculators, who have driven prices still higher. Hugo Chávez, the president of Venezuela, objected to prohibitions on export bans for foods, while the US maintained a general embargo on Cuba.

FAO officials argued that even if the final declaration was watered down, the summit had focused attention on agriculture in the developing world. They expressed the hope that the issue would top the agenda of the G8 summit due to take place in Japan next month.

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