U.N. food summit's draft declaration calls for dialogue on biofuels

ROME, June 4 Kyodo - A U.N. food summit that started Tuesday in Rome will likely urge governments to undertake an ''international dialogue on biofuels'' as part of efforts to deal with the global food crisis, according to a revised draft declaration proposedfor adoption at the summit.

Kyodo News obtained a copy of the draft declaration of the three-day summit, convened by the Food and Agriculture Organization, a U.N. agency, with heads of state and government representatives taking part.

At the outset of the meeting, U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki Moon urged the international community to work together to overcome the global food crisis.

''We must improve vulnerable people's access to food and take immediate steps to increase food availability in their communities,'' he said. ''Only by acting together, in partnership, can we overcome this crisis, today and for tomorrow.''Ban also warned against export restrictions by food-exporting nations. ''Some countries have taken action by limiting exports or by imposing price controls...I call on nations to resist such measures and to immediately release exports designated for humanitarian purposes,'' he said.

FAO Director General Jacques Diouf called for the world leaders to extend financial support, saying $30 billion is needed annually to eradicate hunger.

The wording in the revised draft, however, indicates a setback to efforts to control biofuels from a preceding draft. The earlier draft dated May 20, which was also made available to Kyodo News, urged governments to study the possibility of ''international policy guidelines'' for sustainable bioenergy production.

The proposal for international policy guidelines has been deleted from the revised text, which instead reads, ''We call upon...national Governments, partnerships, the private sector, and civil society, to together undertake a coherent, results-oriented international dialogue on biofuels, in the context of food security and the environment.''Japan and other food-importing countries have blamed global food price hikes on the diversion of corn and sugarcane to biofuels and have been calling for the development of biofuels not derived from food crops.

But major biofuel-producing nations, such as the United States and Brazil, have dismissed the impact of biofuel output on food prices as small.

The revised draft calls on governments ''not to institute trade actions, such as export limits or bans that could threaten stability of food supply,'' a phrase that has been incorporated at the request of food-importing countries including Japan.

But this proposal may be revised due to opposition from food-exporting nations.

Tough bargaining over the wording of the declaration, which will be adopted Thursday, is expected to continue during the course of the summit as it will lay the groundwork for debates at the Group of Eight summit at the Lake Toya resort in Hokkaido on July 7-9.

Japan is also calling on other participating countries to recognize the importance of greater domestic agricultural production.

But this assertion has caused another point of discord with the United States and other countries demanding further liberalization of farm trade.

The revised text calls attention to soaring food prices, biofuel production and climate change as factors that could undermine food security.

As short-term remedial steps, the draft declaration calls on governments to provide food and financial aid to countries facing food shortages.

As for medium- to long-term measures, the draft calls on governments to step up international cooperation to expand investments in the agricultural sector and to bolster agricultural production. ==Kyodo