ROME -- 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 proposed for 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.
The wording in the revised draft, however, signifies a setback in seeking control over bio-fuels from a preceding draft. The earlier draft dated May 20, which had also been 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 been blaming global food price hikes on the diversion of corn and sugarcane to biofuel use, and calling for the development of bio-fuel materials that would not be used for food.
ADVERTISEMENT
But major biofuel-producing nations, such as the United States and Brazil, have dismissed the impact of biofuel output on food prices as being 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 de-bates 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 in 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 is calling on governments to provide food and financial aid to countries facing food shortages.
ADVERTISEMENT
As for medium to long-term measures, the draft is calling on governments to step up inter-national cooperation to expand investments in the agricultural sector and to bolster agricul-tural production.
