Minister Oda to Attend World Summit on Food Security

OTTAWA, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - Nov. 15, 2009) - The Honourable Beverley J. Oda, Minister of International Cooperation, will participate in the World Summit on Food Security in Rome, from November 16 to18, 2009. The summit will bring together more than 150 heads of state, ministers and representatives from international organizations to focus international attention on global food security, which has become an acute problem due to recent food and economic crises, and to discuss the effects of the crises on the world's most vulnerable people. Participants will confer about a coordinated international approach to alleviating problems caused by the high cost of food and food shortages in developing countries.

"More than a billion people around the world do not have enough to eat," said Minister Oda. "Without access to a consistent supply of nutritious food, people cannot hope to move beyond meeting their basic needs in order to contribute to their families, communities and societies."

Minister Oda recently unveiled the Canadian International Development Agency's (CIDA) Food Security Strategy. The Strategy will focus CIDA's efforts on food security in three priority areas: Sustainable Agricultural Development; Food Aid and Nutrition; and Research and Development to broaden and deepen publicly available research that makes significant improvements to food security outcomes.

CIDA's Food Security Strategy also builds on Prime Minister Harper's 2009 G8 Summit announcement made in L'Aquila, Italy, that Canada would more than double its investment in sustainable agricultural development with an additional $600 million in funding over three years. Canada is among the leading donor countries committed to addressing food security.

For more information on CIDA's Food Security Strategy, please visit CIDA's website at: www.acdi-cida.gc.ca.

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