Mr Bush promised the United States would take the lead as hunger takes hold of a greater swath of the developing world. -- PHOTO: AP

Mr Bush, expressing concern as skyrocketing world food prices intensified unrest in poor countries, promised the United States would take the lead as hunger takes hold of a greater swath of the developing world.

'With the new international funding I'm announcing today, we're sending a clear message to the world that America will lead the fight against hunger for years to come,' Mr Bush said.

Surging prices for wheat and other staples, along with record-high fuel prices, have eaten into aid budgets in the United States, the world's largest food aid donor.

'I think more needs to be done. And so today I'm asking Congress to provide an additional US$770 million to support food aid and development programmes,' Mr Bush told reporters at the White House as he unveiled a supplemental budget request for fiscal 2009 that would require congressional approval.

Administration officials said the US$770 million would include US$395 million in emergency food aid, US$225 million for food vouchers, seeds, or aid purchases in the developing world, and US$150 million for development work aimed at food security.

That will help 'improve the ability of the developing world to feed itself', said Mr Stephen McMillin, a senior budget official.

If approved by Congress, the funds would become available on Oct 1, and would bring overall support for global food security to US$2.66 billion for 2009.

Strikes, riots, protests
The announcement comes several weeks after Mr Bush approved the release of 250,000 tonnes of wheat from an emergency crop trust, a step the United States had not taken since 2005.

It reflects the mounting concern among world leaders about protests, strikes and riots that have erupted in developing countries in the wake of dramatically higher prices, which affect the poor the most.

'The next few weeks are critical for addressing the food crisis. For 2 billion people, high food prices are now a matter of daily struggle, sacrifice, and, for too many, even survival,' World Bank President Robert Zoellick said this week.

Global food prices jumped an annual 43 per cent to March 2008, the White House said.

The trend is typically blamed on a confluence of factors, including rising food consumption in emerging economies like India and China, along with adverse weather.

The growing use of food crops to make biofuels like ethanol is also seen as a driver, although the Bush administration says the fuels only account for a tiny share of the price spike.

Senate Assistant Majority Leader Dick Durbin, an Illinois Democrat, applauded Mr Bush's announcement. 'We need to extend a helping hand,' he said.

Others said more assistance is needed immediately.

'It's a clear and present danger to people right now, not just in terms of hunger ... but also the security question,' said Senator Bob Casey, Jr, a Pennsylvania Democrat.

'The urgency of hunger and the urgency of instability is not being confronted by the White House on this.'

The administration has already requested supplemental food aid funding, a perennial addition to annual budget funds, of US$350 million for fiscal 2008, but some lawmakers and aid groups say that figure should be at least US$200 million higher.

The United States typically provides about US$1.6 billion to US$1.7 billion in food aid each year through the US Agency for International Development. -- REUTERS

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