The $1 billion agreement signed in Rome by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and IDB will fund agricultural development in 26 least developed countries that are members of both the Bank and FAO.

The agreement aims to help leverage additional resources and bring total investment in the IDB-FAO programme to $5 billion by 2012.

'This agreement comes at a critical moment, when the international community recognizes it has neglected agriculture for many years,' FAO stated in a news release. 'Today, sustained investment in agriculture - especially smallhol
der agriculture - is acknowledged as the key to food security.'

The agency added that both FAO and IDB share the same vision and strategy, and will continue working together in improving rural infrastructure, promoting local economic development and enhancing food security while strengthening and revitalizing their cooperation.

Meanwhile, scientists from the Universidade Federal de Viçosa (UFV), one of Brazil's leading academic institutions specialized in food and agriculture, are set to provide their expertise to FAO for its agricultural development programmes in Latin America and Africa under another agreement signed today.

The university will also facilitate access by students from developing countries supported by FAO to its capacity-building and human resources development programmes.

Both of these agreements come on the eve of the World Summit on Food Security, during which more than 60 heads of State and governmentb will focus on boosting agricultural production and eradicating hunger, a scourge affecting 1 billion people worldwide.#