Wealthy countries will be pressed to reverse two decades of declining farm aid to poor nations at the biggest meeting of world leaders to address surging food costs. The World Food Security summit starting today in Rome attracted about 35 government leaders, including Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and French President Nicolas Sarkozy, who are seeking to ensure that the highest commodity prices in three decades don’t swell further the ranks of the world’s 860 million hungry people. A 60 percent increase in food prices since the beginning of 2007 has sparked riots in more than 30 countries — including Cameroon and Egypt — that depend on imported food. The wealthiest nations pledged $6.3 billion in emergency aid last year, yet critics say that will do little unless accompanied by policies that promote greater output. ‘The main message from the meeting in Rome will be that there has to be a new policy for stimulating agricultural development in developing countries and there has to be money to back it,” said Brian Gardner, director of U.K.-based Food Policy International. “But the big question is whether there will be money to back it.” United Nations Secretary-General […]