G8 to pledge $12 bln for food security - report

LONDON, July 6 (Reuters) - The Group of Eight will commit more than $12 billion for agricultural development over the next three years as part of a food security initiative, the Financial Times reported on Monday, citing a draft declaration.

The announcement by G8 leaders, who begin a three day summit in the central Italian city of L'Aquila on Wednesday, would signal a further shift from food aid to long-term investments in farming in the developing world.

Leaders will pledge to "reverse the tendency of decreasing official development aid and national financing to agriculture" the paper reported the draft as saying.

"The combined effect of long-standing underinvestment in agriculture and food security, price trends and the economic crisis have led to increased hunger," it quoted.

The U.S. and Japan will provide the bulk of the funding, with between $3 and $4 billion each, the paper said, citing United Nations officials and G8 diplomats briefed on the initiative, with the rest coming from Europe and Canada.

U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said last week that the United States would shift its emphasis in the fight against global hunger from giving emergency aid to helping countries produce more of their own food. (Writing by Kylie MacLellan; Editing by Keiron Henderson)