Summit vows to tackle hunger after Latam protest

By Robin Pomeroy and Stephen Brown

ROME (Reuters) - A U.N. summit pledged to cut trade barriers and help poor farmers on Thursday to fight hunger threatening 1 billion people, but poverty campaigners said this was not enough to cap high world food prices.

The three-day Rome summit of 183 countries narrowly avoided embarrassing failure when Latin Americans protested at criticism of export curbs in the final declaration, which committed to "eliminating hunger and to securing food for all, today and tomorrow".

The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization called the summit to discuss the impact of poor harvests, high fuel costs and rising demand, especially from fast-growing Asian countries, and there was a row over biofuels.

"We firmly resolve to use all means to alleviate the suffering caused by the current crisis, to stimulate food production and to increase investment in agriculture, to address obstacles to food access and to use the planet's resources...," the declaration said.

The Rome debate on the potential benefit to poor farmers of new global trade rules will feed into a push to conclude the Doha round of World Trade Organization talks.

But trade was a sticking point, with food exporter Argentina objecting to criticism in the declaration of export curbs like those it has imposed to shield consumers from food inflation.

U.S. Agriculture Secretary Ed Schafer said countries should understand that such restrictions cause food price inflation. Asian rice stockpiling is blamed for high rice prices that have even led to riots.

"We understand that countries want to protect their food supply and make sure that there's enough food for their own citizens but when there's a lock-out from the marketplace ... prices actually go up," Shafer told reporters in Rome.