What conclusions were reached at the recent UN Food and Agriculture Organisation conference in Rome.

International agreement was reached on the urgent need for co-ordinated action to combat the impact of high food prices on the world's poor: in the short term, to address immediate food security needs and in the longer term, to increase agricultural productivity in developing countries, including through agricultural research, improved policies, a rapid and successful conclusion to the Doha trade round and reduced use of restrictive measures that increase price volatility.

Climate change is forcing up agricultural and food prices throughout the world. The Secretary of State is right to say that increasing agricultural productivity, particularly in Africa, is important. What is his Department doing to progress that?

My hon. Friend is correct in recognising that the challenge of replicating the agrarian revolution witnessed in India two or three decades ago will be made significantly harder in Africa by the changes in climate that are anticipated. That is why, as a Department, we are taking forward work, not least on building capacity within African countries. We are committing £100 million to adaptation research over the coming five years, including £25 million already under way to support innovation and climate change adaptation in Africa.

Will the Secretary of State acknowledge that at present many small farmers in poor countries have difficulty purchasing even seed and fertiliser to ensure that they have a harvest? What can the Department for International Development do to ensure that they have the means and confidence to do that, and possibly some kind of insurance scheme to protect them against the possible collapse of prices at a later date that could force them into starvation?

The right hon. Gentleman is of course right in recognising that input costs—principally as a consequence of rising energy prices and the consequential effects on fertiliser prices—are having an impact on the current planting season in Africa. That is why we continue to work closely, not simply with the World Food Programme on emergency food supplies, but with the World Bank, which is establishing a trust fund, and other international agencies to ensure that supplies are provided during the narrow window available for the next growing season. When in Rome, I took the opportunity to make clear our commitment to social protection and cash transfer schemes, which can make a difference in ensuring that smallholders are able to sustain their livelihoods even in these challenging times.

At the meeting in Rome, was there discussion of the current drought in Ethiopia, which has left 3.4 million people without food or food aid? What can our Government do to help?

I can give my right hon. Friend the assurance he seeks. As a matter of urgency, I discussed the emerging problems in Ethiopia with Josette Sheeran, the director of the World Food Programme. As a Department, we have already committed £5 million to the first flash appeal for Ethiopia by the World Food Programme. In addition, we anticipate that the Government of Ethiopia will issue a further appeal this week and we shall be providing up to £10 million in response to that appeal when we receive it.

I warmly welcome the recent summit in Rome and the fact that extra money was pledged to help with food security in countries that need it most—not least the extra £590 million from the United Kingdom that the right hon. Gentleman was able to pledge, which is most welcome. Can he tell us how he will make sure that the money gets through to farmers and food producers in time for the planting season and that it will not be siphoned off by Governments, as we well know can occur?

A significant portion of the money that was announced is going into agricultural research. I arrived in Rome with a clear sense that we face three fundamental challenges—short, medium and long term. The short-term challenge is to make sure that we get immediate humanitarian relief to the up to 850 million people around the world who are vulnerable to hunger as a consequence of rising food prices. That is why we are working both with the World Bank and, in particular, to support the World Food Programme initiatives. Secondly, in the medium term, we need a successful conclusion to the Doha development round and we continue to champion that cause in international venues. Thirdly, we need a significant uplift in agricultural productivity, principally in sub-Saharan Africa, which is why we, as a Department, have committed up to £400 million to agricultural research over the coming years.

Does my right hon. Friend accept that market mechanisms will fail farmers in Africa and other parts of the world? Although it is right and proper that we pursue the Doha round and advances in agricultural technology, there should nevertheless be recognition of the need for proper protection for smaller and more marginal farmers if we are to guarantee local food security in marginal parts of the world.

Of course we want protection and adequate supplies to be provided to those in need of either food or finance for subsistence, but three factors accounted for India's success in its agrarian revolution, to draw once again on that example. The first factor was improved infrastructure, the second was improved irrigation and the third was improved seed technology. That seems to hold powerful lessons for Africa, where there has been a decline rather than a rise in the rate of agricultural productivity in recent years. That is why we have placed such an emphasis on agricultural research for the years ahead.

As the Chairman of the International Development Committee made clear, shipping food to stress areas can often distort markets and undermine local production. Should not the key lesson for us from the Rome conference be that cash transfers and prioritising local, or at least regional, food purchases help to protect the most vulnerable from the dramatic price hikes taking place around the world?

We often talk about consensus across the House on development issues; this would seem to be an example of an issue on which there is such consensus. We have been strongly encouraging the World Food Programme, in particular, to move towards local sourcing of food supplies instead of using its more traditional mechanism, which is to bring in wheat, often from America, or other supplies from around the globe. I do not think that the choice is between seeing an improvement in the functioning of the international agriculture market—that is why we want progress on the Doha round—and making sure that immediate emergency assistance is provided in the way that most supports the development of the local economies where food aid is provided.

The Secretary of State is aware that for every 1 per cent. rise in food prices, an extra 16 million people go to bed hungry each night. Is he aware of the World Bank's latest research, which shows the link between biofuels and the land-use change that is causing the rise in food prices? What discussions has he had with his colleagues in the Department for Transport about the renewables obligation in that respect?

The role of biofuels was of course an issue of some dispute at the Rome summit. A speech was made by President Lula, for example, who offered a strong defence of what he called the right type of biofuels. Much of the debate about biofuels, which needs to be better understood, is long on anecdote and short on fact. That is why the British Government have initiated the Gallagher review and I assure my hon. Friend that we are in discussions with the Department for Transport on that review. The Chancellor of the exchequer has urged the World Bank to take forward work on understanding the impact of biofuels on land use and, more widely, on social sustainability. We are also in dialogue with the European Commission to see whether we can establish a European position on the issue.

On that latter point, I hope that the right hon. Gentleman will ensure that the subject is discussed with President Bush when he visits this weekend. The right hon. Gentleman will be aware that the World Food Programme produced a report this week that highlights the fact that in recent years, as prices for commodities have soared, the volume of aid provided has declined steeply. On food aid, will he give a commitment that his Department's purchasing power will be maintained, so that we can ensure that as prices continue to soar, the volume of British aid will not decline?

In terms of the volume of British aid, the budget for the Department for International Development was set in the comprehensive spending review last July, and it remains the same. However, the hon. Gentleman is right to recognise that, in light of rising food prices, we need to consider where we need to do more in individual countries. That is why we have already supplemented the long-term support that we are offering to the people of Ethiopia with £5 million for humanitarian supplies that are partly in recognition of the significant rise in food prices that has taken place.

The hon. Gentleman is also right to recognise that there appears to be a clear correlation between rising input costs, principally those for oil, and the level of hunger being witnessed; that point was made to me by Josette Sheeran when I met her in Rome. She said, "If I look at the oil price, I can immediately tell how many more poor people we will be dealing with through the World Food Programme." That is why I welcome the latest commitment that the Gulf states have given to support the flash appeal from the United Nations World Food Programme. I hope that that pattern will be continued in the years ahead.