Development

The European Commission had offered developing countries one billion euro of unspent Common Agriculture Policy funds to help them develop their agriculture. This move is especially timely as these countries are hard hit by the food crisis resulting from a surge in commodity prizes. According to the commissioner in charge of agriculture Mariann Fisher Boel, these funds will help poor countries develop their infrastructure, buy seeds, and fertilizers. It is a long term approach seeking to empower local farmers as only 15% of the money would be spent on food aid. In some of the target countries, up to 75% of the population is in the farming sector, smart investment should help this huge population benefit from the increasing commodity prices turning the tables on the current situation in which they lose whether the prices are high or low.