“We welcome the commitments made by countries represented at L’Aquila toward a goal of mobilizing at least $15 billion over three years,” the statement said.

“We are committed to increase investments in short, medium and long-term agriculture development that directly benefits the poorest and makes best use of international institutions,” it added.

It said the combined effect of longstanding underinvestment in agriculture, price volatility and the economic crisis had led to increased poverty and hunger in developing countries.

The United Nations says the number of malnourished people has risen over the past two years and is expected to top 1.02 billion this year, reversing a four-decade trend of declines.

The statement said the G8 summit kept a strong commitment to ensure adequate emergency food assistance, but its focus on agricultural investments reflects a U.S.-led shift toward longer-term strategies to fight hunger.

The United States is the world’s largest aid donor of food — mostly grown domestically and bought from U.S. farmers.

via G8 summit to pledge $15 billion to boost food supply | Green Business | Reuters.

It is true that democracy based on majority view is also a form of oppresion especially against minorities. The same can be said about knowledge. Knowledge consolidated in the hands and minds of a few, can result in a legitimised form of oppression. This is becoming evident in the area of climate change within the promoted complex mechanisms and processes meant to comprehensively deal with this global phenomenon.

A few terms have become synonymous with “climate change”- REDD, COP15, Adaptation and Mitigation- especially linked to local communities and how they can be integrated into the climate change framework. A few well placed leaders, NGOs, CBOs etc have been at the forefront of calling for action and demanding for resources to facilitate the engagement with these “terms”

via Knowledge, oppression and Climate Change.