Bush proposes $770 million for world food crisis

By Missy Ryan and Tabassum Zakaria

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President George W. Bush called for $770 million in new U.S. food aid donations and other measures on Thursday as Washington seeks to stave off a food crisis threatening to envelop the developing world.

Bush, expressing concern as skyrocketing world food prices intensify unrest in poor countries from Haiti to Burkina Faso, promised the United States would take a lead in fighting the hunger now gripping a greater swath of the developing world.

"With the new international funding I'm announcing today, we're sending a clear message to the world that America will lead the fight against hunger for years to come," Bush said.

Surging prices for wheat, rice and other staples, along with record-high fuel prices, have eaten into aid budgets in the United States, the world's largest food aid donor.

"I think more needs to be done. And so today I'm asking Congress to provide an additional $770 million to support food aid and development programs," Bush told reporters at the White House as he unveiled a supplemental budget request for fiscal 2009 that would require congressional approval.

Administration officials said the $770 million would include $395 million in emergency food aid, $225 million for food vouchers, seeds, or aid purchases in the developing world, and $150 million for development work aimed at food security.

That will help "improve the ability of the developing world to feed itself," said Stephen McMillin, a top budget official.

If approved by Congress, the funds would become available on October 1, and would bring overall support for global food security to $2.66 billion for 2009.

The announcement comes several weeks after Bush approved the release of 250,000 metric tons of wheat from an emergency crop trust, a step the United States had not taken since 2005.

It reflects the mounting concern among world leaders about protests, strikes and riots that have erupted in the wake of dramatically higher prices, which affect the poor the most.

"The next few weeks are critical for addressing the food crisis. For 2 billion people, high food prices are now a matter of daily struggle, sacrifice, and ... even survival," World Bank President Robert Zoellick said this week.

'WIDE-SCALE HUMAN SUFFERING'

Global food prices jumped an annual 43 percent to March 2008, the White House said.

The trend is typically blamed on a confluence of factors, including rising food consumption in emerging economies like India and China and adverse weather.

The growing use of food crops to make biofuels like ethanol is also seen as a driver, although the administration argues the fuels only account for a small share of the price spike.

Josette Sheeran, who heads the United Nations food aid agency, asked Congress to approve the funds urgently to help prevent "wide-scale human suffering."

Some aid groups and U.S. lawmakers are clamoring for more assistance immediately.

"It's a clear and present danger to people right now, not just in terms of hunger ... but also the security question," said Sen. Bob Casey, Jr., a Pennsylvania Democrat. "The urgency of hunger and the urgency of instability is not being confronted by the White House on this."

The administration has already requested supplemental food aid funding, a perennial addition to annual budget funds, of $350 million for fiscal 2008, but some are pushing for a figure at least $200 million higher.

The United States typically provides about $1.6 billion to $1.7 billion in food aid each year through the U.S. Agency for International Development.

"As a humanitarian organization interested in saving lives, we are not sure these resources equip us to meet the needs now," said Catholic Relief Services, an aid group.

Raymond Offenheiser, head of Oxfam America, urged Congress to loosen purchasing rules for food aid to make the most of every aid dollar.

(Additional reporting by Richard Cowan, Matt Spetalnick, Jeremy Pelofsky and Lesley Wroughton; Editing by Eric Walsh)