A pledge of $20 billion by the G8 to fight hunger is a good start but pales compared to the amounts rich countries are spending to tackle the financial crisis, dpa cited Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga as saying today. "Maybe the $20 billion decided at the last G8 is peanuts compared to these amounts," Odinga said at a news conference on the opening day of the Friendship Meeting, a political and cultural conference in the Italian town of Rimini. "I don't know if it will be enough, but it's an excellent start," he added. In July, the Group of Eight wealthy nations said at a summit in L'Aquila, Italy that it would spend $20 billion over three years, $5 billion more than initially expected, to spur agricultural investment in poorer countries to combat hunger.
