This could generate funds for Mini-fert plants from COIN as well as a host of other possibilities for COIN

"MOSCOW -(Dow Jones)- The U.S.'s push for sustained investment in agriculture at this week's Group of Eight summit is part of a new food-security strategy designed to ease world hunger and bolster economic growth, a White House official said Tuesday.

The senior administration official declined discuss the size of the proposed new food initiative. Another G8 official told Dow Jones on Monday, however, that the group would commit about $15 billion over three years for agricultural development at the summit. The U.S. and Japan would provide up to 45% of the funding, the G8 official said.

After rising food prices sparked riots last year, food security has become a major focus for the G8, which is worried the issue could be politically destabilizing as well as catastrophic for the world's hungry.

"Our goals are to significantly reduce hunger and spur economic growth by building sustainable agriculture systems that create jobs, increase incomes, and raise agricultural productivity while maintaining the natural resource base," a senior administration official said. "Our objective is to help countries establish strong and sustainable agriculture systems that efficiently deliver food from the farm to the table."

Sketching the White House's plan, the U.S. administration official said the new strategy is based on a series of principles, including a greater coordination between all levels of government; a focus on long-neglected agriculture development; sustained commitments from all involved; a recognition of the roles played by the private sector, markets and trade; and a premium on accountability.

The new approach also will seek to boost agricultural productivity through the provision of seeds and fertilizer to small farmers, increase trade flows and maintain the natural resource base by taking the impact of climate change into account.

The U.S. official said the administration will seek to improve the effectiveness of existing multilateral institutions rather than create new ones, with the World Bank expected to be a key partner in the food security initiative.

Jan Randolph, head of sovereign risk analysis at IHS Global Insight, said the effort is well-intentioned but cautioned that the devil will be in the details.

"Will those actually experiencing food insecurity be the ones turned into small scale farmers (preferable) or will they still rely on food from others (if only closer to home) and if so, how will those who need the food the most pay for it?" Randolph wrote in a note to clients. "Will the new farms produce local staples (preferable) or grow commodity crops to be sold for export, diverting scarce resources from staple foods?"

Obama leaves Moscow early Wednesday for the G8 summit in L'Aquila, Italy."

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