European Union head Barroso announced today that the E.U. will be channeling 1 billion euros (the equivalent of 1.6 billion US dollars) in unused-farm subsidies to farmers in Africa. The proposal must still be approved by the 27 EU member countries and the European Parliament, but could begin operating in January.

From Reuters’:

“The EU really can give a boost to agriculture in developing countries,” European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said on the first day of a meeting of G8 rich nations’ leaders in northern Japan, where soaring food prices are high on the agenda.

The Reuters article also spoke with our own Oliver Buston of our UK ONE office.

“A lot of things about Europe’s agricultural policies are not great for Africa, but this is a really positive step,” said Oliver Buston, a spokesman for the anti-poverty One Campaign.

“We hope it will encourage EU member states to raise their own commitment bilaterally and also encourage the rest of the G8 to do more.”

-Virginia Simmons