Reaching global food security and tackling poverty and hunger remain far away goals due to a lack of successful strategies and the persisting economic crisis, the Group of Eight (G8) agriculture ministers warned on Monday.

The G8 ministers, who gave an alarming signal over sustainable agricultural development, winded up their three-day gathering in northeast Italy with a final declaration Monday morning, which included the views of the G5 countries, namely China, India, Brazil, South Africa and Mexico, as well as Argentina, Egypt and Australia.

According to the declaration, the world is far from reaching the United Nations Millennium Goal that pledged to halve the number of hungry people in the world by 2015, a problem worsened by the financial turmoil.

The document said price volatility and the unbalance between food supply and demand suggest fears about global food security will continue.

With these considerations, G8 agriculture ministers admitted that little has been done in the past to fight world famine and poverty. Strategies so far implemented at a global level have produced unsatisfactory results.

The conclusions came after the negative data were released by international institutions. The United Nations estimates that in the world today there are more than a billion hungry people.

The declaration stressed that the economic recession has worsened the situation, increasing the number of poor and hungry people.

"Structural factors may underpin prices over the medium term, and increased volatility and demand raise important questions about food security for the future," it said.

The document also mentioned the importance of biotechnology and bio-fuels in curbing global warming, the need of "public and private investment in sustainable agriculture" and the "role of innovative technologies" such as renewable energies. It also referred to the need for a "system of food stocks" against speculation in commodity markets.

However, no clear proposal or solution for raising food production was mentioned. Italian agriculture minister Luca Zaia, in his capacity as the president of the G8 meeting, repeated at the meeting the need to keep agriculture and its implications for food security "always at the core of the international agenda."

"A joint document enlarged to non-G8 members is the greatest result we can obtain," Zaia told local reporters after the meeting. He said the contribution of G5 countries is essential in approaching a global deal in agriculture.

During the second day of talks, the ministers also reflected on the need of reforming international institutions such as the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), so as to pave way for greater coordination in rural development of poorer countries.

Germany pushes the most for a general FAO reform. FAO chief Jacques Diouf was expected to present a plan to restructure the Rome-based UN agency.

Among the topics discussed during the meeting, the ministers reiterated the need of ensuring global food safety regulations. Zaia said "quality must be a standard for all consumers."

"Food safety and fight against agro-piracy are top-priorities in dealing with agricultural issues," he added.

All the ministers, except Zaia who defended Italian products and farmers, have agreed on the need to abolish protectionist measures.

Climate change issues were also discussed. The agriculture ministers agreed that "a great contribution against global warming can come from agricultural products being transformed into bio-energy," the declaration said.

At the meeting, Zaia also said the conflict between food crisis and developing bio-fuels was one of the main challenges for the human beings to face.

According to Gloria Bartoli, professor of international economy at Rome's LUISS University and former expert at the World Bank and Bank of Italy, "global institutions such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund must be given greater power of intervention" and coordination between rich and poor countries in tackling world hunger and poverty.

"Only abandoning agriculture as the dominant sector can a country get out of poverty. The current global financial turmoil is halting capital flows and reversing the globalization process, thus stopping poverty exit," Bartoli told Xinhua in an interview.

Citing an example, Bartoli said China has fought poverty by switching its system of production from agriculture to manufacturing.

Pierpaolo Benigno, economics and finance professor at LUISS University, said, "the International Monetary Fund should ease debt weight of developing countries and financially sustain the transformation of their productive sectors."

For agrarian law professor Michele Tamponi, finding the right key against world poverty and hunger is nearly impossible. He said there are many political interests at stake.

However, "a possible solution is represented by genetically modified organisms (GMOs). But there is no common ground between countries, and the U.S. strongly relies on GMOs whereas Europe hasa very strict food safety legislation which limits cultivations," Tamponi explained.

"There is the need of a global agreement on the issue of food safety laws," Tamponi said. But food safety is secondary with regard to poverty and famine, he added.

Talking of bio-fuels, Tamponi warned against an exaggerated use. "Crops are being used to produce alternative energy as biodiesel, with a negative return on the alimentary market. The search of alternative energy sources clashes with the fight against world hunger. Changes in traditional agricultural products' destination is a big challenge," he pointed out.

Theoretically, the right thing to do for world leaders will be making joint efforts to meet challenges ahead as Niu Dun, China's vice minister of agriculture, said at the meeting.

Addressing global challenges to food security and mitigating the impact of the global financial crisis on agricultural development require concerted efforts of the international community, Niu said.

However, there are still differences between developed and developing countries in some aspects such as subsidies on agricultural products, thus hampering sustainable development in agriculture.

No doubt, global food security is not only related to economic issues but also to political will since more and more people in hunger are struggling on the edge of death.

Observers believe it will be a test for global leaders to demonstrate their willingness to tackle the deteriorating world food situation and to enhance sustainable development of global agriculture.