Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva delivers his speech to the World Summit on Food Security in Rome on Monday, the opening day of the three-day meeting. (Andrew Medichini, Pool/Associated Press)

World leaders and government officials at a United Nations food summit have pledged to increase agricultural aid to help poor countries feed themselves, but did not set a target amount or timeframe for action.

The declaration agreed to Monday, on the first day of the annual three-day World Summit on Food Security in Rome, was made with the aim to "halt immediately the increase in — and to significantly reduce — the number of people suffering from hunger, malnutrition and food insecurity."

"We are alarmed that the number of people suffering from hunger and poverty now exceeds one billion," the declaration states. "This is an unacceptable blight on the lives, livelihoods and dignity of one-sixth of the world’s population."

The lack of specifics in the declaration falls short of the goals of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, which had hoped world leaders would agree to a specific figure of $44 billion a year for agricultural aid.

The FAO also hoped countries would adopt 2025 as a deadline to eradicate hunger.

Instead, the declaration stated a commitment to "take action towards sustainably eradicating hunger at the earliest possible date."

The declaration committed governments to:

• work to get developed countries to commit to aid targets of 0.7 per cent of gross national product for development assistance to developing countries by 2015.
• provide short-term aid to the most vulnerable people and longer-term agricultural and nutrition programs;
• invest in country-owned food plans;
• work better to co-ordinate between global and regional projects;
• strengthen multilateral institutions like the UN Food and Agriculture Organization.

Pope says food a 'fundamental right'

Pope Benedict XVI addressed the leaders and officials of the nearly 200 countries represented at the meeting, saying countries must respect the "fundamental rights of the individual" when shaping policy, and that people are entitled to "sufficient, healthy and nutritious food" as well as water.

Further talks at the conference were expected to focus on food security and on how climate change impacts worldwide agricultural efforts.

The United Nations World Food Program said in September that food aid has suffered as governments spent more domestically after the global economic downturn.

The number of hungry people passed one billion this year at the same time that food aid hit a 20-year low, the UN agency said.

With files from The Associated Press