HAVANA (Reuters) - Venezuelan Agriculture Minister Elias Jaua said
on Tuesday his oil-rich country would give $2 million grants to 18
Caribbean and Central American countries to buy fertilizer for the
coming growing season.
The grants are part of a Venezuelan-led program to form a
multinational company among the so-called PetroCaribe group of nations
to produce and distribute food.
Jaua made his announcement at a Havana meeting to map out plans for
the food venture, which Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has said would
"create a shield against hunger" in the face of rising food prices.
The grants were a protective step to help the countries until the company is operating, Jaua said.
"We have decided to assign an initial $2 million to each member
country for the joint purchase of fertilizer for the most urgent needs
of the coming planting season," Jaua said.
PetroCaribe is a Chavez project aimed at promoting his vision for area integration as an alternative to U.S. proposals.
Through PetroCaribe, Venezuela already provides preferentially
financed oil, with some of the money saved on oil going for development
projects in the recipient countries.
Chavez, a strident U.S. foe and close ally of Cuba, has pledged to
put aside 50 cents of every dollar Venezuela earns when oil cost more
than $100 a barrel for the food project.
"President Chavez's initiative to provide these funds provides us
with some tranquility and a way we can together tackle the great
challenges poor countries face, such as higher prices," Dominican
Republic agriculture minister Salvador Jimenez told Reuters.
Jaua said the agriculture ministers and others attending had drawn
up statutes and other documents to form the multinational food venture.
The proposals will now go to the leaders of the PetroCaribe nations
for approval, which is expected by the end of the year, he said.
Cuban Vice President Carlos Lage said plans discussed at the meeting
included financing, joint purchasing, technical cooperation and "many
other" matters.
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