L'Aquila, Italy  - The world's greatest powers turned their attention to Africa on Friday as they bid to support more productive farming and end hunger in the world's poorest countries with an aid package worth up to 15 billion dollars.

The package, planned and largely funded by the United States and Japan, was set to be approved by the Group of Eight (G8) leading developed economies, the Group of Five (G5) top developing states, and African leaders on the third and last day of a summit in the Italian city of L'Aquila, diplomats said.

"We need to show the world that we will take action to avert what is a famine and hunger emergency," said British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who is supporting the initiative.

Aid agencies are warning that the global economic crisis has pushed 100 million people in developing states back into poverty and raised the risk of famine and food riots around the world.

In the past, rich nations have responded to such crises by sending billions of dollars' worth of food from their national surpluses to feed the starving.

At a summit in Gleneagles in 2005, G8 leaders pledged 22 billion dollars in aid to Africa by 2010. So far, however, only a third of this pledge has been delivered.

Now, with their budgets deep in the red from spending trillions of dollars to stave off financial meltdown, G8 states are expected to shift the focus onto making farms and farmers in poor countries more productive, so that famines do not happen in the first place.

Funding could be used, for example, to buy seeds, build irrigation systems and teach farmers more efficient techniques.

Friday's summit of the G8, G5 and leaders from Algeria, Angola, Egypt, Ethiopia, Libya, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa and the African Union began with a working breakfast to debate world hunger.

It came after G8 and G5 leaders on Thursday said that they wanted to wrap up the Doha round of talks on liberalizing world trade no later than next year, as a further effort to stimulate development and reduce poverty in poor states.

The G8 members are Britain, Canada, the European Union, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia and the US. The G5 consists of Brazil, China, India, Mexico and South Africa.

Leaders from Australia, Indonesia, South Korea, Spain, Turkey and the Netherlands also attended. (dpa)