The G8 countries will this week announce a “food security initiative” committing more than $12bn for agricultural development over the next three years, in a move that signals a further shift from food aid to long-term investments in farming in the developing world.

The US and Japan will provide the bulk of the funding, with $3bn-$4bn each, with the rest coming from Europe and Canada, according to United Nations officials and Group of Eight diplomats briefed on the “L'Aquila Food Security Initiative”. Officials said it would more than triple spending.

At a summit beginning on Wednesday, the G8 leaders will pledge to reverse “the tendency of decreasing official development aid and national financing to agriculture”, according to the draft declaration seen by the Financial Times.