Food security will be the highlight of the discussion when the heads of 27 countries and 11 organisations meet on Friday at the Group of Eight summit in L'Aquila. I expect substantial progress to be made, particularly on aid to countries affected by the food crisis. I will also make a new proposal to promote responsible foreign investment in agriculture, in the face of so-called “l(fā)and grabs” – the growing trend for large-scale investment in farmland across the developing world.

A year has passed since this phenomenon first gained attention, and new deals continue to hit the headlines. The United Nations special rapporteur called for a set of principles, and the African Union discussed the issue at its summit last week. What is needed now is for concerned parties to frame a co-ordinated global response. Japan, as the world's largest net food importer and a major donor in agricultural development, believes it has a role to play.

For decades, food supply has been taken for granted in countries of the north thanks to the stable market, whereas for large swathes of the developing world, food shortages are chronic.