New Zealand to make 9.5 million NZ dollar food aid contribution

New Zealand will contribute 9.5 million NZ dollars (7.4 million U.S. dollars) to the international response to the global food crisis, Foreign Minister Winston Peters announced on Wednesday.

The money will be the largest humanitarian contribution since the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, and will be delivered through the government's aid agency NZAID.

"The impact of rising food prices on the world's poorest people cannot be underestimated, and it is important New Zealand does what it can to assist," Peters said in a media statement.

"The United Nations World Food Program (WFP), which focuses on feeding people in life or death situations - particularly women and children - will receive 7 million NZ dollars of the 9.5 million NZ dollars for emergency food aid. It is a global organization and will ensure our assistance gets to those who need it most," he added.

The New Zealand government will also contribute 2.5 million NZ dollars to the Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) for a longer term response, aimed at assisting developing countries to make the most of their agricultural resources.