Madrid  - A United Nations conference on Tuesday launched plans for a "global partnership" against hunger, with UN Secretary- General Ban Ki-moon urging donor countries to release more funds to guarantee food security despite the economic crisis.

"We must all do more," Ban said on closing the two-day meeting on food security in Madrid, hosted by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and Spain.

The meeting bringing together ministers or other delegates from about 100 countries charted progress made since the Rome food summit in June 2008.

"History will judge us and our response," Ban said, welcoming suggestions for a "global partnership" against the hunger affecting nearly a billion people.

The meeting issued a Madrid Declaration launching a process for the creation of a Global Alliance against hunger, which will be open to governments, farmers' groups, the private sector, NGOs and civil society.

A representative contact group would keep the partners informed, according to the plan.

However, no concrete decisions were taken at the meeting, a German official said.

Some civil society representatives criticized the planned partnership, saying it would increase the influence of multi-national companies within the UN.

Ban gave his backing to a Spanish proposal of a new mechanism to channel resources to agriculture and nutrition programmes without creating new institutions.

The aim is to improve coordination and to channel funds faster, especially to small farmers, according to Spanish sources.

Donors at the conference pledged 5.5 billion euros (7 billion dollars) over five years to help 400 million small farmers, who have trouble accessing the international market distorted by agricultural subsidies in wealthy countries, the daily El Pais said on its website.

The figure includes a contribution of one billion euros by Spain, announced by Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero at a joint press conference with Ban.

Zapatero called for an urgent reform of the international financial system to prevent speculators from hiking food prices upwards.

In 2008, the impact of speculation increased the prices of basic foodstuffs by 25 per cent, Zapatero said.

The NGO Intermon Oxfam praised the presence of farmers' representatives at the meeting while stressing that it should yield results beyond "promises." (dpa)