Africa must spend more on agriculture to save millions from hunger, said aid agency Oxfam.

It said both African nations and donors have failed to meet pledges. African leaders pledged in 2003 to devote 10 percent of their national budgets to agriculture, a goal that only seven nations have met, Oxfam said in a report released on the eve of an African Union summit devoted to agriculture.

Most African countries are spending about 4.5 percent of their budgets on farm programmes, even though Oxfam's report found that such spending reduces poverty and stimulates local markets.

"One in three Africans is now affected by food crises. Investing in agriculture is part of the long-term solution to the food, financial and climate crises," said Lamine Ndiaye, head of Oxfam's Africa programme for economic justice.