Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez smiles to the media as he waits for his Colombian counterpart Alvaro Uribe at Paraguana refinery complex in the northern Venezuelan state of Falcon July 11, 2008.(Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo Gallery>>>

    CARACAS, July 13 (Xinhua) -- Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said Sunday that a pact on his country's oil supply to Caribbean and Central American nations should be extended into the food field due to surging prices.

    Chavez raised the idea at a meeting with Caribbean and Central American leaders to discuss an energy cooperation scheme called Petrocaribe.

    Venezuela will "continue strengthening" the accord, he said in the western city of Maracaibo, adding that it was an "anti-hunger shield" for Latin American and Caribbean countries.

    "We must turn Petrocaribe into a sort of shield against hunger, a shield to protect us from the misery," Chavez said.

    The president said oil and food are not separate issues, as both have registered a sharp increase in prices, which have affected most people in developing countries.

    "I advance you an idea I have," Chavez said. "We could create now a council of ministers of agriculture of Petrocaribe to start working on the agricultural issue."

    Petrocaribe was founded in 2005 when Venezuela signed an agreement on energy cooperation with Caribbean and Central American countries.

    Under the accord, Venezuela should provide 200,000 barrels of oil per day to PetroCaribe members, which are required to pay half of its oil bills in cash and the rest will be paid between 17 and 25 years at a yearly interest rate between 1 and 5 percent.