Australia will share its food productive expertise with poor African nations through a new $36-million food security centre which Prime Minister Julia Gillard launched at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting in Perth on Friday.

The centre will have its main office in Canberra and an office in an African capital. It will provide farmers, government agencies and private sector research and technical information from Australian, African and international research bodies.

"One in three people go hungry every day in Africa and Australia has an important role to play in supporting African counties confronting the challenge of food security," Ms Gillard said in a statement.

"Africa holds 60 per cent of the world's uncultivated farmable land. Under-investment in agricultural research and innovation, along with a decline in agricultural productivity, are key factors affecting Africa's ability to bring about food security," she added.

Among the plans of the new centre is to hold an international conference on food security for Africa for the first half of 2012. Ms Gillard will give food security issues another push in the G20 Cannes meeting in 2012.

The centre will also focus on adapting to climate change and invite Australian learning institutions to collaborate on the initiative.