Barclays was accused of driving millions of people into poverty by speculating on food prices as campaigners at Davos conferred their annual Public Eye shame award on the British bank on Friday.

"As the fastest-growing food speculator in the world, Barclays drives up food prices at the expense of the poorest," said the Swiss chapter of Greenpeace and Berne Declaration in a statement.

An "award ceremony" held on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, said 44 million people were forced into extreme poverty by rising food prices.

"We hope this award will encourage European lawmakers to introduce tough regulations to curb food speculation and stop banks gambling with food prices while nearly a billion people go hungry," said Amy Horton of World Development Movement, the NGO that nominated Barclays for the award.

A Barclays spokeswoman declined comment when contacted by AFP.