Bridges Weekly Trade News Digest • Volume 13 • Number 15 • 29th April 2009
Ag Ministers Say Food Security Should be High on the International Agenda
Discuss this articleShare your views with other visitors, and read what they have to say
Agricultural ministers from the Group of 8 major world economies met for the first time in Italy last week to highlight the problem of food prices and discuss ways to limit the impact of food emergencies. Farm leaders from the G14, a group of developed and developing countries concerned with agriculture, met ahead of the G8 farm summit to try to inform the process.
Last week’s gathering is intended to set the stage for the summit of G8 heads of state that is set to be held in July, also in Italy. The ongoing food crisis is expected to play an important role in that meeting.
The meeting of farm leaders from the G14 – which is made up of China, the Czech Republic, Brazil, Egypt, India, Mexico and South Africa in addition to the G8 countries, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the UK and the US – attempted to broaden the G8 discussion to include considerations of how countries outside the group might be affected by its members’ policies.
In an open letter, the G14 farm leaders called on Italy, the host of the upcoming summit of G8 heads of state, to ensure the meeting addressed the livelihoods of farmers, the need for increased investment in agriculture, the importance of mitigating market volatility and climate change, and better organisation of farmers in the market.
The G8 agriculture ministers affirmed the importance of those issues and called on their heads of state to recognise at the July summit that “agriculture and food security are at the core of the international agenda.”
US Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack, who attended the meetings, noted that “agriculture increases the amount of trade,” and in turn boosts the amount of food available to everyone. Vilsack also commented that the meeting presented an opportunity to “bolster the economy of developing countries,” insofar as agricultural exports can create wealth that is then used to build the rest of the economy.
According to WTO notifications for 2006, the US provided nearly US$60 billion in total agricultural support, or on average more than US$35,000 per farmer. Critics have argued that such levels of support undermine rural development and distort trade for countries that cannot afford to provide such funds to their farmers.
“Agriculture Ministers must recognise that solving the food crisis is about helping farmers in poor countries stay afloat in these difficult times – not increasing food production in rich countries,” said Chris Leather, Senior Food Advisor, Oxfam International, after the meeting.
Although the statement made by G8 agriculture ministers is not binding, it signals an important shift in focus towards agriculture after a long period of neglect. The final document issued by the group emphasised the need for concerted action in the current financial crisis on climate change, trade distorting agricultural policies, and investment in agricultural production.
“Close to one billion people are currently suffering from hunger around the world and the G8 has a role to play in promoting comprehensive solutions,” said Alexandra Spieldoch, of the Institute of Agriculture and Trade Policy. “But this weekend, the G8 failed to shift course from economic policies that have undermined the food security of many developing countries.”
The first G8 farm summit provided an important recognition of the current problems in global agricultural production. The outcome of the July meeting will test the group’s commitment to improving global food security and providing support for farmers and producers.
ICTSD reporting.
One response to “Ag Ministers Say Food Security Should be High on the International Agenda”
Add a comment
Enter your details and a comment below, then click Submit Comment. We’ll review and publish the best comments.
You might be interested in this blog “Focusing food security efforts where they are needed”, (http://cabiblog.typepad.com/hand_picked/2009/11/focusing-food-security-efforts-where-they-are-needed.html)
which highlights a project that classifies world agriculture so as to allow prioritization of research and development that will boost world food security.