G8 Agriculture Ministers Declaration

David Hegwood — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 01:35:41 +0000

The G8 Agriculture Ministers, after meeting in Cison de Valmarino, Italy, from April 18-20, 2009, issued a final declaration today. The declaration covers much of the same ground as the Rome Declaration, the Comprehensive Framework for Action, and the Madrid Statement, but identifies a couple of issues that will be the focus of more intensive discussion in coming months.

“We call upon the relevant international institutions to examine whether a system of stockholding could be effective in dealing with humanitarian emergencies or as a means to limit price volatility. They should specifically examine the feasibility and the administrative modalities of such a system. In light of this outcome it will be examined whether further steps should be envisaged and whether a consultation process should be established.” The idea of a global grains stock scheme is fraught with complications, both economic and political. This won’t be an easy one upon which to reach consensus.
The declaration expresses support for the Global Partnership, a concept that first emerged at the Hokaido G8 Summit, but there doesn’t appear to be much progress toward agreement on how the GP would operate and what its objectives would be.
Overseas investment in farmland has become a hot topic over the past year. The declaration doesn’t tackle the issue directly, but the Financial Times reports that FAO and the World Bank both indicated they would be taking further action. FAO wants to hold a meeting on farmland investment during the summer. The World Bank intends to publish a code of conduct in the near future.

Global Food Crisis – Policy Chronology

David Hegwood — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 14:50:36 +0000

The meeting of G8 agriculture ministers concluding today in northern Italy fulfills a commitment made at the G8 Summit in Hokkaido, Japan in July 2008. The G8 leaders instructed agriculture ministers to “hold a meeting to contribute to developing sound proposals on global food security.” The full G8 Leaders Statement on Global Food Security is available in the Reading Room. The G8 Agriculture Ministers statement will be posted there as well once it is available.

The G8 effort to assert some leadership on the global food security issue needs to be seen in the context of the broader effort to develop coherent policy responses to the global food crisis. Here is a brief chronology of major events:

UN Chief Executives Board meets (April 28-29, 2008) – In a meeting with the 27 heads of UN agencies, funds and programs, Secretary General Ban Ki Moon establishes the Task Force on the Global Food Crisis to be headed by UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs John Holmes and Senior UN System Influenza Coordinator David Nabarro.
FAO High Level Conference on World Food Security: the Challenges of Climate Change and Biofuels (June 3-5, 2008) – The conference, attended by heads of government, ministers, and other high-level officials from 181 countries adopts a declaration (available in the Reading Room) calling for short-, medium-, and long-term action to address the multiple causes of the global food crisis.
UN Task Force (July 2008) – The Task Force releases the Comprehensive Framework for Action (available in the Reading Room) calling for short-term relief for those suffering from the food crisis and long-term investments and policy reforms to improve food security and resilience of people at risk from food insecurity.
Madrid High-Level Meeting on Food Security for All (January 26-27, 2009) – The statement (available in the Reading Room) was issued by the Chair, not agreed by the participants. The meeting discussed but did not agree to the establishment of a Global Partnership for Agriculture, Food Security and Nutrition

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G8 Agriculture Ministers Declaration

Global Food Crisis – Policy Chronology