Leaders of the G20 have renewed their commitment to work towards “sustainably” increasing agricultural productivity at the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where they addressed major global challenges and crises.
In the G20 Rio de Janeiro Leaders’ Declaration, leaders underscored their commitment to the “importance of food security and nutrition, and of the progressive realisation of the right to adequate food”.
The G20 brings together the countries with the largest economies in the world, which together represent around 85% of the world’s GDP, more than 75% of world trade, and around two-thirds of the world’s population.
Global hunger
The advances towards reducing poverty and eradicating hunger have suffered “significant
setbacks” since the Covid-19 pandemic, with around 733 million people facing hunger in 2023, mostly children and women.
The declaration states that these “unprecedented challenges” call for greater and more effective commitment, financing, and actions at all levels and sound economic policies to foster growth and job creation.
“The world produces more than enough food to eradicate hunger. Collectively, we do not lack knowledge nor resources to fight poverty and defeat hunger.
“What we need is political will to create the conditions to expand access to food,” leaders declared, while also launching a Global Alliance against Hunger and Poverty.
The alliance seeks to mobilise finance and knowledge sharing to support the implementation of country-led, country-owned, large-scale and evidence-based programmes aiming at reducing hunger and poverty worldwide.
The G20 invites all countries, international organisations, multilateral development banks, knowledge centers and philanthropic institutions to join the alliance to accelerate efforts to eradicate hunger and poverty.
The alliance will focus on “proven strategies” such as cash transfers, development of homegrown school feeding programs, improving access to microfinance and the formal financial system and social protection.
G20 on agriculture
Leaders agreed that agriculture is at the “forefront of addressing key challenges”, such as fighting poverty, ending hunger, improving nutrition, while confronting climate change, biodiversity loss, pollution and desertification.
While recognising there is no one size-fits-all solution to the challenges of agriculture and food systems, leaders committed to support developing countries to enhance their capacity for sustainable food production and marketing.
The G20 renewed its commitment to work towards sustainably increasing agricultural productivity, and increasing its efforts to achieve the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) target on food losses and waste.
G20 leaders recognise the interdependence of countries in achieving food security and nutrition, food safety, and sustainability through open trade policies consistent with World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules.
“While recognising the importance of domestic production, diversifying international, regional and local supply roots is also an important way to strengthen the resilience of world food supply chains to external shocks.
“We also aim to address the challenges of fertiliser shortages, including through strengthening local production, trade, increase fertiliser efficiency, and utilise biofertilisers while addressing the need to improve soil health and minimise water pollution,” leaders declared.
