REUTERS

A man separates the corn from its cob.

A group of 80 global leaders from business, international and regional organisations have joined with the French G20 Presidency to define priority actions the G20 can take to improve global food security.

The meeting, which took place earlier this week, was convened by Bruno Le Maire, Minister of Agriculture, Food, Fisheries, Rural Affairs and Planning of France, in collaboration with the CEO Working Group on Food Security of the World Economic Forum's G20 Task Force, was the first private-sector consultation as part of the G20 process on food and agricultural commodities price volatility.

The group discussed specific recommendations prepared by governments, international organisations and the Forum's Working Group and network of Global Agenda Councils, who in turn drew on the expertise of a diverse network of stakeholders to inform their views.

“We are pleased that this group forms part of a broad network of stakeholders, including farmer leaders, experts and civil society groups, working with the World Economic Forum to develop solutions for global food security,” said Robert Greenhill, Managing Director of the World Economic Forum.

The recommendations focused on actions that will leverage private-sector investment, technology innovation and information to strengthen and stabilise global food markets and provide opportunities to poor farmers and consumers in the face of rising price volatility and hunger levels.

“The private sector can contribute a great deal to solving food insecurity, but this must be done in collaboration with governments, as part of an integrated strategy to improve the sustainability of our global food systems,” said Paul Polman, Chief Executive Officer, Unilever, who chairs the CEO Working Group on Food Security.

Le Maire, who is leading development of a G20 Action Plan on food and agricultural commodities price volatility, said: “We have agreed with the international business community on several priorities for action, which could be taken into account by the G20. These are designed to reduce price volatility and improve the productivity and sustainability of food systems over the long term.”

Specific areas for collaboration between public and private sectors outlined in the meeting, based on the priorities set by the G20 French Presidency, include developing a global system to monitor information on food production and consumption, reserves and price levels, together with a mechanism to better anticipate and respond faster and in a more coordinated way to food crises.

Other areas of collaboration are increasing the environmental sustainability of agriculture - including impacts on water, land and climate - through a coordinated effort to share best practices, catalyse partnerships and strengthen leadership; and targeting technology innovation and distribution to specific regional needs, with active support and leadership from local stakeholders. These efforts can be accelerated through harmonising and reforming policies, and establishing goals and incentives.

Participants also agreed on ways to better coordinate public and private sector efforts, including supporting the formation of national-level partnerships to engage the private sector in sustainable agricultural development, and establishing a global multistakeholder forum to exchange best practices and provide input to the G20 on an ongoing basis.

Companies participating in the CEO Working Group include Archer Daniels Midland (ADM), Danone, DuPont, Grupo Bimbo, Nestlé, Kraft Foods, Olayan Financing Company, PepsiCo, Swiss Reinsurance Company, Syngenta International, Unilever and Yara International.

The CEO Working Group is part of the Forum's G20 Task Force, formed at the invitation of the G20 to provide private-sector input to the overall G20 process. - I-Net Bridge