Issue Briefs

What role does the G20 play in improving global food security?

State of food security in the world

Ending hunger, malnutrition and food insecurity by 2030 is one of the key targets under the Sustainable Development Goals. Over 700 million people – one of 11 people – were believed to be hungry in 2023, with little change in the three years following the spike during Covid-19. In 2023, about 2.3 billion people faced food insecurity and hunger and the trend continued to rise in Africa, with little moderation in Asia, while Latin America and the Caribbean made progress.

According to the 2024 report on ‘State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World: Financing to end hunger, food security and malnutrition in all its forms’, inequalities in access to a healthy diet persist.

Table: Percentage of population unable to afford a healthy diet

G20 initiatives

The G20 group of nations has prioritized food security over the years and launched six initiatives through the group of agriculture ministers. This includes:

• i. Agriculture Marketing Information System for tracking food supplies
• ii. Group on Earth Observations Global Agricultural Monitoring Initiative for crop monitoring
• iii. Wheat Initiative
• iv. Tropical Agriculture Platform
• v. Platform for Agriculture Risk Management and
• vi. Technical Platform on the Measurement and Reduction of Food Loss and Waste

These initiatives have supported fertilizer and vegetable oil market monitoring, harmonization of analytical approaches, wheat crop health, capacity development and research, among others.

During G20 India, the agriculture ministers reiterated the development of inclusive, resilient and sustainable agriculture and food systems to ensure food security and nutrition. Innovation and R&D for crop development and agricultural productivity was stressed along with biofortification. Collaboration in climate resilient technologies and traditional knowledge for sustainable agriculture was also a key agenda point.

India’s One Health approach to balance the health of humans, domestic and wild animals, plants and ecosystems was also taken up in the statement. The ministers deliberated on building inclusive agri value chains and food systems and digitalization for agricultural transformation especially for marginal and small farmers, youth and indigenous peoples, through digital infrastructure and innovations.

G20 India - Deccan High Level Principles on Food Security and Nutrition

A key outcome of the G20 agriculture group was the Deccan High Level Principles on Food Security and Nutrition 2023. Highlighting that global food security and malnutrition has been aggravated by climate change, geopolitical tensions and conflicts and other systemic shocks, it brought out 7 principles under which it would foster various actions:

• 1. Facilitating humanitarian assistance to countries and populations in vulnerable situations: Policy collaborations to address humanitarian food assistance for people facing challenges
• 2. Enhancing availability and access to nutritious food and strengthening food safety nets: Sustainable production of food, targeted food and cash-based safety net programs
• 3. Strengthening policies and collaborative actions for climate resilient and sustainable agriculture and food systems: Collaborations for sustainable, scalable and inclusive technologies to tackle climate change and biodiversity loss
• 4. Strengthening resilience and inclusivity in agriculture and food value chains: Improve stakeholder capacity along value chains, improve market transparency and facilitate open agriculture and food trade, avoiding export restrictions
• 5. Promoting the One Health approach: Fight against antimicrobial resistance and zoonotic diseases
• 6. Accelerating innovation and the use of digital technology: Facilitate digital infrastructure for agriculture sector and capacity building to use technologies
• 7. Scaling up responsible public and private investments in agriculture: Public- private partnerships and access to finance for youth.

B20 India

In accordance with the G20, the Business 20 or B20 has also built a strong focus on agriculture. Under B20 India, the sector cut across several discussion groups.

Targeted interventions for agri and rural segments of the population were suggested.

To prioritize financial inclusion of the small landholding and landless farmers in the acriculture segment, it was suggested to develop guidelines to extend universal insurance to farmers and develop a framework to digitize the agricultural value chain Promoting group-based delivery of financial services through aggregation of farm produce would require setting up Farmer-Producer Organisations or similar groups and designing partnerships between technology players and financial institutions to develop product relevant for such groups such as working capital loans, crop insurance, technology, etc.

For Africa, it is particularly relevant to create a growth ecosystem for the population employed in agriculture. This could include irrigation systems, mechanised solutions and technologies and integrating High Yield, Resilient and Adaptive Practices and climate-friendly practices into traditional agriculture.

B20 Brasil

Taking forward the agenda, B20 Brasil set up a task force on sustainable food systems and agriculture with food security and sustainability in agriculture as a key priority. The group looked at sustainable value chains, resilient food systems, biodiversity conservation and equitable access to nutrition, including through public- private and multi-stakeholder coordination across agrifood chains.

B20 Brasil suggests fostering scalable and science-based innovation and access to new technologies to address the convergence of climate, environmental, resilience and food security issues. It called for G20 investments in innovation and promoting access to scientific progress. It also recommended knowledge sharing, technology dissemination and capabilities building with international financial schemes for inclusive global food system transformation.

To build breakthrough models for financing food systems transition to boost resilience and sustainability, B20 has suggested sufficient and efficient capital allocation, including blended finance and de-risking and incentivizing investments. A regulatory framework can accelerate development of interoperable credits for ecosystem services such as carbon sequestration, healthy soils, freshwater use, biodiversity conservation, etc.

A third recommendation pertains to strengthening the multilateral food and agricultural trade system with WTO at its core. G20 should foster global convergence on science and outcome-based sustainable food trade regulatory practices, methodologies and taxonomies through WTO. The adoption of sustainable practices and facilitation market access can be done by improving the efficiency of international standard-setting bodies and traceability and certification schemes.

You can read the B20 Task Force report on Sustainable Food Systems & Agriculture here: https://b20brasil.org/documents

Business action

Given the increasing linkages between farming and industry and rising use of technology in agriculture and food systems, the participation of businesses would be critical to fostering resilient and sustainable farming and ensuring high productivity for enabling food security.

It is important to consider various aspects of empowering farmers for inclusive access to healthy food and tackling malnutrition.

• • Access to finance along with various financial instruments such as insurance and blended finance
• • Access to digital infrastructure
• • Providing affordable farm mechanisation tools with innovative ways to reduce cost of utilisation
• • Skill development
• • Agri startups and innovation
• • Agricultural trade
• • Climate adaptation and resilience to extreme weather events
• • Biodiversity management

Food security and nutritional health are critical areas of priority for the world. Governments and businesses must collaborate to identify strategic and impactful actions that they can take together to create new pathways for meeting the imperatives of the future.