Policies, Institutions, and Global Initiatives

The Global Food Market Information Group of the Agricultural Market Information System (AMIS) met in Rome on June 22-23 to discuss the current commodity market outlook for grains and oilseeds. This marked the eleventh meeting since the group was launched in 2011 at the G20 Agricultural Ministerial following the food price spikes in 2007-2008 and 2010. Composed of the principal grain-producing and -consuming countries, AMIS assesses global food supplies (focusing on wheat, maize, rice, and soybeans) and provides a platform to coordinate policy action in times of market uncertainty.

The G20 Agriculture Ministers met in Berlin on January 22 to discuss the ways in which the members can support stable supplies of safe, nutritious and affordable food for the global population.

The G20 Agriculture Ministers met in Xi’an on June 3 to discuss the ways in which the members can promote food security, nutrition, sustainable agricultural growth and rural development worldwide. In the communique, the ministers noted an increased commitment to the Sustainable Development goals (SDGs). In particular, they noted that agriculture and rural development are critical for global food security and poverty alleviation and that coordination across political boundaries will be needed to meet the complex challenges including climate change.

Agriculture, food prices, and food and nutrition security have long played an important role in the G7 and G20 meetings. The following links provide a timeline of some of the most important agriculture- and food-related decisions to come out of these meetings since 2011.

G7 Leaders's Declaration on Food Security

Paris G20 Action Plan on Food Price Volatility and Agriculture

Mexico G20 Agriculture Vice Ministers/Deputies Report

Australia G20 Framework on Food Security and Nutrition

Turkey G20 Agriculture Ministers' Communique

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) and the CGIAR research program on Policies, Institutions, and Markets (PIM) today launched a new initiative to enhance global cooperation on measuring and reducing food loss and waste. The G20 agriculture ministers requested FAO and IFPRI to launch this initiative in Istanbul, Turkey, this past May.