Policies, Institutions, and Global Initiatives

In the face of price spikes, climate change, and other stressors from the national to the global scale, the promotion of resilience has gained traction in the development community as a means of insuring that populations vulnerable to food and nutrition insecurity are equipped with the tools to survive and even thrive in our unpredictable world.

G20 Ministers of Agriculture met in Istanbul on 7-8 May 2015 for the first time since 2011 to address rising challenges concerning food security.

World population is expected to reach nine billion by 2050. This will increase the challenge for global food security and nutrition. In their Communique, Ministers underlined their commitment to meet this challenge. They agreed that establishing sustainable food systems is essential to cope with growing challenges in food security. They also highlighted the importance of reducing food losses and waste, which is a global problem.

The report of the G20 Agriculture Vice Ministers and Deputies released in 2012 followed up on the work of the 2011 Agriculture Ministers’ Action Plan [link to post on Action Plan]. The report discusses the progress made on a variety of initiatives, including the Agricultural Market Information System (AMIS), the Rapid Response Forum (RRF), the GEO-GLAM Crop Monitor, and the Tropical Agriculture Platform.

The 23rd Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the African Union Heads of State and Government kicked off this week in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea. The Summit's theme of "Transforming Africa’s Agriculture for Shared Prosperity and Improved Livelihoods through Harnessing Opportunities for Inclusive Growth and Sustainable Development” is particularly relevant this year, as 2014 also marks the 10-year anniversary of the adoption of the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) and the African Union's Year of Agriculture and Food and Nutrition Security.

Input subsidy programs—a mainstay of 1960s and 1970s international donor agendas—have regained favor in Africa south of the Sahara in recent years. Although 10 African countries spent more than $1 billion on these programs in 2011 alone, little information exists on the impacts the programs are having on households and communities.