G20 Agriculture and Water Ministers - Communiqué

Communiqué

G20 Agriculture and Water Ministers

November 22, 2020

Preamble

1. We, the G20 Agriculture and Water Ministers, met on September 12, 2020 and confirmed our will to strengthen our policy cooperation towards food security and nutrition as well as our intent to work towards sustainable and resilient water management. These issues have profound implications for people's wellbeing, economic growth and ability to cope with environmental and health challenges, including natural disasters, biodiversity loss and diseases, for a fast growing, urbanized and interconnected world population. We are deeply saddened by the devastating human losses and suffering caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. We recognize its impact on food security and nutrition, and we also recognize the importance of water, sanitation, and hygiene services to tackle the pandemic. We remain committed to strengthening the resilience and sustainability of food systems at all levels. We also recognize the critical importance of adequate access to safe and sufficient water for human life, health and food security, and therefore the need for sustainable and integrated water resources management.
2. We acknowledge the consistent focus on food security and nutrition, as well as sustainable agri-food value chains in past G20 Presidencies. Recalling the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, we identified collective efforts to foster resilient, inclusive and sustainable agriculture and food systems and water management. We recognize the significant challenges to food security and water management posed by a multitude of factors including climate change, extreme weather events and natural disasters among others. In this regard, we recall the
   2019 Osaka Leaders' Declaration. We highlight the importance of open, transparent and predictable trade, consistent with World Trade Organization (WTO) rules, to enhance market predictability, increase business confidence, and allow agri-food trade to flow so as to contribute to food security and nutrition.
3. In this context, we commit to work together on the issues below.
4. 1. Responding to COVID-19
5. We, the G20 Agriculture Ministers, reaffirm the commitments made in our Ministerial Statement on April 21, 2020, in particular to cooperate closely and take concrete and effective actions to safeguard global food security and nutrition. We acknowledge and appreciate the tremendous efforts being made by all actors to help keep food supply chains functioning under difficult circumstances, including during times where there are imbalances between supply and demand. We will continue to guard against any unjustified restrictive measures that could lead to excessive food price volatility in international markets, which could threaten the continued recovery of all facets of the global food supply chain and more broadly food security and nutrition. We agree that emergency or recovery measures in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic must be targeted, proportionate, transparent, and temporary; that they do not create unnecessary barriers to trade or disruption to global food supply chains; and are consistent with WTO rules. We commend the
   G20 Trade and Investment Ministers' endorsement of the "G20 Actions to Support
   World Trade and Investment in Response to COVID-19" on May 14, 2020, which includes the action to "refrain from introducing export restrictions on agricultural products, including on products purchased for non-commercial humanitarian

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purposes, and avoid unnecessary food-stockpiling, without prejudice to domestic food security, consistent with national requirements."

1. We call on international organizations to continue monitoring and reporting on the impacts of COVID-19 on food security and nutrition, advise on preventative, emergency and recovery measures and to provide recommendations on strengthening the global agriculture and food system resilience and sustainability in the wake of COVID-19, and in accordance with our commitments in the April Statement. In line with the One Health approach, we call for strengthened mechanisms for monitoring, early warning, preparedness, prevention, detection, response, and control of zoonotic diseases, and developing science-based international guidelines on stricter safety and hygienic measures for zoonosis control. Moreover, and without prejudice to applicable international rules on wildlife trade, we call upon the Tripartite to develop a list of wildlife species and conditions under which they could present significant risks of transmitting zoonoses, and to issue guidelines towards mitigating these risks.
2. We particularly acknowledge the important contributions of the Agriculture Market Information System (AMIS) initiative, and the Group on Earth Observations Global Agricultural Monitoring (GEOGLAM) to enhancing food market transparency and supporting coordinated policy responses for food security, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. To ensure AMIS's work in reducing global food market uncertainties continues, we agree to provide data and voluntary resources to the AMIS initiative. We strive for continued and proactive support of these initiatives, including through voluntary financial contributions.
   II. Responsible Investment in Agriculture and Food Systems (RIAFS)
3. We consider that a significant increase in responsible investment in agriculture and food systems is needed to meet the global challenge of feeding the growing population in an inclusive and socially, environmentally and economically sustainable manner. Prior to COVID-19, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) estimated that additional investments of US$265 billion per year during 2016-2030 would be necessary to end hunger in the world. We are concerned by the likely substantial increase in the number of people, in particular rural women and youth, suffering from food insecurity and malnutrition following the COVID-19 pandemic. Substantial and continued investments are needed for countries, particularly developing countries, to foster sustainable and resilient food systems that can contribute to achieve long term food security, meet requirements for improved nutrition, enhance livelihoods, increase agriculture and food sector productivity sustainably. There is scope for improving the alignment of support to agriculture with responsible investment principles, in line with WTO rules, and with the goal of making agriculture more productive, sustainable and resilient. We acknowledge and encourage the critical role of the private sector to build upon public efforts to improve agri-food systems for the benefit of all stakeholders.
4. We affirm the importance of promoting, scaling-up and monitoring the use of internationally agreed voluntary guidance, such as the Committee on World Food Security Principles for Responsible Investment in Agriculture and Food Systems (CFS-RAI Principles) to help meet responsible investment needs. We welcome the

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on-going work under various partnerships between investors and delivery partners in this area. We also acknowledge that G20 members, through their international leadership role, can continue promoting responsible agricultural investment to improve the sustainability in agriculture and food systems. In line with the CFS-RAI Principles and the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests in the Context of National Food Security (VGGT), we encourage possible recipient countries of agricultural investment to develop more robust legal and regulatory mechanisms that protect the legitimate tenure rights and other rights of individuals and local communities, including food sector farmers/producers and workers. It is also necessary to take into account the crucial role played by family farms, small-scale farmers and women in meeting food demand. We recognize that responsible investment in agriculture and food systems is a pillar of the G20 Framework for Food Security and Nutrition and its importance has been emphasized in previous G20 Agriculture Ministers' and Leaders' Declarations. We note that responsible investments in agriculture and food systems and trade in agri-food products are interlinked, and are important for global food security and nutrition, food safety, inclusive economic growth, farm profitability, rural prosperity, decent work and job opportunities and sustainable development.

1. Increased public sector investment can play a role in leveraging responsible investment in agriculture and food systems by the private sector and will be particularly important in the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. Efforts to increase responsible investment in agriculture and food systems must recognize that a significant portion of investment in agriculture is made by farmers themselves. Therefore, further efforts are needed to enable greater participation of private resources for rural credit funding and the use of capital market and risk management instruments to help farmers expand their possibilities of credit acquisition. Also, expanding opportunities for the participation of small-scale and other family farms, micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) and entrepreneurs in agri-food value chains is necessary, with a specific focus on the inclusion of women and youth. We will further support the expanded implementation of the VGGT, the CFS-RAI Principles, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)-FAO Guidance for Responsible Agricultural Supply Chains and related instruments, support their monitoring and encourage implementation through existing mechanisms and efforts.
2. We endorse the G20 Riyadh Statement to Enhance Implementation of Responsible Investment in Agriculture and Food Systems (G20 Riyadh RIAFS Statement) consistent with these internationally agreed instruments. This Statement underlines the importance of increasing responsible investments to drive sustainable and inclusive growth in the agriculture and food sectors.
3. 1. Rural Development
4. Recognizing the United Nations Decade of Family Farming, we emphasize the importance of rural development and acknowledge the challenges for many family farms, which account for the majority of the world's farms and food production. Many smaller-scale family farms and rural communities, particularly in developing countries, suffer from poverty or struggle economically, and the current COVID-19 crisis exacerbated their difficulties, with rural women and youth

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being especially vulnerable. We encourage efforts to enhance the sustainability, resilience and efficiency of value chains, strengthening the links between small- scale farmers, producers and markets and recall the objectives of the 2017 G20 Initiative for Rural Youth Employment. Responsible investment needs to harness market opportunities in agriculture and food systems to advance rural economies in an inclusive and sustainable way to allow farmers to thrive while preventing degradation of natural resources. In line with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and recognizing that rural economies have significant variation across the G20 member countries, strengthening rural economies is a foundation for ensuring food security and nutrition, tackling poverty and for creating economic opportunities, including decent work, for rural populations. To support rural development, we recognize the need for increased investments in rural infrastructure, including through public-private partnerships (PPPs), improved sustainable management of natural resources and ensuring people in rural areas have access to safe, resilient and sustainable water, sanitation, and hygiene services, energy, digital services, and basic social services responsive to women and youth including education and healthcare. We also recognize the importance of targeted approaches to agricultural and rural development in resource- challenged areas, and the importance of strengthening the meaningful participation, in particular of women and youth, in agri-food development decision-making processes. We acknowledge the importance of investment in rural development as part of the G20 Riyadh RIAFS Statement.

IV. Food Loss and Waste (FL&W)

1. Under the current challenging circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic, we stress the importance of avoiding food loss and waste, in particular caused by disruptions throughout global food supply chains, which could exacerbate food insecurity, malnutrition and economic loss. Preserving the smooth functioning of food markets and identifying new markets and marketing channels consistent with WTO rules can help reduce economic loss for producers while mitigating the impact of COVID-19 on consumers. We recognize that FL&W is a serious global issue with approximately one third of food being lost or wasted. This issue demands increased cooperation and action by G20 members through improved awareness, novel practices and innovative approaches including sharing case studies and data analysis. We acknowledge the need for an integrated and comprehensive food systems approach and call for cross-sectional inter- ministerial cooperation as appropriate.
2. We commit to continue furthering FL&W reduction initiatives and reaffirm the need for each country to voluntarily set baselines in line with any agreed international methodologies for measuring food loss and waste. We endeavor to work closely with FAO, the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the OECD, the Collaboration Initiative on FL&W launched at the Meeting of Agricultural Chief Scientists of G20 States (MACS) in 2015 and other relevant international bodies at global, regional and sub-regional levels to improve data collection mechanisms and the quality and availability of FL&W baseline estimates, share experiences on national practices and measuring FL&W, and to make progress on reducing FL&W. We seek to accelerate efforts to ensure G20 members have FL&W reduction targets

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