G20 AGRICULTURE MINISTERS MEETING Statement

Your Excellency the Minister of Agriculture of South Africa

Excellences, 

Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is an honour for FAO to join you today for this G20 Agriculture Ministers’ Meeting, under the presidency of the Republic of South Africa.

I wish to thank His Excellency the Minister of Agriculture and the South African Presidency for the warm welcome and for bringing us together here in Cape Town.

Just like Cape Town, which is a city where two great oceans converge, this G20 meeting represents a critical meeting point where the distinct currents of the world's economies come together.

It is in this very confluence that a new direction can be charted.

We meet at a time of overlapping crises, which continue to undermine global food security and push millions into hunger and poverty.

Yet, it is also a time of unprecedented opportunity – an opportunity to collectively transform our agrifood systems to be more efficient, more inclusive, more resilient, and more sustainable.

The numbers from the latest State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World (SOFI) Report are deeply concerning. After years of progress, we are moving backwards. This is unacceptable.

Our current agrifood systems, while productive, are also generating significant negative externalities: they are significant contributors to greenhouse gas emissions, environmental degradation, and inequality.

At the same time, agrifood systems are among the most vulnerable to climate shocks, with droughts, floods, storms, and rising temperatures already undermining productivity and disrupting supply chains.

FAO’s Global Roadmap demonstrates that it is possible to achieve Zero Hunger, while keeping within the 1.5 degrees Celsius target.

But this will require an estimated USD 1.1 trillion annually until 2030 for mitigation and resilience.

This is an urgent call for coordinated global action!

FAO’s Strategic Framework 2022-31 is built on the principle of the Four Betters: Better Production, Better Nutrition, a Better Environment, and a Better Life - leaving no one behind.

It provides a clear roadmap, and the G20, representing the world’s largest economies, and both major producers and consumers, is uniquely positioned to lead this transformation.

I would like to highlight four areas where your leadership is crucial:

First: Scaling Up Innovation and Digitalization.

We must harness the power of science, technology, and innovation. From digital agriculture and climate-resilient crops to sustainable water management and renewable energy integration, these tools can revolutionize productivity, while reducing our environmental footprint and improving inequality of rural areas.

Recognizing this, FAO’s Strategic Framework 2022-31 places innovation at its core, and through the newly established Office of Innovation we are ensuring that new technologies, from digital tools to biotechnologies, are harnessed responsibly to transform agrifood systems.

The G20 can foster an enabling environment for investment in research and development and ensure these technologies are available, accessible and affordable to all, especially smallholders and family farmers who are the backbone of global food security.

With the right technical and financial support, efficient and effective coordination, access to technology, and integration into markets, these small holder farms can be highly productive, profitable, sustainable, and key drivers of rural prosperity.

Empowering women and youth in agrifood systems is also a key accelerator.

Nearly 85 percent of the world’s youth live in low- and lower-middle-income countries, where agrifood systems are central to livelihoods.

Greater inclusion of youth across agrifood systems could unlock trillion dollars in the global economy.

FAO’s initiatives, from skills development to mentorship and access to finance, are designed to ensure that youth and women are not only participants, but leaders in agrifood transformation.

Second: Increasing Sustainable and Resilient Investment.

Current levels of investment in agrifood systems are insufficient and often not aligned with productivity and sustainability. The G20 is a critical platform to redirect financial flows.

This means repurposing agricultural subsidies that support scientech based solutions with green outcomes, social protection with justice, and resilience-building with better life.

Public finance must be used to catalyze much larger volumes of responsible private investment.

Third: Improving Data Transparency and Market Functioning.

Global crises have exposed the fragility of our global food markets. Initiatives like the G20’s Agricultural Market Information System (AMIS), which FAO is proud to host since 2012, are vital for enhancing transparency, reducing uncertainty, and preventing misguided trade policies.

We must strengthen these mechanisms and reaffirm our commitment to keeping the global food trade open, predictable, and functioning smoothly.

And Fourth: Promoting Integrated Policy Approaches.

We cannot address food security in isolation. The G20 must play a key role in ensuring that global policies are efficient, effective and coherent, connecting agriculture with health, social protection, energy, and environmental policies.

Promoting sustainable patterns for production and consumption and reducing food loss and waste – where over 30 percent of all food produced is lost – can significantly improve efficiency and reduce pressure on our natural resources.

Excellences,

The South African Presidency reminds us of the principle of ubuntu which underlines that our humanity is bound to the humanity of others.  

Nelson Mandela reminded us of that ubuntu is not about denying personal progress, but about ensuring that our progress enables others to advance.

This principle must guide our collective response to hunger and malnutrition, and poverty eradication.

Because the right to food is a basic human right.

We are living through difficult times, but we have the necessary tools, collective knowledge, and strong partnerships at our disposal.

By working together, through innovation, empowerment, and solidarity, ending hunger and eradicating poverty are possible.

FAO remains your steadfast partner.

We are supporting countries through our Hand-in-Hand Initiative, using advanced geospatial modeling to match the poorest countries with investment opportunities.

We are developing and promoting frameworks for climate-smart agriculture, and we provide neutral, professional policy advice and technical expertise.

We need bold, decisive, and coordinated action.

As the G20, your decisions resonate globally.

Let us leave this meeting with a renewed collective resolve to build the agrifood systems the world needs – systems that can nourish all people, today and tomorrow, while protecting our planet.

Let’s walk the talk together!

Thank you.