We, the Leaders of the G7, will spare no effort to increase global food and nutrition security and to protect the most vulnerable, whom the food crisis threatens to hit the hardest.
I. The Challenge
We note with grave concern that in 2022, according to the UN Global Crisis Response Group on Food, Energy and Finance (UN GCRG), up to 323 million people globally will become acutely food insecure or are at high risk, marking a new record high. Multiple intertwined crises, including conflicts, the COVID-19-pandemic, the loss of biodiversity, climate change and ongoing global economic uncertainty around the globe result in this existential challenge. Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, including its blocking of export routes for Ukraine´s grain, is dramatically aggravating the hunger crisis; it has triggered disruptions of agricultural production, supply chains and trade that have driven world food and fertiliser prices to unprecedented levels for which Russia bears enormous responsibility. In our pursuit to ensure that all people can realise their right to adequate food, we reaffirm our goal to lift 500 million people out of hunger and malnutrition by 2030, as resolved in the 2015 G7 Elmau commitment.
II. Our Response: Global Alliance for Food Security
We are convinced that this multidimensional crisis can only be solved through a joint global effort. Therefore, and in strong support of the UN GCRG, we are building the Global Alliance for Food Security jointly with the World Bank as a coordinated and solidarity response to the challenges ahead. We will cooperate closely with international partners beyond the G7 with the aim of transforming political commitments into concrete actions, as planned by various initiatives such as the Team Europe’s response to global food insecurity and the Food and Agriculture Resilience Mission (FARM), the Roadmap for Global Food Security – Call to Action, and key regional outreach initiatives, including towards African countries and with the Mediterranean Ministerial Dialogue on the Food Security Crisis as well as the Uniting for Global Food Security Ministerial Conference. We urge our partners, including the private sector, to join us in our efforts to increase solidarity towards the most vulnerable.
III. Our Actions
In our commitment to the Global Alliance for Food Security:
1. We commit to an additional USD 4.5 billion to protect the most vulnerable from hunger and malnutrition, amounting to a total of over USD 14 billion as our joint commitment to global food security this year.
2. We reiterate our urgent call upon Russia to, without condition, end its blockade of Ukrainian Black Sea ports, destruction of key port and transport infrastructure, grain silos and terminals, illegal appropriation by Russia of agricultural commodities and equipment in Ukraine and all other activities that further impede Ukrainian food production and exports. These can only be assessed as a geopolitically motivated attack on global food security. We will step up our efforts to help Ukraine to keep producing agricultural products in view of the next harvest season and commit to supporting Ukrainian farmers in gaining access to essential agricultural inputs and veterinary medicines. We are strongly supporting Ukraine in resuming its agricultural exports to world markets, as well as UN efforts to unlock a safe maritime corridor through the Black Sea. Additionally, we will step up our efforts to establish alternative routes building on the already implemented EU “Solidarity Lanes” initiative. Working with relevant agencies and partners we will collaborate to identify the provenance of grain imports, with the aim of identifying illegally seized Ukrainian products and deterring Russia from continuing its illegal seizures. We further call on Russia to lift its measures that hinder the export of Russian grain and fertilisers.
3. We will continue to ensure that our sanctions packages are not targeting food and allow for the free flow of agricultural products, including from Russia, and the delivery of humanitarian assistance.
4. We commit to sustainably increase the availability of agricultural products including through strengthening agricultural productivity particularly in the most affected countries to build their resilience and support domestic production. We will strive to address fertiliser shortages by supporting more efficient and targeted usage, temporarily increasing local and global production as appropriate, and promoting alternatives to inorganic fertiliser. As a short-term relief, we call on those partners with large food stockpiles as well as on the private sector to make food available without distorting the markets, including by supporting the World Food Programme´s purchase strategy. We call on all countries to avoid excessive stockpiling of food which can lead to further price increases. We will continue to address food loss and waste and the promotion of balanced and healthy diets. We support the initiative carried out by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), in coordination with the African Union (AU), to design a strategic investment plan to accelerate development of value chains essential for Africa’s food resilience.
5. We stand by our commitment to keep our food and agricultural markets open and call on all partners to avoid unjustified restrictive trade measures that increase market volatility and thus the risk of food insecurity. We welcome the Ministerial Declaration on the emergency response to food insecurity adopted at the 12th Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), and fully support its decision to exempt non-commercial humanitarian purchases of foodstuffs by the World Food Programme (WFP) from export prohibitions or restrictions. We commit to strengthen our support to the G20 Agricultural Market Information System (AMIS), including by providing additional financial resources as well as timely data and transparent information and ask all AMIS members to do so, too. We encourage AMIS to also monitor input markets more closely. We will fight against any speculative behaviour that endangers food security or access to nutritious food for vulnerable countries or populations.
6. We will ensure that our response to the current challenges also strengthens the longterm resilience and sustainability of agriculture and food systems, in alignment with the Sustainable Development Goals, the Paris Agreement and Glasgow Pact, the Convention to Combat Desertification and the Convention on Biological Diversity, including via increasing our support to smallholder farmers. In this context, we support the crucial work of all relevant multilateral organisations, including the Rome-based agencies WFP, Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and IFAD as well as the Committee on World Food Security (CFS), the WTO and international financial institutions. We welcome the planned actions for global food crisis response announced by the World Bank Group as well as the International Financial Insitution Action Plan to Address Food Insecurity. We commit to continued engagement with and support for the UN Food Systems Summit’s objectives, and encourage all partners to support or join the Zero Hunger Coalition. We support country- and region-led plans and solutions to address food insecurity, building on the work of the AU’s 2022 Year of Nutrition. We also commit to scaling up essential nutrition services in countries with the highest burden of malnutrition.
7. We invite all partners – including governments, international organisations, global and regional initiatives, research institutions, civil society, the private sector and philanthropy – to unite with us in our endeavour to ensure global food security and to support the Global Alliance for Food Security.
Source: European Union