Food crisis: one year later

Food Crisis: One Year Later

g8 response to the food crisis

table of contents
LIST OF ACRONYMS 1

INTRODUCTION One Year After Hokkaido G8 Summit

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CHAPTER I Hunger continues to increase

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CHAPTER II What should be done II.1 > Expanding social protection II.2 > Increasing and sustaining small farm productivity II.3 > Rebuilding Food Reserves II.4 > Tackling climate change II.5> End forced trade liberalization II.6 > Stop subsidising agrofuels II.7 > Invest in alternative renewable energy

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CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS From words to action

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REFERENCES

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

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DISCLAIMER Due to the current economic crisis there is high proliferation of studies, hence some data contained in this study may be outdated at thetime of publication. Macroeconomic, food data and projections sadly show a common regularity in 2009: they are too often “worse than expected”.

Published in Rome, 18th June 2009

list of acronyms
AAH EC EDC EIA EU FAO FAPRI FOE G8 G7 G20 GDPRD DFID GFI GHS GRC GSI HLTF IAASTD ICAARD IEA IFAD IFPRI ILO IMF INTA IPCC JRC OECD UK UN UNCTAD UNDP UNEP UNESCAP UNESCO USA USD USDA WB WFP ActionAgainst Hunger European Commission European Development Cooperation Energy Information Administration (US) European Union Food and Agriculture Organization Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute Friends of the Earth Group of 8 Most Industrialized Countries Group of 7 Most Industrialized Countries Group of 20 Most Industrialized Countries Global Donor Platform for Rural DevelopmentDepartment for International Development (UK) Global Financial Integrity Global Environmental Change and Human Security Gulf Research Centre Global Subsidies Initiative High Level Task Force International Assessment of Agricultural Knowledge Science and Technology International Conference on Agrarian Reform and Rural Development International Energy Agency International Fund for Agricultural DevelopmentInternational Food Policy Research Institute International Labour Organization International Monetary Fund Instituto Nacional Tecnologia Agropecuaria (Argentina) International Panel on Climate Change Joint Research Centre of the European Commission Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development United Kingdom United Nations United Nations Commission on Trade and Development United NationsDevelopment Program United Nations Environment Program United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization United States of America US Dollar United States Department of Agriculture World Bank World Food Program

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introduction

One Year After Hokkaido G8 Summit
We are deeply concerned that the steep risein global food prices coupled with availability problems in a number of developing countries is threatening global food security. The negative impacts of this recent trend could push millions more back into poverty, rolling back progress made towards achieving the Millennium Development Goals.... Responding effectively to this crisis requires leadership, ambition and an appropriate scale ofresources. [G8 Leaders Statement on Global Food Security, 2008] In the midst of a global food crisis last July, the G8 leaders adopted a Statement on Global Food Security at their summit in Japan. They pledged to disburse rapidly $10bn that they had already pledged since January 2008 in food aid, nutrition interventions, social protection and aid to agriculture. They promised not only to reverse the20-year decline in aid to agriculture, but also to significantly increase it. To mobilize the “leadership, ambition and … scale of resources” needed to respond effectively to the food crisis, the G8 leaders committed to form a new global partnership to fight hunger and achieve food security. They pledged to involve relevant actors, including developing country governments and civil society. They...