G8 Leaders’ Statement on Food Security – Half a Loaf?

As I highlighted in my blog post of July 9, the number of “food-insecure” (i.e., hungry or malnourished) people in 70 developing countries increased by 130 million during 2007, to a new total of 980 million. How did the G8 leaders respond to this massive increase in global hunger and misery? 

The leaders’ rhetoric on global food security is not bad. (For the full statement, follow this link.) They express their “deep concern,” renew their commitment to address this multifaceted and structural crisis,  set a specific target of 6.2 percent growth in African agricultural productivity, and pledge (again) to conclude a Doha round that is “ambitious, comprehensive and balanced.” They express support for ending export restrictions and for local purchase of food aid. In line with President Bush’s pre-summit comments, they agreed to set up a G-8 experts group to monitor the implementation of commitments.

Another positive note in the statement is the G-8’s commitment to “explore options on a coordinated approach on stock management, including the pros and cons of building a ‘virtual’ internationally coordinated reserve system for humanitarian purposes.” This is something that Bread for the World strongly supports.

The down side is that there’s little in the way of new or additional financing for agricultural development. The leaders commit only to “reversing the overall decline of aid and investment in the agriculture sector.” Achieving such a reversal could still leave support for agriculture at unacceptably low levels for years to come. The $10 billion commitment trumpeted is mainly for short-term responses, not the kind of long-term support essential to ending hunger and food insecurity. It’s easy to call for trade reforms and conclusion of the Doha round, or for local procurement of food aid. Actually achieving these goals, however, will require heavy political lifting that few in the G8 seem disposed to take on.

Overall, then, the G8 response is not nearly commensurate to the needs of the hour. In the face of a crisis of this nature, one would have hoped for much more.