The G20 Underpin Policy Initiatives to Tackle Global Food Insecurity and Malnutrition at the First Joint Finance and Agriculture Deputies Meeting

Joint Finance and Agriculture Deputies Meeting (JFADM) was held first time on 3 October 2022 under the Indonesian G20 Presidency, hosted by the Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Agriculture, Indonesia. The 1^st JFADM was attended by G20 members, invitees, and international organizations in a virtual mode.

The G20 held the 1^st JFADM in response to the growing food insecurity issues and the urgency to strengthen global collaboration. This Meeting is an escalation from the discussion on The High-Level Seminar on Strengthening Global Collaboration for Tackling Food Insecurity, which was held on July 2022 back-to-back with the 3^rd Finance Minister and Central Governors’ Meeting. At the High-Level Seminar, a collaboration between the Indonesian Presidency and the Government of Saudi Arabia, the members discussed the urge to focus on short-term and long-term goals in formulating policy solutions for agriculture, trade, and social protection. In addition, the members also agreed and committed to global collective actions to ensure food affordability for all.

In this JFADM, G20 members discussed the concept note on Strengthening Global Collaboration to Tackle Food Insecurity and Malnutrition as a joint effort between G20 Finance and Sherpa tracks to discuss recent developments, identify solutions, and a way forward in addressing global food insecurity. The proposal includes the following area: financing measures, agri-food system intervention, and trade measures.

Kasdi Subagyono, the Secretary General of the Ministry of Agriculture, Indonesia, opened the 1st JFADM meeting. In his opening remarks, Kasdi said, “It is our responsibility to prove that the G20 safeguards the spirit of multilateralism, to make it deliver and to be an effective forum responding to global challenges, especially in addressing the food insecurity, and reiterate support for an open, transparent, inclusive, predictable, and non-discriminatory rules-based multilateral trading systems.” Meanwhile, following up on the previous High-Level Seminar, Suliman al-Khateeb, Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Saudi Arabia, mentioned, “I would like to emphasize the need to develop a long-term sustainable food security governance mechanism for the development of a sustainable and resilient food system that delivers food security and nutrition.”

The session was followed by a presentation from Wempi Saputra, the Assistant Minister for Macro Economy and International Finance, Ministry of Finance, and the G20 Finance Deputy, Indonesia. In his presentation, Wempi stated, “This Meeting, and the Meeting of G20 Finance and Agriculture Ministers next week will be a critical opportunity for the G20 to build momentum on G20 members’ efforts to address food security ahead of the G20 Leaders’ Summit, with special attention to fertilizers. The G20 Finance and Agriculture Ministers Meeting will also provide political support for the mapping exercise, its terms of reference, and a summary of actions by G20 members”.

Responding to the presentation of the concept from Indonesia, the G20 members expressed their strong support for bringing this initiative to a higher level with several inputs, including support for strengthening global cooperation to overcome food insecurity and malnutrition and promoting open, transparent, and fair trade. Several countries also encourage the prepared concept notes to describe more comprehensive challenges and solutions built on global alliances and high solidarity without duplicating existing strategies and efforts.

The results of this first JFADM meeting will serve as input for the first Joint Finance and Agriculture Ministers’ Meeting (JFAMM) at the 4th FMCBG, which will be held in conjunction with the IMF-World Bank Group Annual Meetings in Washington D.C, mid-October 2022.

Indonesia’s G20 Presidency, supported by all G20 members and international organizations, is committed and will continue to call for global action to ensure food affordability for all and address existing insecurity with global collaboration, including through fiscal and sectoral policy mixes.