Proposal for a new global agricultural policy

Following their Paris meeting on the 22 and 23 June 2011, the G20 agriculture ministers decided to improve the regulation of agriculture markets and prevent food crises. Dacian Ciolos, European Commissioner for Agriculture, said these measures were “entirely in line” with his proposed reforms to the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), due to be put forward in September 2011.

Agriculture was the focus at the negotiating table of the G20 - formed by the  European Union and the 19 richest countries in the world. This is a first for a members' club which was set up in 1999 after a succession of financial crises. It's an 'intrusion' that is justified by the spectre of speculation in food commodities, an activity that plays a part in creating food crises. Not forgetting the increasing effect that oil prices have on food prices ever since biofuel cultivation began to emerge on a grand scale. However, this subject was only alluded to in Paris.

The action plan agreed in June, designed to regulate the markets and curb price volatility, has several objectives: to regulate the agricultural derivatives markets; to strengthen international policy coordination in order to respond more effectively to food crises; to develop risk management tools for the poorest countries; and to increase information on and transparency of markets.

Dacian Ciolos welcomed the proposals, which he said were “entirely in line with the challenges of reforming the CAP”. The correlation between sustainable development and agriculture was one of the common points: “The increase in agricultural production has to go hand in hand with proper management of resources. More account must also be taken of agricultural systems of all sizes, from smallholders to major producers.” The Commissioner was at pains to point out that all these issues will be addressed in the CAP reform proposals.

Under the G20 action plan, the EU has also committed to provide better statistical data about the European agriculture market. If detailed figures are published, so the G20 thinking goes, this should limit speculation. The data will be incorporated into the new Agricultural Market Information System (AMIS), housed at the FAO in Rome. All that remains is to convince the private sector to participate. This is no small challenge when you consider that just four agribusiness corporations, known collectively as ABCD (Archer Daniels Midland, Bunge, Cargill and Louis Dreyfus) control over 90% of the global grain trade.

The CAP: a less negative impact on developing countries

In its conclusions, the G20 warns that food security could be compromised by commercial barriers. “As far as export restrictions and bans are concerned, I do not deny that, in certain circumstances, these measures may sometimes be necessary,” Dacian Ciolos conceded, while also saying that “the CAP is having a less negative impact on the other partners”.

The G20 ministers also announced their support for a pilot project to create a humanitarian food reserves system. Responsibility for conducting the feasibility study has been entrusted to the World Food Programme, which would have access to sufficient food reserves to react to crises in a timely manner. Some questions remain unanswered, something that the European Commissioner for Agriculture recognised: “Where will these reserves be produced? Who will pay for them? Who will manage them? In what circumstances will they be released? How do we coordinate the use of these reserves with international trade?”

M.M.B.