G20 Agriculture Ministers Declaration
1. We, the G20 Ministers of Agriculture, Agrarian Development and Family Farming, and Fisheries and Aquaculture of the G20, meton 12 and 13 September, 2024 in Chapada dos Guimarães, Stateof Mato Grosso, Brazil, under the co-chairmanship of the BrazilianMinistry of Agriculture and Livestock, Ministry of AgrarianDevelopment and Family Farming, and Ministry of Fisheries andAquaculture to discuss strengthening the resilience and thesustainability of agriculture and food systems in their economic,social and environmental dimensions. Agriculture, fisheries andaquaculture play a key role in the achievement of the 2030Agenda for Sustainable Development.
2. Agriculture is at the forefront of addressing key challenges highlighted during Brazil’s G20 presidency: fighting poverty,ending hunger, improving nutrition, while confronting climatechange, biodiversity loss, pollution and desertification.Sustainable and resilient agriculture is crucial for global foodsecurity and nutrition, contributing to environmental sustainability,promoting rural revitalization and providing livelihoods for millionsof people across agriculture and food systems, and to conservethe vital natural ecosystems that sustain life. Impacts of climatechange, conflicts, economic slowdowns and downturns, and theCOVID-19 pandemic, global supply chain disruptions, and thesetbacks in the achievement of the SDGs, especially thechallenges of poverty and hunger, have underscored the need forincreased resilience and sustainability in agriculture, foodproduction, distribution, and trade.
3. Accelerated climate change impacts, such as rising temperatures, changing precipitation patterns, more frequent extreme weatherevents, soil pollution and degradation, water pollution and loss ofbiodiversity, are manifesting more rapidly and unpredictably. All of these factors are exacerbating global food insecurity andmalnutrition, affecting nearly 733 million people who arechronically undernourished and 2.8 billion who cannot affordhealthy diets. To address these challenges, it is essential toquickly develop, share and implement sustainable agriculturalpractices that enhance resilience and mitigate the adverse effectsof climate change as well as to transform food systems at national,regional and international level.
4. We underscore the G20's commitment to food security and nutrition, as reaffirmed during the Indian presidency through theDeccan High-Level Principles on Food Security and Nutritionwhich provide a basis to guide our actions to address foodsecurity and nutrition challenges, while strengthening policies andcollaborative actions for resilient and sustainable agriculture andfood systems. We look forward to the launch of the GlobalAlliance against Hunger and Poverty at the G20 Leaders’ Summitin November 2024 to support and accelerate efforts to eradicatehunger and poverty (SDGs 1 and 2) while reducing inequalities(SDG 10) by scaling up the implementation of public policiesthrough global partnerships for sustainable development (SDG17). We should support developing countries to enhance theircapacity for sustainable food production, and marketing. Wehighlight the role of local, regional and international trade infacilitating food distribution and supporting sustainable economicdevelopment, especially for resource-limited and import-dependent countries.
5. We reaffirm our steadfast commitments in pursuit of UNFCCC objectives to tackle climate change by strengthening the full andeffective implementation of the Paris Agreement and itstemperature goal, reflecting equity and the principle of commonbut differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities in thelight of different national circumstances. We underscore theimportance of enhancing sustainability in agriculture, aquaculture, fisheries, and forestry to take actions to halt and reversebiodiversity loss in line with the Kunming-Montreal GlobalBiodiversity Framework and to its full and effectiveimplementation.
6. We highlight the importance of implementing tailored policies for family farmers, including small-scale farmers, IndigenousPeoples, women, and youth for the sustainable development ofagriculture and food systems. Beyond the present value ofagriculture in economic, social and environmental terms,improved, efficient, science and evidence-based sustainableproduction methods and resilient supply chains havetransformative potential over the multifaceted challenges we face.Integrating new and emerging technologies with other innovativeand conventional approaches, alongside Indigenous, traditional,and local knowledges, is essential.
7. We recognize that renewable energies, resilient and low-emission agriculture, nature-based solutions, water resilience,the sustainable use of bioeconomy and ecosystem-based andother management and conservation approaches needinternational cooperation and tailored solutions. These effortssupport sustainable development across its three dimensions andfinance mobilization.
8. We take note, as appropriate, of the recommendations from engagement groups: (i) B20 - Ensure an inclusive global foodsystem transformation fostering productivity growth and modelsfor financing and collaboration to support farmers’ transition; (ii)T20 - Strengthen multilateral cooperation under the GlobalAlliance against Hunger and Poverty; (iii) O20 - Scale upsustainable production of aquatic foods and build its resilience tocontribute to sustain healthy and nutritious food; promote foodsecurity through blue food systems by supporting coastal andsmall-scale fishing communities; (iv) C20 - Eradicate poverty and hunger; (v) S20 - Engage communities in the transition to ensurea just and sustainable energy future. We also note the Social G20Meeting of Civil Society Organizations on Public Policies forFamily Farming to be held in November 2024, as part of effortsfrom the G20 Brazilian Presidency to foster inclusive dialogueinvolving those affected by policy decisions.
Priority I: Sustainability of Agriculture and FoodSystems in Their Multiple Paths
9. Sustainable agriculture and food systems underpin global food security and nutrition, rural development and revitalization,sustainable management and use of natural resources, and theirconservation for future generations. Recognizing that there is no"one-size- fits-all" solution to the challenges of agriculture andfood systems, due to the diversity and complexity of globalagricultural and food production conditions, we support targetedpolicies, which, in combination with other cross-cutting strategies,deliver economic prosperity, environmental stewardship, positivehealth outcomes and social equity. This requires a focus onoutcomes-driven sustainable and innovative solutions that arescience and evidence-based, data-driven (including through theuse of digital infrastructure), socially inclusive, adapted to localcontexts and supported by open, non-discriminatory, and fairmarkets. In that respect, we welcome the outcomes of the 13thG20 Meeting of Agriculture Chief Scientists (MACS), held inBrasilia, from 15-17, May, 2024.
10. We recognize the COP 28 Emirates Declaration on Sustainable Agriculture, Resilient Food Systems, and Climate Action and theagreement reached at the Bonn Climate Conference in June 2024on the elements of the Sharm El Sheikh Joint Work onimplementation of climate action in agriculture and food security.We stress the importance of enhanced efforts towards halting and reversing deforestation and forest degradation by 2030. Werecommend agriculture and food systems policies andprogrammes that increase incomes, reduce greenhouse gasemissions, and bolster resilience, production and productivity,livelihoods, nutrition, water efficiency, and human, animal, plant,and environmental health, while reducing food loss and waste, andecosystem loss and degradation, taking into consideration nationalcircumstances.
11. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is the basis for a balanced and inclusive path for people, planet, and prosperity,where agriculture plays a vital role in the achievement of theSustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This includes SDG 1,which aims to end poverty in all its forms everywhere, and SDG2, which seeks to end hunger, achieve food security, improvenutrition, and promote sustainable agriculture for all by 2030. It isprojected that approximately 582 million people will be chronicallyundernourished at the end of the current decade, more than halfin Africa (SOFI 2024). In light of widespread food insecurity andmalnutrition, strategies must integrate multiple facets, includinghealthy, diverse, and balanced diets, sustainable production andconsumption, poverty eradication, reduction of food loss andwaste, humanitarian food assistance, integrated water resourcemanagement, mitigation and adaptation to climate change,resilient and sustainable agricultural productivity growth, and therole of international, regional and local trade.
12. In line with global efforts towards the full achievement of all SDGs, particularly SDGs 1 and 2, we reaffirm everyone should haveaccess to safe, nutritious, affordable and sufficient food andhealthy diets consistent with our commitment to foster theprogressive realization of the right to adequate food in the contextof national food security. We welcome Brazil's proposal toestablish a Global Alliance against Hunger and Poverty, recallingthat 84% of the world’s poor reside in rural areas. We acknowledge the catalytic role that this G20 initiative can play inmobilizing resources, partnerships, and knowledge whilsthighlighting the importance of combining efforts to address theglobal challenges of poverty, food security and nutrition, andsocial development, while ensuring the lasting protection of theplanet and its natural resources.
13. In addressing global food security challenges, we recognize the urgent need for actions to protect, conserve, and restorebiodiversity, forests, freshwater, oceans, to promote thesustainable use and management of biodiversity and soil for foodand agriculture, and promote climate-resilient crops, as well assecure tenure rights on land, fisheries and forests and integratedwater resource management. In addition, we note the importanceof the sustainable use of bioeconomy in strengthening foodsecurity and nutrition. This can be supported by the application ofbiodiversity-friendly, science and evidence-based practices,including sustainable intensification, regenerative agriculture, agroecological practices and other innovative approaches, such asbreeding innovations, to improve productivity on existing agricultural land with positive environmental impacts, and for supporting our shared commitments to halting and reversingdeforestation and ecosystem degradation.
14. To foster sustainable agriculture and food systems, we advocate for innovation and technology integration, science and technologyexchange on voluntary and mutually agreed terms, and othersustainable approaches, including methods based on traditionaland Indigenous knowledges and best practices, having regard tonational and international intellectual property law as per the WorldIntellectual Property Organization (WIPO), as applicable,combined with cutting-edge new technologies and approaches,including digital infrastructure. We also need to enhance our effortsto strengthen research cooperation on climate-resilient andnutritious grains. We recognize the need to improve environmental outcomes and food systems resilience. This involves supportingsustainable agricultural models adapted to local realities andcharacteristics, which contribute to climate resilience andbiodiversity conservation.
15. Acknowledging the crucial role of fertilizers in agriculture, we encourage efforts for enhancing their sustainable and moreefficient production and use, while minimizing negative impacts onbiodiversity. It is important that we focus on research anddevelopment, including the development in scaling up theiravailability by increasing investment, and facilitating internationaltrade and access to affordable, safe, and sustainable fertilizers.We aim to address the challenges of fertilizer shortages, includingthrough trade, increase fertilizer efficiency, and utilize biofertilizerswhile addressing the need to improve soil health and minimizewater pollution. We emphasize the importance of increasing access to fertilizers, including through strengthening local fertilizer production.
16. As G20 members, we are committed to making agriculture and food systems more sustainable through technical cooperation, sharingbest practices, and fostering innovations that address global foodsecurity and nutrition and sustainable development challenges.
17. Our discussions and initiatives, such as the proposed G20 Global Initiative on Bioeconomy (GIB) and the emphasis on combating antimicrobial resistance (AMR) following the One Health approach,reflect our collective ambition to achieve sustainable and inclusivegrowth in agriculture and food systems while protecting human,animal, and plant health, and the environment.
18. To this end, we promote the prudent and responsible use of antimicrobials and commit to the principles laid down in the CodexAlimentarius “Code of Practice to Minimize and Contain Food borne Antimicrobial Resistance”, and emphasize the importance of promoting and implementing measures against AMR in all relevant sectors based on cooperation, scientific evidence, surveillance, and risk analysis. We remain committed to promote the One Health approach driven by the Quadripartite One Health Joint Plan of Action. In this context, we take note of the 4th Global High Level Ministerial Meeting on Antimicrobial Resistance, which will be held in Riyadh,Saudi Arabia, in November 2024.
19. By leveraging our diverse experiences and embracing a holistic approach to agriculture and food systems transformation, and by addressing health issues such as food borne diseases and food contamination at the human-animal-plant-environment interface along the food supply chain, we aim to foster a more food-secure and sustainable future for all.
Priority II: Enhancing International Trade's Contributionto Food Security and Nutrition
20. We stress the fact that international, as well as regional and local trade, plays a crucial role in alleviating food insecurity and malnutrition, and building sustainable and resilient food systems, including by facilitating the movement of food from surplus to deficit regions, thereby improving food availability, promotingaccess, and helping to stabilize prices. It can also foster dietarydiversity, crucial for nutrient intake and health. Besides notimposing export prohibitions or restrictions in a mannerinconsistent with relevant WTO provisions, concrete steps shouldbe taken to ensure agricultural and food products trade to flow.
21. We look forward to World Trade Organization discussions on how trade rules can contribute to the sustainability of agriculture andfood systems. We stress the need to engage constructively in thelong-standing WTO reform process on agriculture at the 14th Ministerial Conference. A transparent, fair, predictable, open,non-discriminatory, inclusive, sustainable, equitable and rules-based multilateral trading system, with the WTO at its core, is fundamental to foster fair and well-functioning global markets, especially in times of global food security uncertainty and crisis. We emphasize that policies and regulations intended to improve sustainability and resilience of agriculture and food systems should be in compliance with WTO rules, including avoiding unjustifiable regulatory burdens.
22. The role of the Agricultural Market Information System (AMIS) in providing robust, reliable, and transparent market analyses ofstaple commodities, vegetable oils and fertilizers is invaluable.We reconfirm our commitment to actively support the initiative byproviding the necessary data, and resources as well asbroadening the donor-base. Strengthening country participationin AMIS through routine and regular country engagement onsupplying information is key to providing timely data on the foodmarket situation and contributing to early warning systems foracute food insecurity.
23. We acknowledge that reducing food waste at retail and consumer levels by 50% and reducing food losses along production andsupply chains (including post-harvest losses) to achieve SDG
23.2, alongside improving storage conditions, infrastructure iscritical for enhancing food security and nutrition globally, whilecontributing to fighting climate change. Furthermore, improvingmarket and supply chain access for women, family farmers,including small-scale farmers, Indigenous Peoples and localcommunities, is vital. Sharing technology, on voluntary andmutually agreed terms, knowledge, and best practices plays acrucial role in this effort. This includes facilitating access not justto markets but to the entire supply chain, thereby improvingincome opportunities and can contribute to biodiversityconservation, and the preservation of traditional agricultural knowledge. We also reiterate the importance of improving themeasurement and strengthening policy dialogue on food loss andwaste to enable targeted action, developing and implementingnational strategies, and consider including food loss and waste inour national communications.
24. Coordination with international financial institutions and other development partners to promote responsible investments insustainable agricultural practices in developing countries isencouraged. Such investments should consider the needs ofdeveloping countries, LDCs, and NFIDCs, Small IslandDeveloping States and Landlocked Developing Countries, thuspromoting a non-discriminatory fair-trading environment, whilepromoting high environmental standards.
25. In light of the dynamic interplay of global agriculture and food trade, which has notably benefited emerging economies andcontributed to shifting global trade patterns, we must recognizethe interdependence of countries in achieving food security andnutrition, food safety, and sustainability through open trade policies consistent with WTO rules. While recognizing theimportance of domestic production, diversifying international, regional and local supply routes is also an important way to strengthen the resilience of world food supply chains to external shocks.
Priority III: Elevating the Essential Role of FamilyFarmers, Smallholders, Indigenous Peoples and LocalCommunities in Sustainable, Resilient and InclusiveAgriculture and Food Systems
26. Family farmers, including smallholders, are central to the transition to sustainable, resilient, and inclusive food systems andto the promotion of healthy diets, producing 80% of the world’sfood in value terms across more than 550 million family farms (FAO, 2021). We also note that rural populations, constitutingmore than 40% of humanity, include over 80% of the world’spopulation living in extreme poverty (UNGA, 2023). Family farmers, including smallholders, Indigenous Peoples and local communities, and women and youth, are not only pivotal in ensuring food security but also play a central role in the sustainable management and use of natural resources and biodiversity conservation. However, these populations aresignificantly affected by climate change, forest and landdegradation, and biodiversity loss. Recognizing their crucial role and specific needs, it is imperative to prioritize locally led and adapted solutions, and develop targeted policies with the meaningful and effective participation of these groups and their organizations in decision-making processes to enable them to thrive worldwide, with a special focus on those in vulnerable situations1.
27. We acknowledge the diverse structures of family farms globally, the existence of varying definitions of family farming acrossdifferent countries, and that such farms may be supported bycombinations of specifically tailored policies, including, as appropriate, access to land, financial services, technical assistance, rural extension, insurance, and public procurement of food from family farmers, with a holistic perspective, and in line with international obligations and commitments. We commend the efforts of the FAO and IFAD in supporting countries to create,fine-tune and expand such policies, as the core objective of theongoing UN Decade of Family Farming (UNDFF 2019-2028).
28. Recognizing the varying needs of family farms according to scale and capitalization levels, we underscore the need for tailoredpolicies that promote their sustainability and resilience. We recall in this respect that small-scale family farms (under 2 hectares),comprising over 84% of the world’s farms, operate on only 12%of agricultural land yet produce approximately 36% of the world’sfood (FAO, 2021). We therefore highlight the significant potential of targeted sustainable agricultural innovations - such as mechanization and modernization of small-scale family farms - inincreasing productivity and adding value while safe guarding natural resources. We therefore support enhancing fair trade,responsible investment, and voluntary technology transfer ofmachinery and equipment designed for small-scale agriculture on mutually agreed terms.
29. We highlight the importance of promoting access to finance, innovative technologies, training, capacity development and extension services for under-represented and people invulnerable situations to reduce inequalities, especially for women,youth, Indigenous Peoples and local communities. Such advances need to be scaled according to local contexts to protect the environment, manage natural resources, mitigate and adapt to climate change, revitalize rural areas, address the lack of generational renewal, promote the economic autonomy of rural women, increase access to markets, create decent jobs, and thus generate social equity and the sustainable transformation of agriculture and food systems.
30. We acknowledge that different multilateral negotiation forums (such as the UNFCCC, the UNCCD, and the WTO2) andinternational initiatives (such as the UNDFF 2019-2028, the UN2030 Agenda, and the G20 Global Alliance against Hunger andPoverty, to be launched in November 2024) can contribute to thecreation and implementation of policies targeted at the personsand groups involved in small and medium scale agriculture,livestock rearing, fisheries and aquaculture, and forestry activities. We reaffirm the important role and inclusive nature of theCommittee on World Food Security (CFS) as a major intergovernmental platform for a broad range of stakeholders towork together towards ensuring food security and nutrition for all,and its recognition of the essential role of small-scale foodproducers in reaching this goal. We thus recognize the need forinternational and domestic concerted efforts to foster a coherentand enabling policy environment, in line with internationalobligations and commitments, to strengthen small- and medium-scale farmers’ livelihoods.
31. In light of these considerations, of the fruitful discussions between G20 and invited delegations at the AWG Meeting on PublicPolicies for Family Farming held on 29-30 April 2024 in Brasilia,and given the key role of such policies in jointly addressing theglobal poverty, hunger, and environmental crises, we express ourintention to convene a dedicated session on Family Farmingalongside one of the regular G20 Agriculture Working Groupmeetings during future G20 presidencies.
Priority IV: Promote the Integration of SustainableFisheries and Aquaculture into Local and Global Value Chains
32. Aquatic food systems play a pivotal role in enhancing global food security, nutrition, and social and economic inclusion, serving asa vital source of essential nutrients important to human health,such as high-quality proteins. Providing equitable access to theseaquatic resources is particularly important for artisanal fishersand coastal and riparian populations. With global demand for fishon the rise, sustainable aquaculture contributes as an importantsector for meeting this demand in partnership with sustainablewild capture fisheries. Global fisheries face a number of seriouschallenges such as overfishing, climate change, marine pollution, increase in invasive species and loss of habitat and biodiversity.In this regard, strengthening regional and international commitments and ensuring a science-based approach to managing stocks of aquatic biological resources are essential fora long-term sustainable management of resources and access toaquatic living resources.
33. We recognize the importance of implementing science-based and sustainably managed fisheries for the recovery of fish stock. This underpins the urgent need to prevent, deter and eliminate illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing, which poses a significant threat to the sustainability of fisheries resources worldwide. In order to tackle IUU fishing, strengthening the implementation of existing regional and international commitments including agreements such as the FAO Agreementon Port State Measures and promoting inclusive governance and management of fisheries are essential to ensuring long-term,sustainable management of resources and access to aquaticliving resources.
34. We urge WTO members to submit their instruments of acceptance for the 2022 WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsidiesso that it can enter into force. We call for effective disciplines oncertain forms of fisheries subsidies that contribute to overcapacityand overfishing, in line with SDG Target 14.6. We seek toconclude negotiations on a comprehensive and well-balancedagreement as soon as possible, following the 13th MinisterialConference (MC13).
35. To ensure an integration of sustainable fisheries and aquaculture into value chains, we emphasise the fight against IUU fishing and encourage the implementation of the FAO Voluntary Guidelinesfor Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries, and the FAO Guidelines on Sustainable Aquaculture. Sustainable fishproduction must reconcile increasing demand with the conservation of oceans and other aquatic resources, in alignmentwith SDG 14.
36. We should foster a holistic approach to sustainable food production that acknowledges the synergies and trade-offsbetween land and aquaculture systems, in light of the recentlyadopted FAO Guidelines for Sustainable Aquaculture, inpromoting the health and the sustainable use of fisheries resources and marine ecosystems, based on the best availablescientific evidence. The G20 draws attention to the need to increase knowledge on the state of the oceans in those regions where exhaustive information of the state of their resources is not known.
37. The Blue Transformation Roadmap proposed by FAO is a guide on how to maximize the contribution of aquatic food systems to food security and nutrition, employment, economic growth, social development, and environmental recovery in order to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. We emphasize the importance of sustainable aquaculture intensification and expansion,effective fisheries management, adoption of new technologies infisheries and aquaculture and strengthened value chains toensure the social, economic, and environmental viability ofaquatic food systems. In that regard, we look forward to theUnited Nations Ocean Conference to be held in Nice/France, inJune 2025.
38. In conclusion, we express our gratitude to Brazil for steering the G20 Agriculture Working Group throughout the past year. As wewrap up our discussions in Chapada dos Guimarães, we eagerlywelcome the upcoming Presidency of the Republic of SouthAfrica in 2025. We anticipate their fresh perspective andcontinued commitment to the shared goals of enhancingsustainable agriculture and food systems.
[1] Lowder, S.K., Sánchez, M.V. & Bertini, R. 2021. Farms, family farms, farmland distribution and farm labour: What do we know today? FAO Agricultural Development Economics Working Paper 19-08. Rome, FAO.
[2] United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, United Nations Convention toCombat Desertification, World Trade Organization.