CCP Intersessional Event

“Repurposing agricultural support to transform agrifood systems””

Background
Agricultural development has contributed substantially to reducing poverty and
improving food security globally. However, agrifood systems are facing increasing
pressures and tremendous challenges to provide adequate, nutritious and safe food
for all and contribute to bettering livelihoods, while achieving environmental,
economic and social sustainability. Only seven years remain to achieve the 2030
Agenda and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Urgent and scaled actions
are needed to transform our agrifood systems to become more efficient, inclusive,
resilient and sustainable.

Agricultural and food policies have an important role to play in shaping agrifood
systems by providing incentives or disincentives to producers, processors and
consumers, affecting all stages of the food chain from production to
consumption, including trade, and defining the conditions in which interactions
occur. These policies affect agrifood systems in different ways and extents,
depending, inter-alia, on the level of development of the country, its trade status and
exposure to international trade and markets, and the structure and functioning of its
domestic agricultural and input markets. Whether the impact of the policy is
examined in the short or the longer term also makes a difference. To contribute
effectively to the transformation of agrifood systems, agricultural and food policies
need to be designed to maximise positive impacts, while avoiding or minimising
trade-offs. It is clear that there is no one- policy package that will be appropriate and
applicable to all countries and contexts.

The debate on how agricultural support can be reoriented towards the provision of
public goods and the promotion of sustainability objectives as well as the need for
the transformation of agrifood systems (as expressed by the UN Secretary-General
on the occasion of the Food Systems Summit 2021) have attracted increased
attention.

FAO and other international institutions have contributed to this debate through a
number of publications1 examining the potential benefits of repurposing agricultural
support towards environmental and global food security goals. Moreover, discussions
in the context of the UN Food Systems Summit and statements by Heads of
international organizations have also covered this subject. For instance, in their 3rd
Joint Statement, the Heads of FAO, International Monetary Fund, World Bank Group,
World Food Programme and World Trade Organization called on countries to reform
and repurpose general universal subsidies towards temporary, better targeted
programmes for global food security and sustainable food systems. Indeed, targeted
programmes will support the transition of food systems and help achieve the SDGs
and the Paris Agreement outcomes.

Moreover, in its “Agricultural Policies Monitoring and Evaluation 2022” Report, the
OECD recommended to “re-orient budgetary support to the provision of public goods
and key general services to improve the performance of the agricultural sector, or
increase it where current budgetary support is low” as one of the six complementary
elements of a policy agenda to achieve both food systems and climate objectives.

Objectives

• The primary objective of the event will be to contribute to this debate by
  providing a platform for sharing how countries are designing and implementing
  programs to repurpose agricultural support to improve food system
  sustainability.
• To ensure a balanced and representative discussion, the event will include
  panellists from different regions and countries in different development stages
  and trade positions. It is expected that the event will also discuss the role of
  FAO and other international organizations in providing information and
  evidence to support policy decision- making at country and global level, as well
  as the policy space available for countries to repurpose agricultural support in
  the context of international agreements.

Related links

Documents