UAE calls for ensuring food security at G20 Agriculture Ministers’ meet

Image: Twitter| @mariammalmheiri

Mariam bint Mohammed Almheiri, the UAE’s Minister of Climate Change and Environment was in Hyderabad, India, from June 16–17 for the G20 Agriculture Ministers meet.

The G20 Agricultural Track meeting discussed a number of issues that impact global food security. It addressed the challenges of climate change and its consequent impact on food systems and ways to mitigate and adapt to future challenges for their respective populations.

In the meeting, various ministers highlighted their concerns about rising malnutrition rates and the exacerbation of global food insecurity in developing countries. They acknowledged that poverty, the COVID-19 pandemic, accelerating climate change, ongoing conflicts, and biodiversity loss worldwide have compounded these challenges.

The G20 Agriculture Ministers released a statement that emphasised the need to establish sustainable agricultural and food systems capable of adapting to climate change and biodiversity loss.

HE Mariam bint Mohammed Almheiri: I participated recently at India’s G20 Agriculture Ministerial Meeting, where we discussed the most pressing issues on humanity from #FoodSecurity to #ClimateChange#COP28UAE #G20India #G2OAMM2023 #G20Hyderabad@mariammalmheiri@g20org@COP28_UAE pic.twitter.com/GeKRit7xOH

— UAE Forsan (@UAE_Forsan) June 18, 2023

G20 Agriculture Ministers meet

In her address, Mariam Almheiri thanked the Indian government for organising the event that brought together the G20 grouping and for hosting the ‘Agriculture Ministers’ Group’ meeting.

She affirmed that cooperation between the UAE and the member states is evolving in various fields and that the UAE is keen to enhance this cooperation, with particular attention to strengthening food security and dealing with global climate change issues. The UAE minister called for a transition to food systems that had a reduced carbon footprint while ensuring food security for the most vulnerable populations.

During her speech before the G20, Almheiri said, “The current global food systems are the biggest contributors to biodiversity loss, deforestation, drought, and freshwater pollution in the world, as well as being the second-largest generator of greenhouse gas emissions.”

She affirmed that the G20 could cooperate more on transforming the agricultural food systems, taking on that responsibility and leading the world by reaching a consensus on transforming these systems as quickly as possible.

Almheiri said, “The UAE will host the COP28 in November, and we will focus on stimulating the global response to many issues arising from climate change, from food systems to clean energy and biodiversity.”

I participated recently at the @g20org Agriculture Ministerial Meeting, where we discussed the most pressing issues on humanity from #foodsecurity to #climatechange. The current global food systems are the biggest contributors to biodiversity loss, deforestation, drought, and… pic.twitter.com/hB9H7J7U5o

— Mariam Almheiri | مريم المهيري (@mariammalmheiri) June 18, 2023

Almheiri called on the G20 member countries to support the Global Framework on Agriculture, Food Systems, and Climate that will be announced next month during the United Nations Food Systems Summit.

She said, “We are putting the final touches on the framework that aims to enhance agricultural food systems within the global climate action.”
Almheiri highlighted that Dr Sultan Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, UAE Special Envoy for Climate Change, and COP28 President-Designate, will focus on the transforming of food and agricultural systems as part of his main agenda as the appointed President at the upcoming Conference of Parties in the UAE. This will help accelerate action and investment towards pro-climate and sustainable agricultural and food systems, referred to technically as “agrifood systems”.

During the meeting, the group expressed concern over the rise in food prices, ongoing disruptions in global supply chains, and the volatility in the prices of food and fertilisers. They also called for an increased focus on enhancing the resilience of supply chains due to their importance in achieving food security, where the reliability of supply chains is particularly crucial for those living in environments with low food security, especially women and girls in emergencies and humanitarian crises.

The joint statement, signed by the agriculture ministers of the G20 on enhancing global food security, emphasised the importance of continuing to exchange knowledge between countries to support innovation efforts in the future.

The ministers pledged to assist low-income countries, especially net food-importing developing countries, in tackling the multiple challenges they face due to climate change. The group also welcomed the decision of the Conference of the Parties (COP27) on climate change entitled “Joint Action in Sharm El-Sheikh on Implementing Climate Action for Agriculture and Food Security”.

The UAE’s participation in the G20 agricultural track, hosting the upcoming COP28 conference, and declaring a year of sustainability exemplify the country’s commitment to international cooperation to tackle climate change. This is in addition to launching the “Agriculture Innovation Mission for Climate” (AIM4C) initiative in collaboration with the United States, which seeks to encourage investment in climate-smart agriculture and support the development of food systems over five years.