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The OECD Global Forum on Agriculture fosters an informed dialogue between OECD member and non-member economies on agricultural policies issues. This dialogue is based on regular monitoring and analysis to evaluate and strengthen the process of policy reform and trade liberalisation through forward-looking analysis, and addresses emerging agricultural policy issues.

Themes for the Global Forum on Agriculture have revolved around the linkages between domestic policy reform, trade liberalisation, economic growth and poverty reduction, but the focus has been on agricultural policy. The Forum usually takes a global view and analytical work is examined with respect to the “real world” needs of policy makers.

Participants include government officials from OECD countries and a wide range of non-member economies, agricultural experts from intergovernmental organisations, NGOs, producer groups and agribusiness, and researchers.

Policy Coherence for Food Security in Developing Countries

Paris, 26 November 2012

Nearly one billion people are chronically food insecure, suffering from hunger and undernourishment. Historically, the major cause of food insecurity has not been a lack of food availability, but rather limitations on access. Most of the world’s hungry are so because they are too poor to afford sufficient nutritious food. Given that the majority of the world’s poor still lives in rural areas, where smallholder farming is the backbone of the economy, this underlines the need to raise the productivity and incomes of smallholders, especially women, and to improve their resilience against shocks. Improved coherence of policies among developed, emerging and developing countries can contribute to improving both availability and access.

The aim of this Global Forum is to foster a dialogue among policy makers from OECD countries and emerging and developing economies on how best to address these challenges. In particular, the Forum will:

1. Take stock of the spill-overs of national agricultural and agriculture related policies, suggesting ways in which negative impacts can be avoided and identifying positive effects that can be leveraged, for example through knowledge sharing in areas such as agricultural research;
2. Examine ways in which aid and aid-related policies, including donor support for developing country led co ordination processes, can better support a structured prioritisation of investments to improve food security;
3. Consider ways in which governments can encourage the kinds of private investment – both foreign and domestic – that are conducive to improved food security.
   
   

• Improving Agricultural Market Information and Analysis for Better Policy Decisions and Enhanced Food Security, Paris, 28 November 2011
  
• Policies for Agricultural Development, Poverty Reduction and Food Security Paris, 29-30 November 2010
• Agricultural Outlook: Preparing for the Future Paris, 29-30 June 2009
• Agricultural Policies in Emerging Economies Paris, 20-21 November 2008
• Agricultural Development and Poverty Reduction in Africa Rome, 12-13 November 2007
• Policy Developments in Non-Member Economies Paris, 20-21 November 2006
• Constraints to Development of Sub-Saharan Agriculture Paris, 16-17 May 2006
• Policy Coherence for Development Paris, 30 November - 1 December 2005
• Agricultural Policies in Developing Countries: Information Needs for Effective Policy Responses Paris, 3 December 2004