WE , the Ministers and High Level Representatives of Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Romania, the Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Türkiye, the United Kingdom, the United States, and the European Union, met at the OECD headquarters in Paris on 3-4 November 2022 in the context of the meeting of the OECD Committee for Agriculture at Ministerial level, under the leadership of Canada and New Zealand as Co-Chairs, with the overarching theme of “ Building sustainable agriculture and food systems in a changing environment: Shared challenges, transformative solutions ” to discuss the current and future challenges facing agriculture and food systems and the role of OECD and its member countries in developing and implementing transformative solutions to tackle them.
WE CONDEMN Russia’s unjustifiable, unprovoked and illegal war of aggression against Ukraine in the strongest possible terms as a flagrant violation of international law that shakes the very foundation of the international order, in line with the 2022 OECD Ministerial Council Statement. We also RECALL the decision of the OECD Council of 8 March 2022 to immediately suspend the participation of the Russian Federation and Belarus in OECD bodies. WE RECOGNISE that the war poses severe risks to global food security, and the right to adequate food including through the destruction of infrastructure and crops, and by damaging trust in supply chains. WE STAND IN SOLIDARITY with the people and the democratically elected government of Ukraine.
WE WELCOME the EU Solidarity Lanes and the Black Sea Grain Initiative brokered by Türkiye and the United Nations (UN) as important contributions to global food security.
WE WELCOME the OECD’s continuous support through its analyses of the economic, environmental and social repercussions of the war and of proposals in support of Ukraine’s recovery and reconstruction, together with relevant international partners.
WE REITERATE our shared goals articulated in the Declaration on Better Policies to Achieve a Productive, Sustainable and Resilient Global Food System adopted at the meeting of OECD Committee for Agriculture at Ministerial Level held 7-8 April 2016.
WE REITERATE the importance of the OECD’s role at the international level in supporting evidence-based policymaking for productive, resilient and sustainable agriculture and food systems and as a forum for OECD Members and partners to work together to share knowledge, experience and data.
WE REAFFIRM one of the central aims of the OECD is to promote policies to facilitate trade on a multilateral, non-discriminatory basis and minimise market distortions.
WE ACKNOWLEDGE the need for agricultural policies, including support, to contribute to reducing agricultural emissions and to create positive environmental outcomes.
WE RESTATE our commitment to the goals and objectives of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the Paris Agreement, the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), World Trade Organisation (WTO) Agreements, and other relevant multilateral agreements, as applicable.
WE WELCOME the UN Secretary-General's statement of action at the 2021 UN Food Systems Summit and the Tokyo Compact on Global Nutrition Growth at the 2021 Tokyo Nutrition for Growth Summit.
WE WELCOME the Quadripartite Memorandum of Understanding on One Health to combat Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR), emerging zoonotic diseases with pandemic potential and other threats to global health security.
WE LOOK FORWARD TO a successful and ambitious outcome at UNFCCC COP27 in Sharm el-Sheikh and at the CBD COP15 in Montreal.
WE RECOGNISE the urgent need for a transformation towards more sustainability and resilience to address the triple challenge facing agriculture and food systems of
● ensuring food security and nutrition for a growing global population,
● addressing environmental challenges, including climate change and biodiversity loss, and
● providing opportunities for livelihoods for all farmers, including family farmers, and others employed along food supply chains.
Towards transformative solutions for sustainable agriculture and food systems
WE COMMIT :
1. to support the transformation of agriculture and food systems towards more sustainability and resilience through a comprehensive approach by:
a. Developing and implementing coherent, effective whole-of-government policy packages.
b. Strengthening efforts to promote inclusive processes by building a common understanding of facts, interests and values.
c. Increasing investment in research and development and infrastructure.
d. Enhancing research collaboration and knowledge sharing, including acknowledging and promoting the importance of Indigenous and traditional knowledge.
e. Strengthening international cooperation through the OECD and other international fora, including through the exchange of best policy practices.
f. Strengthening the contribution of trade and well-functioning markets to agriculture and food systems transformation.
g. Developing measures for local, national and global food systems to address the triple challenge.
WE CALL on the OECD, through the Committee for Agriculture to support our efforts by:
2. Enhancing dialogue and cooperation among stakeholders to identify opportunities for substantive action towards sustainable agriculture and food systems transformation.
3. Strengthening the assessment of investments in agricultural innovation systems that offer cost-effective levers to progress towards productive, sustainable, and resilient agriculture and food systems.
4. Strengthening the adoption of the food systems approach across its work where appropriate, including enhancing data and analysis in collaboration with other OECD committees.
Ensuring food security and nutrition
WE COMMIT :
5. To take comprehensive action towards ending hunger and all forms of malnutrition consistent with SDG 2.
6. To take action to achieve sustainable productivity growth consistent with SDG 2.4.
7. To reduce food loss and waste consistent with SDG 12.3 and improve its measurement.
8. To reinforce policies to promote healthy diets and food consumption choices through sustainable food systems.
9. To deepen engagement with stakeholders to identify and scale-up innovative and sustainable solutions in developed and developing countries.
10. To not impose unjustified trade restrictive measures such as unjustified export prohibitions or restrictions that undermine global food security.
11. To continue to strengthen our support to the Agricultural Market Information System (AMIS) initiative, providing all relevant data including on public and private stocks and fertilisers markets in order to enhance market transparency.
12. To promote and support a rules-based, open and transparent multilateral trading system with the WTO at its core.
13. To contribute to WTO agricultural trade reform efforts in line with Article 20 of the Agreement on Agriculture.
WE CALL on the OECD, through the Committee for Agriculture to support our efforts by:
14. Facilitating robust and comparable measurement of sustainable agricultural productivity growth.
15. Developing new approaches and analysis to support inclusive policy efforts to promote global food security and nutrition, addressing both emergency responses and long-term developments, including through trade and well-functioning international and domestic markets.
16. Strengthening analysis of the functioning of global and domestic food supply chains including with regards to input sourcing including energy and fertiliser, market concentration and other logistical concerns, to identify potential risks and opportunities for achieving sustainable and resilient food systems.
17. Strengthening analysis of opportunities for demand-side policies to improve consumer health and the sustainability of food systems.
Strengthening sustainability
WE COMMIT :
18. To increase climate change mitigation efforts by reducing emissions from agriculture and food systems and effectively increase carbon sequestration to contribute to the goal of achieving economy-wide net-zero greenhouse gas emission by 2050, giving positive consideration to agriculture sector specific greenhouse gas reduction targets, actions and innovative policies building on existing Nationally Determined Contributions of the Paris Agreement.
19. To develop and implement policies to facilitate adaptation to climate change.
20. To invest in research, innovation and extension services that can facilitate sustainable productivity growth and offer climate change mitigation and adaptation solutions.
21. To improve water conservation and management in agriculture, by increasing overall water use efficiency, reducing impacts on freshwater resources and enhancing resilience to water-related risks, as well as to continue our efforts to align with relevant OECD standards.
22. To work together to halt and reverse forest loss and land degradation by 2030, while delivering sustainable agricultural development and promoting an inclusive rural transformation.
23. To reduce the negative environmental impacts of livestock production and practices that harm animal health and welfare while recognising the positive contributions that livestock can make to soil quality management, biodiversity and livelihoods.
24. To intensify efforts as appropriate to reform or reorient agricultural policy, and in particular to address those support measures that are harmful to the environment, to move towards more sustainable agriculture and food systems.
25. To promote the development and implementation of agricultural practices that conserve, sustainably use and restore biodiversity, tackle negative effects of land conversion to agriculture on biodiversity, enhance ecosystem services and improve soil health and water and air quality, including through agro-ecological and other innovative, context specific, approaches.
WE CALL on the OECD, through the Committee for Agriculture to support our efforts by:
26. Enhancing agri-environmental indicators, based on science, to foster environmental and climate stewardship of agriculture, and the conservation of land, water and biodiversity.
27. Developing data, common metrics and analysis to measure progress in climate change mitigation and adaptation in agriculture and food systems, including food loss and waste and contribute to the OECD’s climate change engagement including through the Horizontal Project on Climate and Economic Resilience and the International Programme for Action on Climate (IPAC).
28. Analysing the effectiveness and efficiency of existing and potential agricultural policies to incentivise improved environmental outcomes from food systems.
29. Examining environmentally harmful and beneficial support measures and providing evidence-based analysis to support reform to improve environmental outcomes.
30. Strengthening analysis and providing solutions to ensure the positive contribution of international trade and domestic markets to the sustainable transformation of agriculture and food systems.
31. Improving, including through modelling, monitoring and anticipation of risks for agriculture and food systems, including water-related risks to build overall resilience for agriculture and food systems.
Ensuring inclusive livelihoods
WE COMMIT :
32. To tackle adjustment challenges and to promote opportunities for the livelihoods of those affected by food systems transformation and climate change, including those needing to change activities or exit the sector.
33. To address labour challenges along the whole supply chain by developing policies to attract youth, women and new entrants to the agricultural and food sector and to strengthen the transfer of knowledge and skills to address the evolving needs of all those working in the sector.
34. To develop risk management policies fostering greater resilience and enabling farmers, especially the most vulnerable, to cope with more frequent, unpredictable, adverse events.
35. To promote and measure progress towards inclusive agriculture, and recognise the significant contributions and address the unique challenges faced by Indigenous Peoples, women, youth and underrepresented and marginalised groups, including through investments to ensure the transformation towards just and inclusive food systems.
36. To reinforce measures to foster greater opportunity for women in the agricultural sector, including leadership positions in order to reduce current inequalities and inequities.
37. To promote coherent sustainable, responsible and inclusive agriculture and food systems activities that reinforce rural development.
38. To continue and deepen our efforts to implement the OECD Recommendation on the OECD-FAO Guidance for Responsible Agricultural Supply Chains .
39. To facilitate the access, uptake and application of digital technologies and other innovations that accelerate a sustainable and inclusive transformation of agriculture and food systems.
40. To support the development and implementation of science- and evidence-based standards that facilitate trade and ensure access to innovations, while protecting human, animal health and welfare and plant health, and the environment including through a One Health approach.
WE CALL on the OECD, through the Committee for Agriculture to support our efforts by:
41. Collecting evidence to highlight women’s contribution into innovation and to support inclusive and gender responsive policies and standards to accompany the transition of new entrants into the sector and of those needing to change activities or exit the sector to align future farming with broader food system objectives, on production and nutrition, livelihood and the environment.
42. Establishing data and evidence to enable the identification, assessment, and monitoring of agricultural and food policy mixes to maximise synergies and manage trade-offs including with respect to the unique challenges of underrepresented and marginalised groups.
43. Deepening analysis on the market relations between food value chains actors and their outcomes with regards to incomes and food prices.
44. Identifying innovation policies and the accompanying institutions, investments, and knowledge transfer, to catalyse efficient progress towards agricultural productivity, sustainability and resilience contributing to rural development.
45. Assessing the opportunities, barriers and policy levers for broader adoption of digital technologies towards sustainable and inclusive transformation of agriculture and food systems.
46. Improving methods for the monitoring and evaluation of policies relating to agricultural labour markets and human capital.