G8 Hokkaido-Toyako Summit Double Jeopardy: Responding to High Food and Fuel Prices – 08.07.2008
SUGGESTED ACTION ITEMS ON FOOD PRICES FOR CONSIDERATION BY THE G8
A New Deal for Global Food Policy: A 10-Point Plan
Support immediate needs and dampen the worst effects of the crisis on vulnerable populations:
1. Continue to fully fund the World Food Program’s emerging needs, increase the flexibility of use of these funds (removing
earmarked and tied aid), and support its drive to purchase food locally. Consider a partial UN assessment to meet ongoing increases in WFP requirements.
2. Support the expansion of social protection programs such as school feeding, food for work, and conditional cash transfer programs focused on the most vulnerable groups. Increase and/or front-load budget support to most vulnerable countries.
Provide financial and technical support to stimulate an agricultural supply response:
3. Ensure immediate provision of seeds and fertilizer for the most affected countries for the
upcoming planting season; reform fertilizer policies to promote a mix that better matches soil
conditions; provide technical support to improve production incentives.
Launch a new commitment to agriculture in developing countries:
4. Double total aid to agriculture to support investments in rural infrastructure, water and irrigation services, agricultural extension services, and post-harvest management. Increase funding going to global agricultural research and development.
5. Create an enabling environment to stimulate private sector led-investment in agri-business across the entire value chain.
6. Encourage innovative instruments for risk management such as crop insurance for small farmers.
Commit to re-examine policies towards bio-fuels in the G8 countries:
7. Agree on action in the US and Europe to ease subsidies, mandates and tariffs on bio-fuels that are
derived from maize and oilseeds; accelerate the development of second generation cellulosic
products.
Take leadership at the highest political levels to coordinate across major exporters and importing countries and break the price spiral:
8. Call for the immediate elimination of taxation or restrictions on humanitarian food aid (certainly
for WFP purchases); end export restrictions by key producers on shipments to the least developed
countries and those in fragile situations; increase Japanese rice donations and exports; initiate
discussions with China to increase its rice exports, or donations, to 2-3 million tons.
Build a well-functioning international trading system that avoids the recurrence of such types of crises in the future:
9. Move swiftly with an ambitious Doha round with sharp reduction of producer subsidies and
import tariffs.
10. Explore institutional options to monitor and share information on national stocks and global
prices and determinants; explore agreement among the G8 and key developing countries to hold
virtual ‘global goods’ stocks, perhaps for humanitarian purposes.
More analytics »
|
ENG
