We have made some serious progress here in Aquila, giving fresh momentum to global efforts to tackle the biggest planetary challenges of our time. L’Aquila has shown that we are collectively committed to sustainability, development and growth, whether in food security, climate change or trade and the world economy. I am happy to see that the key benchmarks that I set for success at the beginning of our summit have been met.

Food security
We cannot and we will not accept that 15% of the world’s population lives in hunger. Today we agreed on a new Food Security Initiative, which will support rural development in poor countries. The EU will be contributing with around 3 billion euro within this Initiative. At the same time, the EU is continuing to implement the 1 billion facility I announced in Toyako, Japan last year and which is already now reaching 35 developing countries.

Climate change
We have set in stone a commitment to cap the temperature increase at 2 degrees Celsius to respect climate science. This represents a significant step forward to reach a global deal in Copenhagen. There is still a lot of more work to do, but we now are much more clearer about what has to be done, including on financing where the EU has reiterated that we are ready to play our full part and will soon present concrete proposals.

Trade and the World Economy
Trade and Development are crucial to inject new growth into the world economy. Therefore, I am pleased we have agreed to conclude the Doha Round in 2010. For our collective credibility and that of the multilateral system, we now have to deliver. We also reached consensus on the global crisis response here in l’Aquila. This will require that we keep driving the global recovery effort and address the social impact of the crisis. We also must prepare the right exit strategy from the crisis and get ready for a new era of green growth.

    1. We, Heads of State, Government and International and Regional Organizations convened in L’Aquila, remain deeply concerned about global food security, the impact of the global financial and economic crisis and last year’s spike in food prices on the countries least able to respond to increased hunger and poverty. While the prices of food commodities have decreased since their peak of 2008, they remain high in historical terms and volatile. The combined effect of longstanding underinvestment in agriculture and food security, price trends and the economic crisis have led to increased hunger and poverty in developing countries, plunging more than a further 100 million people into extreme poverty and jeopardising the progress achieved so far in meeting the Millennium Development Goals. The number of people suffering from hunger and poverty now exceeds 1 billion.
    2. There is an urgent need for decisive action to free humankind from hunger and poverty. Food security, nutrition and sustainable agriculture must remain a priority issue on the political agenda, to be addressed through a cross-cutting and inclusive approach, involving all relevant stakeholders, at global, regional and national level. Effective food security actions must be coupled with adaptation and mitigation measures in relation to climate change, sustainable management of water, land, soil and other natural resources, including the protection of biodiversity.
    3. We therefore agree to act with the scale and urgency needed to achieve sustainable global food security. To this end, we will partner with vulnerable countries and regions to help them develop and implement their own food security strategies, and together substantially increase sustained commitments of financial and technical assistance to invest in those strategies. Our action will be characterized by a comprehensive approach to food security, effective coordination, support for country-owned processes and plans as well as by the use of multilateral institutions whenever appropriate. Delivering on our commitments in a timely and reliable manner, mutual accountability and a sound policy environment are key to this effort. We see a comprehensive approach as including: increased agriculture productivity, stimulus to pre and post-harvest interventions, emphasis on private sector growth, smallholders, women and families, preservation of the natural resource base, expansion of employment and decent work opportunities, knowledge and training, increased trade flows, and support for good governance and policy reform.
    4. Food security is closely connected with economic growth and social progress as well as with political stability and peace. The food security agenda should focus on agriculture and rural development by promoting sustainable production, productivity and rural economic growth. At the same time, coherent policies to foster economy-wide growth, which is inclusive and environmentally sustainable, are to be pursued in conjunction with social protection mechanisms such as safety nets and social policies for the most vulnerable. Our attention to promoting access to health care and education in rural areas will substantially contribute to productivity and economic growth and, as importantly, improve nutrition and food security. It is necessary to improve access to food through more equitable income generation and distribution, employment creation and income prospects in developing countries.
    5. Sustained and predictable funding and increased targeted investments are urgently required to enhance world food production capacity. Commitments to increase Official Development Assistance must be fulfilled. The tendency of decreasing Official Development Assistance and national financing to agriculture must be reversed. We are committed to increase investments in short, medium and long term agriculture development that directly benefits the poorest and makes best use of international institutions. We support public-private partnerships, with adequate emphasis on the development of infrastructure, aimed at increasing resources for agriculture and improving investment effectiveness.
    6. Access to adequate and affordable nutritious food is a critical aspect of food security. Emergency assistance will remain an important means through which national authorities, supported by the World Food Program and other specialized Agencies, Funds and Programmes, together with non-governmental organizations, can provide help to people facing acute hunger. Delivering food, cash and vouchers through effective emergency assistance as well as through national safety-nets and nutrition schemes, such as food and cash for work, unconditional cash transfer programs, school feeding and mother-and-child nutrition programs, is an imperative goal. In the long-term, government led, cash based social protection systems and targeted nutrition interventions are needed to support the poorest and excluded populations. We call upon all nations to support these aims by providing sufficient, more predictable and flexible resources. We also call upon all countries to remove food export restrictions or extraordinary taxes, especially for food purchased for humanitarian purposes, and to consult and notify in advance before imposing any new restriction. The feasibility, effectiveness and administrative modalities of a system of stockholding in dealing with humanitarian food emergencies or as a means to limit price volatility need to be further explored. We call upon the relevant International Institutions to provide us with evidence allowing us to make responsible strategic choices on this specific issue.
    7. Open trade flows and efficient markets have a positive role in strengthening food security. National and regional strategies should promote the participation of farmers, especially smallholders and women, into community, domestic, regional and international markets. Markets must remain open, protectionism rejected and factors potentially affecting commodity price volatility, including speculation, monitored and analysed further. We are therefore committed to reduce trade distortions and refrain from raising new barriers to trade and investment and from implementing WTO-inconsistent measures to stimulate exports. To this end, we aim at an ambitious, comprehensive and balanced conclusion of the Doha Development Round and call for renewed, determined efforts to bring it to a timely and successful conclusion. We are committed to improve access to information, promote conducive business environments and investment in rural infrastructure, such as transportation, processing, storage facilities and irrigation schemes.
    8. Strengthening global and local governance for food security is key to defeating hunger and malnutrition, as well as to promote rural development. Improved global governance should build on existing International Organizations and International Financial Institutions, making use of their comparative advantage, enhancing their coordination and effectiveness and avoiding duplications. To this end, we support the UN High Level Task Force on the Global Food Security Crisis. At the same time, we support the fundamental reform processes underway in the FAO, the Committee on World Food Security, the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research and the global agricultural research system through the Global Forum on Agricultural Research.
    9. By joining efforts with partners and relevant stakeholders around the world, we can together design and implement an effective food security strategy, with priority on the world’s poorest regions. We agree to support a global effort whose core principles are country ownership and effectiveness. We pledge to advance by the end of 2009 – consistent with our other actions aimed at an improved global governance for food security – the implementation of the Global Partnership for Agriculture and Food Security. Its mission includes enhancing cooperation in achieving global food security, promoting better coordination at the country level and ensuring that local and regional interests are duly voiced and considered. We intend that the Global Partnership will count on a reformed and effective Committee on World Food Security involving all relevant stakeholders, including Governments, International and Regional Organisations, International Financial Institutions (World Bank, International Monetary Fund and the regional development banks) civil society and farmers’ organizations, the private sector and scientific community.
    10. We support the implementation of country and regional agricultural strategies and plans through country-led coordination processes, consistent with the Accra Agenda for Action and leveraging on the Comprehensive Framework for Action of the UN High Level Task Force and on existing donor coordination mechanisms. Building on the experience of FAO, International Fund for Agricultural Development and other Agencies, special focus must be devoted to smallholder and women farmers and their access to land, financial services, including microfinance and markets. Sustained efforts and investments are necessary for enhancing agricultural productivity and for livestock and fisheries development. Priority actions should include improving access to better seeds and fertilizers, promoting sustainable management of water, forests and natural resources, strengthening capacities to provide extension services and risk management instruments, and enhancing the efficiency of food value chains. In this regard, the increased involvement of civil society and private sector is a key factor of success. Investment in and access to education, research, science and technologies should be substantially strengthened at national, regional and international level. Their dissemination, as well as the sharing of information and best practices including through North-South, South-South and Triangular cooperation, is essential to promote knowledge-based policy and national capacity. We recognize the opportunities and challenges associated with renewable energy production from biomasses. Related investment should be promoted in a sustainable way compatible with our food security goals.
    11. In Africa, the New Partnership for Africa’s Development’s Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Program is an effective vehicle for ensuring that resources are targeted to a country’s plans and priorities. Local ownership must begin with the national political will to develop and implement comprehensive food security strategies, based on sound scientific evidence, inclusive consultation, domestic investment and clear directions. We also acknowledge the positive contribution of African-led public-private partnerships such as the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa. We commit to provide resources – whether financial, in-kind or technical assistance – in support of Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Program and other similar regional and national plans in Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, and Asia.
    12. We are determined to translate these principles into action and take all the necessary measures to achieve global food security. We will aim at substantially increasing aid to agriculture and food security including through multiyear resource commitments. In this respect, we welcome the commitments made by countries represented at L’Aquila towards a goal of mobilizing $20 billion over three years through this coordinated, comprehensive strategy focused on sustainable agriculture development, while keeping a strong commitment to ensure adequate emergency food aid assistance. We encourage other countries and private actors to join in the common effort towards global food security through a coherent approach. We are determined to improve coordination of financing mechanisms and stand ready to ensure that new resources complement existing facilities and programmes and catalyse additional funds around country-owned strategies, in particular to increase food production, improve access to food and empower smallholder farmers to gain access to enhanced inputs, technologies, credit and markets.

L’Aquila 10 July 2009
The Joint Statement on Global Food Security (“L’Aquila Food Security Initiative”) is endorsed by the G8 and by Algeria, Angola, Australia, Brazil, Denmark, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Libya (Presidency of the African Union), Mexico, The Netherlands, Nigeria, People’s Republic of China, Republic of Korea, Senegal, Spain, South Africa, Turkey, Commission of the African Union, Food and Agricultural Organisation FAO, International Energy Agency IEA, International Fund for Agricultural Development IFAD, International Labour Organisation ILO, International Monetary Fund IMF, OECD, The Secretary General’s UN High Level Task Force on the Global Food Security Crisis, World Food Program WFP, The World Bank, WTO who attended the food security session at the G8 Summit in L’Aquila on 10 July 2009 and by the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), Biodiversity/Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), Global Donor Platform for Rural Development , Global Forum on Agricultural Research (GFAR).

 
The G8 Leaders Statement on Global Food Security, adopted at Hokkaido Toyako (Japan) Summit from 7 to 9 July 2008, acknowledged the negative implications of the food crisis on the living conditions of millions people in several areas across the world, recognized the need for short, mid and long-term measures to tackle the issue of food insecurity and poverty and asked Ministers of Agriculture to develop sound and shared proposals on food security, to prevent future crises linked to prices of agricultural primary commodities and input factors.
We, the Ministers of Agriculture of the G8 Countries, met in Cison di Valmarino (Italy), from 18 to 20 April 2009 and concluded the following:
• The 2000 Millennium Declaration aimed to halve the proportion of the world population facing poverty and undernourishment by the year 2015; the world is very far from reaching this goal according to the alarming data provided by the relevant international bodies.
• The FAO High-Level Conference on World Food Security, held in Rome from 3 to 5 June 2008, reaffirmed commitments to achieve the Millennium Development Goals through increased agricultural production and response to the immediate needs of vulnerable populations, with particular attention to climate change adaptation and mitigation. The Conference recalled the importance of the Voluntary Guidelines to support the progressive realization of the Right to adequate food in the context of national food security.
• The relevant international institutions called on successive occasions for an urgent need to help developing countries and countries in transition to expand agriculture and food production and to increase investments in agriculture, agribusiness and rural development, from both public and private sources. We believe that more should be done to increase the quantity and enhance the quality of agricultural production and enable all citizens to have economic and physical access to safe and nutritious food.
• Although the global economic downturn has caused the international market prices of nearly all agricultural commodities to fall dramatically since summer 2008, and prices have fallen for some consumers, they are still well above previous lows in many countries and the depth of the current economic recession means that the number of people who are poor and, consequently, hungry has increased since last year. Structural factors may affect prices over the medium term, and increased volatility and demand raise important questions about food security for the future.

In view of the Summit of the Heads of State and Government of the G8 Countries to be held on La Maddalena, from 8 to 10 July 2009, but also in view of other international fora where food security will be debated, we wish to forward the following messages to the world leaders:
1. Agriculture and food security are at the core of the international agenda.
2. Ensuring access to adequate food and water is essential for sustainable development and for our future. It is necessary to focus the attention on all the strategies to be implemented and shared in order to reduce poverty and increase world production and to achieve food security, in particular in the developing countries. We should create an enabling environment to improve policy coherence recognizing the linkages between agriculture and other policies such as development, health, economic, financial, trade, monetary, environmental, forestry, fisheries, education, labour and social.
3. We underline the importance of increasing public and private investment in sustainable agriculture, rural development and environmental protection in cooperation with international organisations. It is essential to tackle climate change impacts and ensure sustainable management of water, forests and other natural resources, while considering demographic growth.
4. We stress the importance of sound agricultural policies and strategies to underpin the investments, at national, regional and global level. Policies and strategies need to be developed in an inclusive manner, involving all main stakeholders, including farmer organisations, and be based on reliable statistics. In Africa, the Comprehensive African Agricultural Development Programme encompasses these principles and deserves our support.
5. We call for enhanced support including investments in agricultural science, research, technology, education, extension services, and innovation. We also commit ourselves to increasingly share technology, processes and ideas with other countries in the interest of increasing the capacity of national and regional institutions and governments, as well as promoting food security. These efforts are vital to increasing sustainable agricultural productivity and rural development in each country, in accordance with various agricultural conditions, respecting biodiversity and improving peoples’ access to food, social and economic development and prosperity. We will continue our support to capacity building in developing countries in sanitary and phytosanitary standards in order to facilitate access to markets and fulfill requirements of consumers.
6. Farmers must be the main protagonists of the agricultural sector. Agriculture must serve citizens’ needs for food security and food safety, producing safe, nutritious food in response to consumer demand and must not be allowed to be negatively affected by trade distortions. There should be monitoring and further analysis of factors potentially affecting price volatility in commodity markets, including speculation. An international coordinated strategy needs to be encouraged in order to improve the efficiency of Agri - food chains. We support efforts against wastage along the food chain in developing countries, particularly for post-harvest losses, in order to avoid food loss reducing the quantities of commodities required by food chains and to improve hygiene, health and nutrition. We also support efforts to reduce wastage, in developed countries. We need to sustain the benefits of globalization and open markets, highlighting the crucial importance of rejecting protectionism and encouraging the development of local, regional and international integrated agricultural markets. We underline the importance of a rules-based international trading system for agricultural trade and we are committed to reaching a balanced, comprehensive and ambitious conclusion of the Doha Round.
7. We wish to support the role of well functioning markets as a means for improving food security. We will continue to explore various options on a coordinated approach to stock management. We call upon the relevant international institutions to examine whether a system of stockholding could be effective in dealing with humanitarian emergencies or as a means to limit price volatility. They should specifically examine the feasibility and the administrative modalities of such a system. In light of this outcome it will be examined whether further steps should be envisaged and whether a consultation process should be established.
8. We need to place agriculture and rural development – together with other policies – at the centre of sustainable economic growth by strengthening the role of the agricultural households and smallholder farms and their access to land in many parts of the world, encouraging women participation, gender equality and young and beginning farmers. Food security also requires targeted policies to guarantee effective management and sustainable utilization of natural resources involving local communities in accordance with their identities. This pattern of growth also meets the requirements of less developed rural areas where local sustainable production should be improved. Attention should be given to the leasing and purchase of agricultural land in developing countries, to ensure that local and traditional land use is respected.
9. Renewable energy production from biomasses and related investments must be increased in a sustainable manner through balanced combination of the energy policies needs and agricultural production in a way that provides a response to our energy, economic, environmental and agriculture needs and does not compromise food security. Policies should encourage that biofuels are produced and used in an environmentally sustainable manner, promoting benefits and minimizing any potential risks, with a strong emphasis on the development and commercialization of second generation biofuels, according to the approach outlined by the Declaration of the High Level Conference on World Food Security of June 2008.  
10. Farmers need adequate mechanisms to manage risks and market crises. National Governments and international forecast and management systems of agricultural statistics and early warning systems must be improved and better coordinated, in order to anticipate and prevent future crises. We have to ensure that the relevant international organizations and institutions will be able to meet the new challenges we are facing.
11. We are committed to the ongoing and complete implementation of the reform of the international food security system including the FAO and other relevant international bodies, such as Biodiversity/Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research. We call on all member states and parties in the UN system to support these efforts. Increasing the FAO’s effectiveness and focus is vitally important in light of the challenges we face in strengthening food security. We reaffirm our support for the fundamental reform and revitalisation of the Committee on World Food Security within the UN System in 2009.
12. We underline our active support for the consultative design process and early establishing of the Global Partnership further to the guidelines provided by the G8 Hokkaido Toyako Summit Leaders Statement. This Partnership will bring a coherent approach by engaging all stakeholders and by strengthening existing structures and institutions. It should have a global political dimension aiming at an improved coordination and greater coherence for international strategies and policies that have an impact on the world food security. As part of this Partnership, a global network of high level experts on food and agriculture would provide science-based analysis and highlight needs and future risks. We look forward to the Leaders Summit at La Maddalena as a step forward in addressing the issues of agriculture and food security and in advancing the Global Partnership.
13. We reaffirm our support for the coordination role of the High Level Task Force on Global Food Crisis chaired by the UN Secretary General and the Comprehensive Framework for Action, including both emergency measures and initiatives to ensure resilience and sustainability. We commit ourselves to use all the tools available to alleviate the negative consequences of the current financial crisis on poverty and hunger, strengthen and encourage sustainable agriculture and food production, increase the investments in agriculture and research, avoid unfair competition, agricultural trade distortions, including export restrictive measures as agreed by G20. The renewed central role played by agriculture can have significant impacts on other policies, particularly health policies through the fight against hunger and malnutrition and environmental policies, including the sustainable management of natural resources. We reiterate our determination to defeat hunger and to ensure access to safe, sufficient and nutritious food for present and future generations.
    
Cison di Valmarino, 20th April 2009

Janos Vas