EN    EN EN 
EN    EN  EUROPEAN COMMISSION 
Brussels, 31.3.2010 
SEC (2010) 379 final 
COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT 
Accompanying document to the 
  
COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSI ON TO THE CO UNCIL AND THE 
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT 
  
An EU policy framework to assist developing  countries in addressing food security 
challenges 
{COM(2010) 127 final} 
EN 2   EN 1. INTRODUCTION 
This Staff Working Document (SWD) acco mpanies the Communication 'An EU policy 
framework to assist developing countries in addressing food security challenges'1. It provides 
a brief comment on the public cons ultation on the relate d Issues Paper (sect ion 2) and further 
elaborates on a number of issues raised in  the Communication, some of which were also 
subject to specific discussions with the Memb er States' Heads of Agriculture and Rural 
Development in February 2010. The specific issues  covered in section 3 of this SWP are: 
right to food, nutrition, global governance for fo od security, price volatility, land acquisition, 
bioenergy and rese arch and innovation. 
2. PUBLIC  CONSULTATION  ON  THE  ISSUES  PAPER  RELATING  TO FOOD  
SECURITY 
The issues paper 'Towards an EU policy framew ork to assist developi ng countries addressing 
agriculture and f ood security challenges' was the subj ect of an online public consultation2, 
open to all stakeholders from 16th November 2009 until late January 2010. The aim of the 
consultation was to obtain comments and respon ses which could feed into the drafting of a 
Communication on Food Security.  
Overall, forty-nine responses were received. Re sponses mainly came in the form of answers 
to the specific questions but ge neral comments were also receiv ed on food secu rity challenges 
and policy approaches. Many responses came fr om NGOs and Member States' cooperation 
agencies, supplemented by feedback from United Nations (UN) organisations, the UN 
Rapporteur on the Right to Food, one partner co untry, trade unions, rese arch centres, private 
individuals and two mul tinational corporations. 
A report summarising the comments received has been published online.3  
3. CURRENT  ISSUES  WITH  AN IMPACT  ON  FOOD  SECURITY   
Seven current issues related to food security, most of which were  discussed in a meeting with 
the EU Member States' Heads of Agriculture and Rural Development, are elaborated below in 
greater detail. The seven issues were identified as having signif icant links with food security 
and are covered throughout the Communication, par ticularly in section 2, on the four pillars 
of food security. These issues are consider ed high on the international agenda towards 
tackling food insecurity and th e achievement of MDG 1 on poverty and hunger. These issues 
are: the right to food, nutriti on, the global governance syst em for food security, price 
volatility, land acquisition, bioenerg y and research and innovation.  
3.1. Right to Food 
The right to adequate food is realised when  every man, woman and child have physical and 
economic access at all times to adequate food or means for its procurement. The rights-based 
                                                 
1 COM(2010) 127 of 31.03.2010 
2 http://ec.europa.eu/development/how/consultation/index.cfm?action=viewcons&id=4785   
3 Ibidem. 
EN 3   EN approach to food security is based on the rec ognition that poverty, social exclusion and a lack 
of participation in political d ecision-making processes are the main causes of food insecurity. 
Economic development does not necessarily lead  to a reduction of hunger, and can even 
increase problems of access to food due to great er inequalities. Starting from this recognition, 
the right to food approach requests governments (who are the main duty bearers as signatories 
to human rights conventions4) to respect and protect existin g access to food, to take action 
focused on the most vulnerable and to address pr o-actively the underlying structural causes of 
hunger. A first step in this regard  is the identification of causes,  as well as the most vulnerable 
groups in society. In a second step, governments, at the nationa l level, are requested to design 
a strategy for the realisati on of the right to food with clear objectives, benchmarks, 
responsibilities, multi-sectoral coordi nation and stakeholde r participation.  
While the objective of fully realising the right to adequate food cannot be achieved 
immediately (as it is not underst ood as right to be fed, but the right to produce sufficient food 
or gain sufficient income), the right to food appr oach spells out what states, civil society and 
donors in development cooperation ought to do in order to progressively move towards this 
goal. In this process, vulner able groups (and their represen tatives) should be empowered to 
participate in the formulation and evaluation  of policies and strategies. The effective 
implementation of assistance programmes requires some form of public control and monitoring. Moreover, access to complaint and redress mechanisms helps food insecure 
groups to raise claims vis-à-vis their governme nts. In line with the human rights approach, 
measures set up by the government and stakeholders rely on principles of accountability, transparency, participation, non-di scrimination and empowerment.  
Since (women) farmers are in many cases among the most marginalised in society
5, targeted 
assistance programmes supporting sm allholder agriculture are in line with the Right-to-Food 
approach. Activities would involve support to acce ss to credit, agricultur al inputs, extension 
services, land registration systems and protect ion of land tenure, effective land redistribution 
programmes, and strengthening of cooperatives. Urban poor, landless or disabled people will 
have to be targeted by employment generation and/or social/food safety nets. By procuring 
food for public distribution through social protec tion programmes, for example, incentives for 
agricultural production could be cr eated (twin-track approach).  
Donor policies need to be furt her accompanied by an impact monitoring which investigates 
success in targeting the most vulnerable, the im provement of a people's nutritional status and 
the enhancement of people's capacities and resilience. In order to advance the realisation of the right to food, the development of a country-l ed food security strate gy and the prioritisation 
of food security in poverty reduc tion strategies are crucial.  
Building an ambitious legal and institutional framework (through framework laws, integration 
of the right to food into the Constitution and institution building) is a long-term process and 
faces, in some country contexts, huge challeng es. Therefore, a starting point would be the 
formulation of political commitment to food  security, the implementation of targeted 
assistance programmes and empowerment of the most vulnerable. The Voluntary Guidelines
6 
give useful guidance on the necessary steps to  achieve access to food at local levels.  
                                                 
4 The Right to Food is laid down in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948), as well as in 
Article No. 11 of the Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (1966/1976). 
5 See also SEC(2010) 265 
6 Voluntary Guidelines to support the progressive r ealisation of the Right to Food in the context of 
national food security, adopted in 2004 by the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) Council 
EN 4   EN 3.2. Nutritional adequacy of food intake  
The consequences of under-nutrition undermin e progress towards several Millennium 
Development Goals (MDGs), including those on health and education. 3.5 million mother and 
child deaths per year an d around 35 percent of th e disease burden of ch ildren under 5 can be 
attributed to nutritional deficien cies (in iodine, iron, vitamin A and zinc, etc.). Nutrition has 
an impact on the health status in adulthood; a nd in turn the poor health status of a mother 
affects the development of her children, allowi ng under-nutrition to be passed on to the next 
generation. Nutritional defici encies in early childhood can  again cause irreversible 
consequences for physical and cognitive development. In this way, under-nutrition and poverty risk being perpetuated. 
Manifestations of under-nutrition include stunting (chronic restri ction of growth in height), 
underweight (low weight for age), and wastin g (weight for height, a measure of acute 
exposure). The number of underweight children is  estimated at 112 million and the number of 
children under five who suffer from stunting is estimated at 178 million. 160 million of the 
stunted children live in 36 countries
7. An estimated 55 million children suffer from wasting; 
out of these 19 million children are affected  by severe acute malnutrition (SAM).  
Malnutrition has immediate, underlying and basic causes. Immediate causes are related to the 
dietary intake and the health status of peopl e (incidence of HIV/AIDS , diarrhoeal diseases, 
malaria, and measles, etc.). Underlying cause s operate at household and community levels: 
household food insecurity, care for children and women, and quality of environment/health services. Basic causes operate at higher levels  and range from access to natural resources to 
social, political and economic environments.  
Due to the complex nature of nutrition, a multi-sect oral response is needed, requiring political 
leadership and appropriate institutional arrange ments. Coordination mechanisms should bring 
together all relevant stakeholde rs and adequate financial resour ces need to be available to 
underpin the political commitmen ts. A significant evidence base provided by well functioning 
and timely nutrition information systems is indispensable, as well as appropriately trained 
human resources in the various sectors.  
A package of (community-based) direct interv entions targeting pregna nt women and children 
has been identified to be efficient in pr eventing acute malnutrition and micronutrient 
deficiencies, involving breastfeed ing promotion, and food suppl ementation or fortification 
with vitamin A, zinc, iodise d salt or iron-folic acid. Ad equate food consumption may, 
however, not in itself ensure  good nutrition. Poor health may inhibit the digestion and 
absorption of nutrients leading to malnutrition. Therefore, interventions  addressing access to 
potable water, sensitisation to adequate caring  practices and hygiene should accompany direct 
interventions. Activities to prevent and treat ma lnutrition need to be integrated in national 
health systems. 
Indirect actions that improve households' access to food (employment generation, agricultural 
production, social safety nets) are needed to pr event people from getting malnourished and to 
                                                
 
7 The 36 countries in which 90% of stunted children under 5 live are the following: Afghanistan, Angola, 
Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cote d` Ivoire, DRC, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guatemala, India,  Indonesia, Iraq, Kenya,  Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Myanmar, 
Nepal, Niger, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Turkey, Uganda, 
Vietnam, Yemen, Zambia, . 
EN 5   EN make nutrition interventions effective. Agri cultural programmes and research need to 
integrate nutrition objectives and ta rgets. Extension services are needed to train smallholders 
on cultivation of diverse and nutrient rich  food. Local production of fortified food and 
micronutrients should be encouraged to en sure a better intake of nutritious food.  
At the international level, a large number of initiatives and agencies exist in the field of 
nutrition. Examples are the REACH – Renewed e ffort against child hunger - initiative, the 
Global Alliance for Improving Nu trition (GAIN) and the Worl d Bank Global Action Plan to 
scale-up nutrition interventions. Ho wever, an effective global forum is missing. The Standing 
Committee on Nutrition (SCN), a committee that involves relevant UN agencies, bilateral 
agencies, NGOs and academia, has not been able to perform this role satisfactorily. Any global forum on nutrition should be effectiv ely integrated with the Committee on Food 
Security (CFS, see below).  
3.3. The global governance syst em for food security 
The crisis response in 2008-2009 ha s given rise to a number of cooperative initiatives and 
arrangements. The UN High Level Task Fo rce (UNHLTF) on food security prepared a 
Comprehensive Framework for Action (CFA), wh ich provides a framework on actions aiming 
at short term measures to respond to imme diate needs and longer term investments for 
sustainable impacts. It is in this context th at the EU Food Facility  was established as a 
medium-term instrument, which also supported the enhanced cooperati on among UN agencies 
and the World Bank, members of the UNHLTF , in joint assessments, and coordinated 
prioritisation, implementation and review. This ma jor political and financial initiative has also 
put the EU at the centre of discussions on worl d food security. Other initiatives were taken at 
FAO Summits and at the G8 meetings in 2008 and 2009, including proposals for the 
establishment of a Global Partnership on Agriculture, Food Security and Nutrition 
(GPAFSN), as well as the l' Aquila  Food Security Initiative (AFSI). 
The various initiatives and the current food security architect ure pose a risk of lack of 
coordination, or, in any case, considerable costs involved in achieving it. Furthermore, there is 
a risk that the recent coordinati on efforts will be reversed (e.g. within the UN system), that 
global responses will be spread too thinly and th at partner countries will have difficulties in 
relating effectively to different processes.  
The reforms of the Committee on World Food Security (CFS) aim to make this Committee 
the foremost inclusive intergovernmental platfo rm for food security a nd nutrition, comprising 
governments as "members" and organisations and institutions as "parti cipants". Based in a 
UN-body it has, in principle, the credibility and neutrality needed  to attract a ll partners. It 
benefits from the support of an existing secr etariat with establishe d relations to most 
institutions and countries, rele vant for global food security. Ne vertheless, its links with the 
(reformed) Food Aid Convention (FAC) and th e Standing Committee on Nutrition (SCN) still 
need to be decided upon.  
With an aim to streamline the food security ar chitecture and improve effectiveness, the CFS 
should aim to obtain an oversight  role in other specific domain s with implications for food 
security, including food aid and nutrition. Furthe rmore, the relationship with the Consultative 
Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) and the International Food Policy 
Research Institute (IFPRI), will require further cl arification, particularly regarding the relation 
between these and the High Level Panel of Experts (HLPE) of the CFS.  
EN 6   EN At the same time, the aid effectiveness age nda has progressed and become the fundamental 
"contract" between donors and partner countries. In  Africa, there is now a stronger political 
and institutional basis to support food security , both continental and regional, through the 
African Union and the Comprehensive Af rica Agriculture Development Programme 
(CAADP) as well as regional institutions. It is, therefore, becoming necessary that the global 
governance system is closely linked to and su pportive of regional a nd national coordination 
and implementation initiatives.  
Improving global food security – meaning both re ducing the number of food insecure at the 
global level as well as improving food secur ity in countries with a high degree of food 
insecurity – requires greater coherence and coordination both  horizontally (among policies, 
countries, organisations, stakehol ders, etc.) and vertically (bet ween local, national, regional 
and global levels). For this to be achieved, an  effective and streamlined global institutional 
set-up is required, with strong li nks to regional and national leve ls. This is one area where the 
EU could potentially use its political and financial leverage to move towards a well 
coordinated global food security architectur e with effectively functioning institutions, 
cooperating closely and operati ng on the basis of respectiv e comparative advantages. 
3.4. Price volatility 
In 2007-08 prices of the main f ood commodities (among others, ri ce, wheat, and maize) rose 
sharply on the world market. Commodity prices doubled or tripled to reach their highest level 
in more than 30 years in nominal terms. In th e second half of 2008, pric es declined again and 
have remained relatively stable at around 40% below the peak on the global market since. 
Since then, global grain harvests have been goo d: the 2008-09 harvest wa s the best in history 
and the 2009-10 harvest is likely to be the second largest. However, the current price level is still well above that of the years preceding price hikes. Food prices depend on commodity 
prices, the degree of processi ng, and the structure of the s upply chain. Moreover, in many 
developing countries the declin e of prices did not keep pace with that of international 
commodity prices pointing to potential pric e transmission issues. In December 2009, the FAO 
Food Price Index
8 stood at 172, compared to the 2008 av erage high of 191. Similarly, the 
Cereals Price Index9 was 171 at the end of 2009, compared  to the 2008 (average) high of 
239.10 In general, prices have shown more fluctua tion in the past three years than in the years 
before, at the global level, as well as at the national level.11 
Because of the serious effects of highly fluctuating agricultur al and food prices on poverty 
and hunger, as well as on agricultural and soci al development and political stability, it is 
important to examine possibilities to deal with  price volatility, including private initiatives. 
Food price levels and related volatility ar e the result of many interrelated factors12, including:  
• harvest levels and crop failures, part icularly in food exporting countries; 
• the capacity for a swift supply response; 
                                                 
8 Average of six commodity groups indices, weighted  (for the average export shares of each of the 
groups) with base 2002-2004 = 100.  
9 Compiled by using the grains and rice price indices weighted by their average trade share for 2002-
2004. 
10 For data and updates, see: http://www.fao .org/worldfoodsituation/FoodPricesIndex/en/ 
11 See data for various countries at: http://www.fao.org/giews/pricetool/ 
12 On the complexity and the various factors at play  during the 2007-08 price spike, also see Commission 
Staff Working Paper on the Issues Paper on high food prices: 
http://ec.europa.eu/agriculture/analysis/tradepol/foodprices_en.pdf   
EN 7   EN • the sudden introduction of trade distorting measures  (mainly export bans or 
levies); 
• market psychology, such as hoarding be haviour among governments, traders and 
consumers (which played an important ro le in the sudden price spike of 2007-08 
for rice13); 
• exchange rate fluctuations, part icularly involving the US dollar; 
• the stock-to-use ratio for the main food commodities, which when low implies a 
'thin buffer';  
• uncertainty about stock levels in a number of countries;  
• sharp increases in consumption of certa in feedstocks (like maize) for the 
production of biofuels due  to high oil prices;  
• emergence of alternative market outlets, in  particular the biofuels market with 
noticeable impacts on the US maize mark et though with rela tively moderate 
impact in general;14 and 
• other demand-side changes (e.g. changi ng dietary preferences in emerging 
economies). 
Price volatility signals adjustment to new market circumstances. However, lack of 
predictability and the uncertainty associated  with it may influe nce both producers and 
consumers. Volatility cannot be avoided fully. Policies can address extreme volatility and the 
risks associated with it; e.g. by increasing th e stock-to-use ratio of food products, and by 
creating conditions for adequate stock levels to  be kept, particularly at national and local 
levels. Moreover, short- and medium-term food pr ice volatility can also  be influenced by 
improving food market functioning at global, regional and national le vels, and by reducing 
food losses in the chain from producer to consum er. This implies attention to several aspects 
of market functioning, such as reducing trade barriers, in cluding export restrictions, 
improving market transparency (information on production, reserves, prices etc.), and 
reducing post-harvest losses. The impacts of pr ice volatility can be mitigated by using a range 
of measures, including the establishment of scal able safety nets, food security information 
systems, use of (weather, index) insurance, and an enhanced capacity to use price risk 
management instruments.  
3.5. Land acquisition 
Large-scale land acquisition and long-term leas es of land in developing countries have 
recently gained policy atte ntion. A range of factors15 has prompted investments in agricultural 
land. This development has led to increased competition between various land use interests and raises pressure on land and its related natural resources (e.g. water). These 'land 
investments' entail far reaching risks but also offer opportunities for sustainable rural 
development. The risks are especially high wher e land tenure and user ri ghts are inadequately 
documented and/or have no formal legal basi s. This can result in  conflicts over land, 
relocation or displacement of local farmers lo sing the basis for their livelihood. On the other 
hand, the investments can be justified if th ey provide adequate returns to the nation, 
equivalent access to food for affected people,  new opportunities for ou t-grower involvement 
                                                
 
13 See: C.P. Timmer, Reflections on food crises past. In: Food Policy, Vol. 35, February 2010. 
14 COM (2008) 321 
15 Driving factors include continuing population growth and urbanization, climate change, increased 
demand for agricultural raw materials for biofuels and other industrial purposes, speculation in 
anticipation of future land price in creases and securing food supply in rich food importing countries. 
EN 8   EN and off-farm employment for lo cal populations, enhance strategi es to prevent food shortages 
and reduce risks, and contribute to imp roved local and national food security. 
Sound and effective national land policies and la ws and democratic governance in these areas 
are the basis for securing land tenure and land us e rights for vulnerable groups – in particular 
women and indigenous groups - for food producti on. Democratic governance at local level is 
a significant stake:  potentially affected actors must be involved in the decision-making 
process related to national and international investme nts in agriculture and agricultural land. It 
is equally important that large-scale land acqui sition and long-term leases of land will be 
linked to national food po licies, strategies for food secur ity and poverty reduction strategies. 
In addition to national land policies, internatio nally agreed principles for large-scale land 
acquisition and long-term leases of land are needed to guide investors, host countries and 
intermediaries, such as banks, internati onal and development organisations, towards 
investments in agriculture that respect (human) rights,  livelihoods and resources. 
Several international initiatives are currently working towards sets of principles for 
"responsible agricultural investments": i) a join t initiative of the Worl d Bank, the International 
Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) 
and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), which was a 
follow-up to a G8 initiative in L'Aquila related to responsible agricultural investments associated with land acquisitions; ii) an initia tive of the United Nations Special Rapporteur on 
the right to food; and iii) th e FAO proposed Voluntary guidelines on responsible governance 
of tenure of land and ot her natural resources. 
The current international initiatives to set up principles and voluntary guidelines for 
responsible investments should be based upon br oad multi-stakeholder consultations ensuring 
transparency and respecting democratic principl es. The thrusts of different initiatives should 
be linked to other land policy frameworks such as the African Union Land Policy Guidelines
16 and the EU Land Policy Guidelines17. Principles and guide lines should comply 
with the international Charter on Human Right s (especially the International Covenant on 
Economic, Social and Cultu ral Rights (Article 11)18, the United Nations Declaration on 
Rights of Indigenous People19, The Ten Principles of Global Compact20 and should respect 
international standards of Corporate Social Responsibility adopted by intergovernmental 
bodies.  
In order to both stem the dangers  and risks of the negative fo rm of land 'grabbing', and also 
make optimum use of the possible opportunities a nd potential of development-oriented direct 
investment in land and rural development, fo rward-looking political guidance and action at 
the following levels is required21: 
• international policy dialogue; 
                                                 
16 http://www.pambazuka.org/aumonitor/images/uploads/Framework.pdf  (draft) 
17 Guidelines for support to land policy design and land policy reform processes in developing countries 
 http://ec.europa.eu/development/icenter/repository/EU_Land_Guidelines_Final_12_2004_en.pdf  
18 Adopted and opened for signature , ratification and accession by General Assembly resolution 2200A 
(XXI) of 16 December 1966, en try into force 3 January 1976,  in accordance with article 27 
19 Adopted by General Assembly Resolution 61/295 on 13 September 2007 
20 http://www.unglobalcompact.org/aboutT heGC/TheTenPrinciples/index.html 
21 Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ): Discourse 015 “Development 
policy stance on the topic of Land grabbing – the purchase and leasing of large areas of land in 
developing countries”:  www.bmz.de  
EN 9   EN • participation and civi l society control; 
• establishing a solid information base and transparency in the contract 
negotiations; 
• strengthening and supporting national land policies and pertinent legislation, 
including institution building; 
• international guidelines for sustainable and responsible investments in land;  
• making more consistent use of  existing international law. 
Best practices and principles for responsible in vestments in agricultural land will need to be 
integrated in national legislati on and in negotiations of investme nt contracts, as well as in 
monitoring and evaluation of cont racts, relevant global, regi onal and national food security, 
agriculture, land and governance policy frameworks  as well as in standards and codes of 
conduct for foreign direct inve stment. Moreover, the impact of large scale land acquisition 
and long term leases of land on food securi ty and poverty reduction (including on income 
generation, labour conditions and livelihoods of  the affected population) and on the local 
environment (including on biodivers ity) will need to be assessed to evaluate the social and 
economic desirability and the sustainability of the investments.  
3.6. Bioenergies (including biofuels) 
There has been a significant growth in the gl obal production and use of liquid biofuels over 
the last 5-10 years (multiplication by four betw een 2000 and 2008, of which a large part of the 
increase in the US). The renewed interest in biofuels can be attrib uted to the rising and 
volatile price of oil, climate change mitigation, energy security and efforts to revitalise rural 
areas and technological development in rene wable energies. Incentives for bioenergy22 
production in developing countri es are created by policies in  developing and developed 
countries and are likely to lead to  an increase of international tr ade in biomass. It is expected 
that the EU Renewable Energy Directive with it s 20% target for the overall share of energy 
from renewable sources and a 10% target in transport will encourage the production of bioenergy in third countries.  
The cultivation of bioenergy crops and plants in developing countries can offer a number of 
opportunities for rural development through the di versification of livelihoods and sources of 
income for farmers, enhanced agricultural productivity and use of agricultural residues and waste, increased investment in rural infras tructure, increased employment opportunities in 
agriculture, industry and infrastructure, impr oved access to safe and sustainable energy 
services, increased energy supply security, a reduced national oil importation bill, new trade 
opportunities and reduced emission of pollutants,  including greenhouse gases. On the other 
hand, the expansion of biofuels consumption also  bears some concerns regarding the impact 
on natural resources and food security.  
At the local level a problem of access of smallholder farmers, pastoralist or forest-dependent 
people to land and other natural resources may aris e. An increased interest in land by national 
and foreign investors may invol ve displacement of farmer s and destruction of local 
livelihoods. Large-scale production can affect farming communities by the excessive use of 
                                                
 
22 Bioenergy refer to energy extr acted from any kind of biomass such  as plants, wood, forest and 
agricultural residues and waste. Bioenergy comprise the traditional biomass for cooking, energy uses of biomass (solid and gaseous fuels in electricity, heating and cooling) or first generation biofuels made 
from vegetable or animal oils or sugars and starches. Second generation biofuels can be produced from 
wastes, residues and ligno-cellulosic material / woody sources. 
EN 10   EN water, fertilisers and pesticides. Environmenta l degradation, and shortages and contamination 
of water have the potential to seriously aff ect a community's food security, with possible 
negative impacts on livelihoods. Th e risks related to land acquisi tions (see section 3.5. above) 
and environmental degradation are linked to agricultural investments more generally, not 
solely to biofuels.  
National strategies should be de veloped in tune with the local  context in a way so as to 
maximise the opportunities offered by bi oenergy production while limiting negative 
disturbances. National policies s hould facilitate addressing conc erns over food security and 
environmental sustainability, allocation of  farm land, and placing further emphasis on 
domestic consumption of renewable energy. Advice and support should be provided to 
governments on issues related to biofuel strategy  development, as well as and acquisition and 
planning processes. Such a strate gy should be based on studies id entifying the potential in the 
country to grow energy crops, including the iden tification of suitable la nd and the selection of 
feed stocks suitable to local environmental conditions.  
Furthermore, business models that maximise  benefits for rural populations should be 
encouraged. For example, projects in food ins ecure areas could integrate small producers in 
the value chain and/or contain a food compone nt, while the local production and consumption 
of certain biofuels (e.g bio-energy based on co tton-oil or cassava based ethanol) can enhance 
energy use in rural communities. The strengthening of farmer associations, cooperatives and other interest groups could be  pursued to defend small producers' interests over access to 
natural resources to improve their bargaining power vis-à-vis processing companies and to 
build networks of knowledge exchange.  
The sustainability criteria and other elements aimed at sustainable bioenergy production set 
out in the EU renewable energy directive should constitute guidance for these local strategies. 
3.7. Research and Innovation 
Agricultural Research for Development (ARD) drives the innovation required for agriculture 
to respond to the growing challenges of food  security, climate change and sustainable 
development in developing countries. The European Commission supports ARD for the 
generation of national, re gional and international public goods, including knowledge, 
technologies and capacity which enable poor smallholder farmers to improve their incomes and better manage natural resources. A pproximately €55 million is committed annually 
through the Food Security Thema tic Programme, with complement ary projects supported by 
the 10
th EDF and the Seventh Framework Programme of the Directorate General of Research 
and Technology Development. 
The approach to ARD adopted by the European  Commission recognises that it is most 
effective if it is demand driven and is part  of an innovation system , integrating access to 
inputs, services and markets and extensi on. This approach both builds on traditional 
knowledge and practice, and on the integrati on of appropriate new technologies into 
smallholder farming systems. It supports exis ting global and regional institutions, such as 
CGIAR, GFAR and FARA23, and builds capacity, while promoting reform and seeking a 
wider engagement with farmers, partic ularly smallholders , and civil society. 
                                                 
23 Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research, Global Forum on Ag ricultural Research and 
Forum on Agricultural Research in Africa. 
EN 11   EN European policies on ARD (Member States, plus  Norway and Switzerland) are coordinated 
through the European Initiativ e on Agricultural Research for Development (EIARD). 
The recent food crisis and mounting evidence of the impact of climate change on agriculture 
have drawn attention to the potential role of agricultural biotechno logy in helping the 
developing world achieve sust ainable food security. An AU/ NEPAD review of biotechnology 
in Africa's development24 highlights priority applications in crops and forestry and the need to 
develop capacities, infrastructure, and a continent-wide regulatory framework. 
Some promising applications that are al ready being supported by Commission research 
initiatives are the development of  food crop varieties that are more resistant to abiotic stresses, 
such as drought or floods, or can perform better in conditions of soil nutrient deficiency or excess. This research is based on identificati on of relevant genes through molecular mapping 
and involves only conventional breeding.  
It is important that new technological initiativ es should engage the public sector, address IPR 
concerns, and focus on capacity  strengthening, building and enforcement of regulatory 
frameworks, and management of environmental risks.  
Some concrete areas for support through instruments of cooperation could be:  
• Research and innovation, gear ed specifically to new t echnologies that are most 
relevant to the objectives of sustainabl e food security and adaptation to climate 
change;  
• Analysis of benefits and risks of new technologies and provision of unbiased 
information so that developing countries can make informed choices; 
• Support to agricultural support services benefiting smallholder farmers, such as 
seed systems, extension, micro-cred it and market information; and  
• Capacity building and assistance in the development of appropriate regulatory 
frameworks at national and regional le vels taking into account international 
commitments.  
                                                
 
24 C. Juma and I. Serageldin (2007). Freedom to Innovate: Biotechnology in Africa's Development. 
AU/NEPAD.