COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL ON THE EUROPEAN UNION'S PRIORITIES FOR THE WORLD FOOD SUMMIT STAGED BY THE FOOD AND AGRICULTURAL ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS - Rome, November 1996
Date: 1996-10-18
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: FAO, development aid, food aid, international cooperation, security of supply

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN  COMMUNITIES 

Brussels,  18.10.1996 
COM(96)  509 final 

COMMUNICATION  FROM THE COMMISSION  TO THE COUNCIL 

ON 

THE EUROPEAN UNION'S PRIORITIES 
FOR THE WORLD FOOD SUMMIT 
STAGED BY THE FOOD AND AGRICULTURAL ORGANIZATION 
OF THE UNITED NATIONS 

Rome, November 1996 

Commission  Communication 

\ 
V 

T HE  EUROPEAN  UNION'S  PRIORITIES  FOR  T HE  W O R LD  F O OD  S U M M IT  STAGED  BY  THE 
FAO 
(Rome, November  1996) 

There are three reasons why the European Union should play an active part  in the FAO-convened 
World  Food Summit in Rome (13 to  17 November) which will bring together Heads of State and 
Government  to  address  the  issue  of  food  security,  first,  the  importance  of  food  security  for 
mankind as a whole now and in the future;  second, the ELTs global role as  a major producer, net 
importer  and  exporter  of  farm  products  and  as  the  world's  principal  food  aid  donor;  third,  the 
European Community's status as a member of the FAO. 

ff the EU is to make its mark, both on the content of the policy statement to be signed by Heads of 
State  and  Government  and,  for  the  Community,  by  the  President  of  the  Council  and  by  the 
President  of the European  Commission,  and on the operational  recommendations  spelt  out  in the 
Plan of Action, it is crucial that it sets itself clear objectives and ranks them in order of priority. 

With that end in view, we need to map out the terms in which the issue of food security worldwide 
is and will be framed  so that the guidelines worked out are not skewed in the wrong direction and 
so that  we  set  clear  goals  enabling  our  ideas  to  be  reflected  in  the  draft  negotiating  texts  and 
disseminated  widely  among  our  partners  -  be  they  developing  or  industrialized  countries, 
European or southern world NGOs - and, of course, through the media. 

1.  The goal;  to ensure all human beings have an  adequate  diet bv affording  them  effective, 

lasting and fair  access to food 

Around 800 million people in the world - almost one person  in every seven - face hunger or severe 
malnutrition  at a time when the world  is producing enough  food to feed  all the planet's  six billion 
inhabitants  In  the  years  ahead,  given  a  steadily  growing  population  and  limitations  in  natural 
resources,  a  major  effort  is called  for  to  secure the  long-term  sustainability  of food  supplies  for 
human  consumption  through  a  combination  of  suitable  development policies,  scientific  research 
and technological  innovation.  But  access to  available  food  will  remain  the  key problem  unless 
countries  racked  by  undernourishment  and  malnutrition  take the  necessary  steps  to  improve the 
situation  on  this  front,  with  a  helping  hand  from  the  international  community.  Competitive 
markets  - both domestic and international  - play a key role in food  supply,  and  civil society also 
has a crucial contribution to make in this area. 

Three main problems stand in the way of effective  and fair access to food: 

(a)  poverty  - particularly  in places  where  it  results  from  extreme  inequality  in  access  to  land, 
credit and education (notably for women) and in a dearth of productive jobs  - prevents people 
from  producing themselves the food they need or from buying it from available supplies; 

(b)  violence  civil wars,  social  unrest,  ethnic,  religious  and  regional  conflicts  interfere  with the 

production of food and its distribution to where it is needed; 

2-3 

(c)  damage  to  the  environment,  due to  inappropriate  production  methods  caused  by  a  lack  of 
tools,  equipment  or  scientific  and  technological  know-how,  or  by  misguided  agricultural 
policies,  jeopardizes  long-term  sustainability,  particularly  in  the  most  vulnerable  regions 
where poverty is most prevalent. 

These problems can be addressed at various levels: 

(1)  To begin with, it is for the countries affected  by a lack of food  security to take the measures 
needed to tackle the problem at source: 

.  by  striving  to  create  the  necessary  fundamental  conditions  :  peace,  Human  Rights, 
democracy - including equality between the sexes - as well as good governance; 

. by adopting sustainable development strategies focusing on those in need and aimed first and 
foremost  at  eradicating  poverty,  such  strategies  will  be  based  on  sound  macroeconomic 
policies  which  foster  savings  and  investment,  and  on  social  and  structural  policies  both 
general  -  credit  institutions,  health,  education,  infrastructure  -  and  specific  -  farm  reform, 
gearing of production to market mechanisms and trends, transport and storage  infrastructure, 
training for producers of basic foodstuffs,  research, and dissemination of know-how, focusing 
particularly on the protection of ecosystems; 

. by fostering  the creation  of decently paid jobs  in the manufacturing  and  service  sectors  so 
that families can buy for themselves on local markets the food they need. 

(2)  The  industrialized  countries  have  a  role  to  play  by  adjusting  their  own  production,  in  a 
balanced  fashion,  to  the  needs  of  the  environment  (protection  of  natural  resources  and  the 
countryside),  to  the  constraints  of  international  competition  based  on  natural  comparative 
advantages, and to their own food security requirements. 

Their  efforts  in  research,  in technological  innovation  and,  in particular,  in  scientific  cooperation 
with  developing  countries,  will  be  invaluable  in  increasing  the  capacity  for  sustainable  food 
production at a global level.  This work should therefore be continued and fostered. 

Finally, it is up to industrialized countries to make a direct contribution to the food security of the 
poorest  countries  by  opening  up  markets  -  a  concept  which  includes  capital  movements  in  the 
shape of direct investment in the developing countries - and by providing aid. 

(3)  In  addition  to  the  application  of  the  Uruguay  Round  agreements  in  all  sectors,  including 
agricultural markets, and GATT-sponsored  measures to stabilize those markets, international and 
regional cooperation  should focus  as  a matter of priority on support  for  sustainable  development 
strategies in countries which genuinely translate them into practice, channelling the bulk of aid to 
the least advanced countries. 

Emergency  food  aid  remains  a  priority.  However,  the  emphasis  must  be  placed  on  restoring 
production  and distribution  systems  in the  immediate wake of a  serious  crisis, while the  goal  of 
food  aid  should more than  ever be to bolster the recipient  country's  agricultural  development  and 
agri-food  policies.  Triangular  operations  between  donor  countries,  developing  country  food 
suppliers and developing country recipients, along with the monétisation of food  aid and judicious 
use  of  the  counterpart  funds  thus  generated  for  food  security  purposes,  are  proving  to  be 
particularly useful  instruments in this regard. 

Developing countries should integrate food aid into policies aimed at enhancing their food security. 
Food aid should become a genuine development instrument, notably through the implementation of 
strategies designed to combat poverty and ultimately to make food  aid  superfluous.  Coordination 
between  food  security  and  food  aid  programmes  should  be  strengthened,  among  other  things 
tlirough the adoption  by donors of a code of conduct for  food aid. The EU and the Member States 
have already made a start on improving their own coordination in this area. 

2.  The EU's priority  objectives 

(1)  To get the developing countries to recognise their primary responsibility for  improving access 
to  food,  by  promoting  sustainable  production  where  it  is  inadequate,  but  above  all  by 
increasing  the  food  purchasing  power  of the  poorest  sections  of the  population  by  policies 
aimed at the elimination of poverty and reduction in inequality. 

(2)  To highlight the importance for food security of strengthening or restoring peace and domestic 
stability by rooting them in democracy, good governance and the observance of human rights. 

(3)  To  insist  on  sound  domestic  policies:  macroeconomic  stability,  competitive  markets  for 
products  and  factors  such  as  credit  and  agricultural  inputs,  access  to  land  and  other 
productive resources,  social and health policies targeted  in particular  at women and children 
(education, health  - including nutritional hygiene and family planning), recognition of the role 
of civil society. 

(4)  To ensure effective  and correct  implementation  of the  Uruguay  Round  agreements, including 
the  Marrakesh  decision  on  measures  relating  to  the  possible  adverse  effects  of  the  reform 
programme  on  the  least  advanced  countries  and  on  developing  countries  which  are  net 
importers  of  food  products;  to  help  stabilize  agricultural  markets  through  measures 
compatible with GATT. 

(5)  To promote research in the food sector so as to be able to offer wholesome food products with 

optimum nutritional value that will enhance human health. 

To encourage agricultural  research and the dissemination of technological  innovation through 
scientific  cooperation between industrialized  and developing countries, in order to push  back 
the frontiers  of sustainable production through more efficient  use of natural  resources (land, 
water  and  biodiversity)  and  of  ecosystems,  while  underscoring  the  need  to  respect  the 
environment and protect biodiversity. 

(6)  To implement  as speedily as possible the measures  set out in the Kyoto Declaration  and the 

plan of action on the contribution of fisheries to food security. 

(7)  To channel available aid towards the poorest countries, stepping it up where possible, in order 
to encourage them to implement convincing sustainable development strategies;  to continue to 
relieve  the  public  debt  of  the  most  indebted  among  the  poorest  countries  in  line  with  G7 
proposals  to  the  international  financial  institutions,  which  will  deliberate  on  this  matter  in 
Washington in the autumn. 

(8)  Food  aid  remains  essential  in  emergencies,  but  should  as  soon  as  possible  aim  to  promote 
rehabilitation;  food  aid operations  cannot provide a lasting  solution  unless they  are part  and 
parcel of development schemes aimed at reviving local production and trade. 

Food  aid  cannot  be  a  substitute  for  failed  agricultural  development  and  agri-food  policies, 
rather it should mesh with those policies and bolster them. 

Food  aid  should  be supplied  in a  flexible  manner  so that  it  takes  better  account  of  specific 
local or national  situations  (potential  and conditions)  Purchase  of supplies  locally  or from  a 
neighbouring  country,  monétisation  of  food  aid, financial assistance  or  even  access  to  hard 
currency to encourage the domestic private sector to become more involved in importing food 
products, and close integration  of food  aid operations  into development  assistance,  should be 
seen as a single operation. 

(9)  Through  regional cooperation and better integration of neighbouring countries' markets it will 
be possible to turn natural complementarities to good account and provide an effective  way of 
helping  achieve  food  security  objectives  in the  countries  concerned.  The  EU  supports  this 
approach and would encourage other donors to follow suit. 

Conclusions 

1.  The European  Union must above all  seek to ensure that the World  Food  Summit follows on 
logically from the  big  UN human  development  conferences  (Rio  1992, on  Environment;  Vienna 
1993, on Human  Rights; Cairo  1994, on Population;  Copenhagen  1995, on  Social  Development; 
Beijing  1995,  on  Women;  Istanbul  1996,  Habitat  II)  and  builds  on  their  results  without 
undermining the progress already made, notably on human rights, equality of the sexes, sustainable 
development and the eradication of poverty. 

2.  Food security policy should be one of the main elements of the drive to eliminate poverty. Its 
realisation depends above all on sustainable and equitable development  strategies. The solution to 
the problem of food security does not lie primarily in increasing global agricultural production, nor 
in  a  liberalization  of  global  food  markets  going,  in the  short  term,  beyond  the  Uruguay  Round 
agreements,  which  should  of  course  be  implemented  effectively  and  fairly;  rather,  it  requires 
effective  development strategies aimed at the reduction of inequality and the elimination of poverty 

3.  There should be no need to expand the FAO's brief after the Summit; the job of overseeing the 
implementation  of the Plan of Action is a matter for  ECOSOC  as part of the overall follow-up  to 
the big UN conferences.  On the other hand, it is essential that the FAO - in carrying out its remit -
should overhaul its action programmes to attune them more closely to the approach outlined in the 
Policy Declaration and Plan of Action to be endorsed in Rome on  13 and  14 November. 

Consequently: 

The  Commission  has  drawn  up  this  communication  which  reiterates  guiding  principles  for  the 
Community's and the Member States' participation in the Summit's deliberations. 

ISSN 0254-1475 

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