REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL Implementing EU food and nutrition security policy commitments: Third biennial report
Date: 2018-10-17
Institutions: Directorate-General for International Cooperation and Development, European Commission
Subjects: adaptation to climate change, agricultural production policy, aid to agriculture, development aid, food aid, food production, malnutrition, nutrition, sustainable agriculture, sustainable development

EN 

  EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 17.10.2018 COM(2018) 699 final  REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL Implementing EU food and nutrition security policy commitments: Third biennial report {SWD(2018) 440 final}  
 
 
1. INTRODUCTION 

This  is  the  third  report  highlighting  the  progress  the  EU  and  its  Member  States  have  achieved  towards 
implementing  their  common  policy  on  food  security1.  This  report  is  accompanied  by  a  Commission  Staff 
Working  Document,  which  provides  further  information  on  analyses  and  case  studies.  Throughout  the 
report,  various  examples  reflect  how  the  EU  and  its  Member  States  have  further  stepped  up  support  and 
responded to the recommendations and Council conclusions made in 2016.  

2. GLOBAL AND EUROPEAN POLICY DEVELOPMENTS 

With 821 million people suffering from hunger worldwide, in 2017 food and nutrition insecurity was on the 
rise  for  a  second  year,  after  steadily  declining  for  over  a  decade.  Chronic  child  malnutrition  has  been 
declining, although one in four children under five is still affected. Global population is expected to reach 
over 9 billion by 2050, resulting in increased competition for finite resources. This will be compounded by 
the accelerating impacts of climate change, conflicts and growing pressures on land and natural resources as 
well as on food, water and energy supplies. These challenges will significantly affect the ability of the agri-
food system to deliver healthy and nutritious diets to a rapidly increasing population.  

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and in particular SDG 2, seek to renew momentum and rally 
countries  around  targets  to  “end  hunger,  achieve  food  security  and  improve  nutrition  and  promote 
sustainable  agriculture”  by  2030.  Consistent  with  the  EU’s  rights-based  approach,  including  the  right  to 
food,  ending  hunger  and  improving  the  nutritional  status  of  the  most  vulnerable  are  key  responsibilities 
within the new European Consensus on Development2. The 2016 Global Strategy for the EU’s Foreign and 
Security Policy emphasizes redoubling efforts on the prevention of conflicts and in tackling the root causes, 
such  as  inequality,  resource  stress  and  climate  change,  in  light  of  their  impact  on  desertification,  land 
degradation,  water  scarcity  and  food  crises.  Through  this,  the  EU  and  Member  States  are  supporting 
governments lead sustainable prevention and response strategies that contribute to resilience building. 

The EU and its Member States continue placing a strong emphasis on transforming the role of women. A 
particular focus is on promoting a transformative approach, seeking not only to improve women’s access to 
resources,  but  also  to  guarantee  their  equal  rights,  thereby  making  sure  that  interventions  benefit  and 
empower women and men.  

The  EU  and  its  Member  States  are  contributing  to  strengthen  vulnerable  people  in  partner  countries  by 
promoting the creation of better jobs and income generation opportunities. With the launch of the External 
Investment  Plan  in  2017,  the  EU  is  partnering  with  financial  institutions in  order  to  kick-start  or  rekindle 
economic  dynamism  in  partner  countries  to  improve  equitable  economic  growth  in  rural  economies.  To 
further address the complex link between food insecurity, rural poverty and migration, the EU is stepping up 
its  cooperation  and  dialogue  within  the  EU-African  Union  (AU)  Partnership  and  is  organising  EU-Africa 
Business  Forums  to  facilitate  the  creation  of  employment  opportunities  for  youth  and  women.  The  most 
recent  one  was  held  in  November  2017  in  Abidjan  where  an  emphasis  was  placed  on  scaling  up  public-
private  partnerships  in  the  agri-business  domain.  Such  emphasis  goes  hand-in-hand  with  the  Emergency 
Trust  Fund  for  Africa  in  order  to  address  the  root  causes  of  instability,  forced  displacement  and  irregular 
migration and to contribute to better migration management and build on opportunities.  

Fostering innovation and research is  essential to improve agriculture and food systems. At the One Planet 
Summit  in  2017,  the  EU  and  the  Gates  Foundation  each  committed  EUR  270  million  over  2018-2020  to 
work together on climate-relevant innovation and research in agriculture in third countries. Agriculture plays 
a key role since this sector is central to many countries’ Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and to 
which  the  EU  and  its  Member  States  contribute  to  support  through  cooperation  on  sustainable  agriculture 

1 An EU policy framework to assist developing countries in addressing food security challenges, COM(2010)127. 
2 Official Journal C201/1 of 30.6.2017 

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programmes.  Following  France’s  leadership,  the  EU  is  seeking  to  catalyse  Member  States  and  other 
organisations  around  the  "USD  1  billion  target".  Furthermore,  the  EU-Africa  Research  and  Innovation 
Partnership  on  FNSSA  has  started  to  become  operational,  with  funding  allocated  under  the  Horizon  2020 
programme and through the AU Research Grant Scheme. 

G7 leaders remain committed to help lift 500 million people out of hunger and malnutrition by 2030 and, at 
the 2017 Taormina Summit3, have decided to  raise their  collective support for food and nutrition  security 
and sustainable agriculture in Sub-Saharan Africa through an array of action, including by increasing ODA. 
Recognizing that rural transformation is a critical process to create jobs, raise income and achieve food and 
nutrition  security, in  2017  G20 leaders launched  the  Initiative for Rural  Youth Employment,  which forms 
part of the G20 Partnership.  

3. REPORTING AND PROGRESS 

This section provides a snapshot of the food and nutrition security disbursements by the EU and its Member 
States and the latest progress towards the policy priority performance criteria. 

Disbursements4 

Compared to the first and second reports, annual financial assistance from the EU and its Member States to 
food  and  nutrition  security  increased  to  EUR  4,200  million;  a  rise  of  14.7%  since  2014  and  24.8%  since 
2012. This represents about 6% of total Official Development Assistance (ODA) in 2016; however, this is a 
slight drop from about 8% of ODA in 2012 and 20145. 

While support for global initiatives and the delivery of global public goods in support of food and nutrition 
security remains solid (19% - a decrease from 25% in 2014), in 2016 support at country level increased from 
66% to 69%. Regional support to food and nutrition security increased from 9% to 12%.  

Table 1 shows that support to sub-Saharan Africa further increased in 2016, comprising 53% of support to 
food and nutrition security. While support to Asia decreased somewhat in 2016, support to Latin America 
and the Caribbean and the Neighbourhood increased. Overall, there has been no major change and the data 
shows  that  despite  external  pressures  and  emergency  responses,  support  to  food  and  nutrition  security 
remains a top priority for the EU and its Member States. 

Table 1: Geographical distribution of aid disbursements from the EU and its Member States to food 
and nutrition security in 2012, 2014 and 2016  

3 http://www.g7italy.it/en/documenti-altri 
4  It  is  worth  noting  that  many  Member  States  have  disbursed  additional  funds  well  above  the  total  amounts  recorded  here. 
However, for the purpose of this report, only  disbursements above EUR 100,000 are reflected. Moreover, across the EU and its 
Member  States,  there  are  different  methodologies  for  reporting.  The  figures  reported  in  this  report  solely  reflect  the  specific 
methodology for this exercise. 
5 Like the  previous reports, this third report  – issued in 2018  – is reporting on the latest official  figures available,  which cover 
2016. 

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Table  2  provides  an  overview  of  the  disbursements,  highlighting  the  number  of  programmes,  the  level  of 
support and the number of countries which received support. Policy priority 1 continues to receive the bulk 
of  support,  although  this  declined  from  60%  to  50%,  with  increases  in  support  to  the  other  five  policy 
priorities.  Overall,  the  number  of  programmes  has  increased  in  the  past  two  years  and  the  number  of 
countries where food and nutrition  security support  is  targeted has increased with  respect to  nutrition and 
social protection-relevant interventions. Furthermore, there was strong attention devoted to ensuring gender-
sensitivity and contributions to climate change adaptation and mitigation. In 2016, 57% of support can be 
considered as gender-sensitive, 43% promotes adaptation to climate change and 16% contributes to climate 
change mitigation efforts. In terms of overall support, about 12% is dedicated to research.  

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Table 2: Progress against performance criteria 

4 

 
 
 
 
Progress towards policy priorities and performance criteria 

This section includes an overview of efforts carried out, with more detailed and specific examples provided 
in the accompanying staff working document. 

Policy priority 1 continues to receive the majority of attention, showing that this support is a central part of 
the EU and its Member States’ development cooperation. Efforts in this area include support to enhance the 
resilience  of  rural  communities,  sustainable  intensification  of  production,  financing  of  agribusiness 
development,  climate-smart  agriculture  and  support  to  placing  science  more  centrally  in  development 
cooperation  in  agriculture,  in  particular,  with  a  view  to  foster  innovation  for  increased  impact.  Many 
projects concern rural transformation and territorial approaches and contribute to supporting the creation of 
decent jobs in rural areas – particularly for women and youth. 

Policy  priority  2  demonstrates  that  effective  governance  remains  a  key  area  of  support.  In  2017,  the  EU 
partnered  with  the  FAO  to  host  an  event  and  commemorate  the  fifth  anniversary  of  the  adoption  of  the 
Voluntary  Guidelines  on  the  Responsible  Governance  of  Tenure  of  Land,  Fisheries  and  Forests  and 
showcase progress in its application. The EU and its Member States are fervent supporters of initiatives such 
as  various  regional  economic  communities  and  the  Comprehensive  Africa  Agriculture  Development 
Programme (CAADP).  

Under  policy  priority  3,  support  to  regional  initiatives  has  been  gradually  increasing  over  the  past  years, 
such  as,  through  support  to  regional  fisheries  programmes  and  further  support  to  strengthen  capacity  for 
regional sanitary and phyto-sanitary measures.  

While policy priority 4 saw a drop in disbursements in the last report, this report is able to demonstrate a 
substantial  increase  in  support  to  social  protection  mechanisms  (EUR  121  million  more),  as  well  as  the 
number of programmes and countries where EU and/or Member State partnerships are thriving.  

Under  policy  priority  5,  through  strengthening  a  joint  multi-sectoral  support  approach  to  tackling 
undernutrition,  efforts  continued,  steadily  since  2014,  to  foster  collaboration  to  promote  country-level 
commitment and leadership, and to promote accountability of the EU and Member States support at country 
and global level.  

Policy priority 6 has received deserved attention with an increase of EUR 107 million compared to 2014. 
The  Global  Report  on  Food  Crises  2018  indicated  that  nearly  124  million  people  were  in  a  food  crisis 
situation and demonstrated the need for tackling the drivers of food insecurity. In line with the EU’s Global 
Strategy  and  with  Member  State  activities  in  operationalizing  the  humanitarian,  development  and  peace 
nexus, the EU works jointly with other partners in the Global Network against Food Crises on joint analysis 
and coordinated responses. 

Table 3: Specific examples of interventions showing results 

Policy 
Priority 1 

Policy 
Priority 2 

Germany  is  supporting  smallholder  resilience  and  livelihoods  in  over  81  countries. 
Through the Global Programme of Green Innovation Centres (part of the One World – No 
Hunger  initiative)  600,000  small-scale  farmers  were  trained  (40%  women,  30%  young 
people)  and  a  productivity  increase  of  35%  has  been  achieved.  In  Ethiopia,  Austria  has 
helped  348,513  farmers  (23.6%  of  whom  are  women)  improve  their  agricultural 
productivity,  and  over  6,000  households  benefitted  from  rehabilitation  measures  in 
watersheds and 52 out of 78 people surveyed were able to accumulate cash savings. 
As  part  of  the  America  Latina  y  Caribe  sin  Hambre  Initiative,  Spain  has  been  an  active 
partner by promoting parliamentarians against hunger as one of the main actors in food and 
nutrition security governance. 

5 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Policy 
Priority 3 

Policy 
priority 4 
Policy 
Priority 5 

Policy 
Priority 6 

Italy  supported  the  development  of  coastal  communities  in  the  Mediterranean  Area, 
succeeding  to  support  2,000  fishermen  with  collective  grants,  women  with  60  grants  for 
starting-up  food  services,  the  training  of  500  fishermen,  the  creation  of  3  associations  of 
fishermen/farmers, and the construction of a port for 100 fishing boats.  
Ireland  contributed  to  the  productive  safety  nets  programme  in  Ethiopia  through 
which 10,200,000 people received food assistance in response to the 2016 El Nino drought. 
Belgium  supported  chicken  and  sunflower  value  chains  in  two  districts  in  Northern 
Tanzania where the income of the beneficiaries has increased by 24% despite droughts in 
2009-2010.  The  consumption  of  eggs  and  chicken  has  also  significantly  increased  in  the 
beneficiary  households,  which  is  having  a  positive  effect  on  the  nutritional  value  of  the 
food of all family members, especially children.  
France supported a resilience project in south-eastern Senegal, which showed that increases 
in  food  production  and  food  assistance  have  meant  that  now  61%  of  programme 
participants  have  an  acceptable  food  consumption  score  based  on  WFP's  categorization, 
compared to  36% for non-participants.  The UK,  with  the Commission  and others, helped 
successfully develop the IPC Chronic Food Insecurity Classification, to support evidence-
based food security decision-making.    

Coordination, Complementarity and Coherence  

The  new  European  Consensus  on  Development  places  Joint  Programming  (JP)  at  the  centre  of  the  EU’s 
efforts  to  implement  the  2030  Agenda  and  support  to  partner  countries’  national  development  plans  by 
improving the coordination and coherence of EU and Member States’ development assistance. JP has made 
significant progress, with 45 countries making concrete steps towards a JP process and 17 more taking first 
steps  in  engaging  in  JP.  From  10  JP  Documents  at  the  end  of  2014,  the  number  of  JP  Documents  has 
increased to 26 in February 2018. In Laos and Senegal, JP has been proving its added-value for several years 
through achieving significant results in key areas such as food and nutrition security. 

Textbox 1: EU joint programming in Senegal 
Since 2013, the EU and its Member States have been engaged in joint programming in Senegal. The second 
joint programming document covering the period 2018-2023 in line with the Plan for an Emerging Senegal 
was  recently  endorsed.  The  joint  analysis  showed  that,  despite  some  positive  achievements  in  the  fight 
against  malnutrition  in  the  past  years,  the  issue  remains  a  major  concern  in  the  country.  The  joint 
programming process tackles these challenges by focusing on the inter-dependence between nutrition, food 
security and agriculture, particularly in rural areas. The EU, France, Italy and Spain work jointly to support 
food security and the fight against malnutrition.  

Textbox 2: EU joint programming in Laos  
Joint Programming in Laos was launched in 2012 and resulted in a Joint Transition Strategy for 2014-2015. 
Following this first phase, the EU and seven Member States plus Switzerland endorsed the European joint 
programming  for  Lao  People's  Democratic  Republic  2016-2020.  Nutrition  figures  as  one  of  the  strategy's 
seven priority sectors, in which the EU is working jointly, mainly with France, Germany and Switzerland. 
Joint  programming  in  Laos  is  an  excellent  example  of  how  the  EU+  supports  Laos'  nutrition  policy  and 
ensures  the  significance  of  nutrition  throughout  other  sectors.  To  illustrate  this,  the  EU  and  France  are 
jointly supporting priority interventions around nutrition-sensitive value chains and rural advisory services, 
while the EU and Germany are jointly supporting investments in clean drinking water infrastructure. 

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4. RESULTS REPORTING 
There is a vast number of results being reported by the EU and its Member States which shows impact on 
the ground. A selection is presented in Table 4. The Netherlands, the United Kingdom and the Commission 
continue  to  provide  aggregated  data  from  across  their  programmes  and  present  a  number  of  corporate 
results. While efforts are ongoing in order to try to streamline methodologies to measure and report impact 
at an aggregated level, challenges do remain. The results presented below should not be taken as complete 
nor comparative but should rather be taken as a snapshot of different methodologies, covering different time 
periods and according to different criteria. Ongoing work on common indicators and application of efficient 
methodologies in the context of SDG reporting will further strengthen this process. 

Table 4: Impact on the ground 

The Netherlands (2017) 

United Kingdom 

Commission (2013-2017) 

smallholder 

33,700,000 undernourished people 
received  assistance,  of  which 
about  15,500,000  demonstrably 
benefitted in the form of improved 
food intake;  
7,370,000 
family 
farms  received  support,  of  which 
1,950,000 
demonstrably 
benefitted in the form of increased 
productivity  and/or  income  and 
1,590,000  gained  better  access  to 
markets; 
1,360,000  hectares  of  farmland 
were improved, of which 366,890 
with  more  eco-efficient  practices 
and  179,360  hectares  became 
more  resilient 
to  stresses  and 
shocks; 
1,220,000 farmers obtained secure 
tenure of land. 

5. THEMATIC FOCUS 

2015-2017, 

In 
26,300,000 
children  under  five  and  pregnant 
through 
supported 
women 
nutrition-relevant  programmes  (of 
whom 15,200,000 were women or 
girls); 
In  2016–17,  the  UK  supported 
agribusiness  investment  projects 
that  benefitted  over  2  million 
farmers in developing countries;  
8,900,000 
From 
people 
4,600,000 
women)  received  support  from 
cash transfer programmes; 
2011-2015, 
From 
people 
(including 
women) provided food security;  
From 
people 
3,000,000  women) 
their land and property rights. 

6,100,000 
(including 
improve 

2011-2015, 
(including 

2011-2015, 
helped 

3,700,000 
1,900,000 

to 

five 

women 

benefitted 

hectares 
where 
land  management 

11,976,000 
of 
reproductive  age  and  children 
from 
under 
nutrition-related programmes; 
14,159,000  food-insecure  people 
received  assistance  through  social 
transfers; 
3,675,000 
sustainable 
practices have been introduced; 
3,841,000  people  received  rural 
advisory  services  to  add  value  to 
their 
produce  and  improve  the  links 
between farmers and market; 
815,000 
people  who  were 
supported to secure tenure of land 
sustainable 
of 
in 
livelihoods. 

support 

As requested by the Council in 2016, this report provides a deeper focus on two specific themes. 

Climate-resilient approaches 

Agriculture is one of the sectors most seriously affected by climate change. The EU and its Member States 
promote an agricultural  development  that serves multiple purposes of improving the natural  resource base 
and the environment, tackles climate change, as well as increasing land and labour productivity and boosting 
food supply. This has a win-win effect in creating income and decent employment opportunities. In 2014, 
38% of all support to food and nutrition security contributed to climate change adaptation. In 2016, this has 
risen to 43%.  

The EU and its Member States safeguard climate mainstreaming in their existing agricultural development 
programmes  and  promote  specific  adaptation  and  mitigation  measures  in  this  sector.  Through  sustainable 
management of natural resources, agro-ecological intensification for family farming, sustainable planning of 
rural  areas  and  risk  management,  climate-resilient  approaches  are  integrated  in  programmes.  Advice, 

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information, locally adopted technologies and infrastructure support are provided, enabling partner countries 
to  become  more  resilient  to  climate  stresses  and  shocks.  Together,  Member  States  and  the  EU  are  also 
strongly supporting research and learning on climate-resilient agricultural practices, through the CGIAR and 
other research programmes. In April 2018, they also supported a debate at an FAO symposium on the role of 
agroecology in building a sustainable agri-food system.  

This goes hand-in-hand with support for partner countries' NDCs and monitoring, reporting and verification 
to  the  UNFCCC.  International  organizations  and  funds,  such  as  IFAD,  the  Green  Climate  Fund  and  the 
Global  Environment  Facility  are  supported  by  the  EU  and  its  Member  States  to  boost  mitigation  and 
adaptation at all levels. 

Textbox 3: Supporting research and learning on nutrition-sensitive and climate-resilient agricultural 
technologies 
The EU and its Member States continue their focus on the role of smallholders, particularly women, within 
sustainable  food  systems,  and  support  research  and  learning  on  nutrition-sensitive  and  climate-resilient 
agricultural technologies and techniques via CGIAR research centres and Research Programmes. Efforts are 
made to integrate local techniques and capitalise on the agro-environmental and socio-economic effects of 
practices.  

Textbox 4: The Rural Village Water Resources Management Project in Nepal 
The Project was started in 2006, with joint funding from Finland and Nepal. The project is now in its third 
phase  which  will  run  until  2022  and  aims  to  achieve  improved  well-being  and  reduced  poverty  in  village 
development  communities  through  sustainable  management  of  local  water  resources.  Some  of  the  results 
include:  domestic  water  supply  as  per  national  standards  for  144,000  beneficiaries;  basic  sanitation, 
including household toilets for 358,000 beneficiaries; irrigation for 28,000 beneficiaries; electricity through 
micro-hydro  power  for  41,000  beneficiaries;  improved  cooking  stoves  for  67,000  beneficiaries;  and  basic 
livelihoods through home garden management for 164,000 beneficiaries. 

Nutrition-sensitive agricultural practices 

Under-nutrition and malnutrition are major obstacles to development and a lifelong burden. Appropriately 
designed agricultural interventions can play a key role in providing sustainable solutions to access to food 
and  dietary  quality.  Nutrition-sensitive  agriculture  is  an  approach  that  seeks  to  ensure  the  production  of  a 
variety  of  affordable,  nutritious,  culturally  appropriate  and  safe  foods  in  adequate  quantity  and  quality  to 
meet the dietary requirements of populations in a sustainable manner.  

The  EU  and  its  Member  States  have  come  together  to  adopt  a  more  comprehensive  understanding  and  a 
multi-sectoral approach. They are working jointly on: the design of nutrition-sensitive agricultural policies 
and strategies which place women at the core in countries with high levels of stunting; implementation of 
national  nutrition-sensitive  policies  and  strategies  by  enhancing  skills  and  know-how;  monitoring  of 
programmes, including by incorporating dietary diversity indicators as well as affordability indicators; and 
stronger evidence for cost-effective approaches for returns on nutrition investments in the agriculture sector.  

Examples  of  nutrition-sensitive  agriculture  practices  include  the  promotion  of  nutrition-sensitive  value 
chains,  innovative  food  fortification  approaches,  nutrient-rich  local  diversification  and  home-garden 
components  of  rural  development  projects  in  countries  where  a  comprehensive  approach  in  developing 
livelihoods  in  communities  is  taken.  National  and  local  stakeholders  are  encouraged  to  engage  and  their 
leadership is favoured in promoting sustainable production practices such as organic agriculture, sustainable 
pasture  management  and  integrated  pest  management.    Support  for  nutrition-sensitive  agriculture  is  also 
provided to the CGIAR.  

The EU and its Member States support the work of UNICEF in community-based nutrition and align behind 
the  Scaling  Up  Nutrition  movement.  With  regards  to  the  public-private  space,  on-going  support  to  the 
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Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) by a number of Member States focusses on improvements 
in nutrition outcomes for the poor in low and middle-income countries through market-based solutions in the 
food system. 

6. OVERALL FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 

By  reporting  on  their  latest  disbursements  worth  EUR  4,200  million  in  2016,  as  well  as  on  their  policy 
involvement, the EU and its Member States have demonstrated that key issues on food and nutrition security 
are  consistently  placed  on  global  agendas  and  efforts  have  been  amplified  across  numerous  countries  to 
enhance  nutritional  outcomes  and  stimulate  better  livelihoods  in  the  agricultural  sector.  The  analysis 
presented in the accompanying Staff Working Document demonstrates the importance of: 

1.  Maintaining food and nutrition security at the forefront of development cooperation in 
order to address systemic issues in the global food system and development challenges in 
which the food and agricultural sector plays a key role. As a global actor, the EU and its 
Member States need to continue to shape the international agenda and work with all partners 
to address current and future challenges. 

2.  Continuing  joint  efforts  in  building  a  strategic  approach  to  food  crises,  along  the 
humanitarian,  development  and  peace  nexus,  and  boost  the  Global  Network  against 
Food  Crises  towards  joint  analysis,  common  strategic  allocation  of  resources  and 
coordinated responses.  

3.  Pursuing  the  drive  towards  a  common  vision  on  nutrition  and  build  a  shared 
understanding  of  nutrition-sensitive  agriculture  among  the  EU  and  its  Member  States, 
which will help support all potential pathways whereby agriculture impacts on nutrition.  

4.  Stepping  up  the  attention  of  the  EU  and  its  Member  States  on  the  critical  role  of 
agriculture in climate change as highlighted by the UNFCCC and in achieving the SDGs. 
Support could stem from ongoing work on the implementation of the Paris Agreement, such 
as  the  Koroniyia  Joint  Work  on  Agriculture  and  other  relevant  commitments  to  support 
countries deliver on their NDCs. 

5.  Enhancing support for women in addressing food and nutrition security at national and 
levels.  Further  attention  could  be  placed  on  better  capturing  women’s 
local 
contributions. Efforts could also focus on approaches to reach, benefit and empower women 
and systematic sex-disaggregated reporting on relevant indicators could be conducted by the 
EU and its Member States. 

6.  Accelerating  work  on  a  results  chain  and  common  indicators  to  monitor  progress  and 
outcomes at an aggregated level. There would be merit in showing how the EU contributes 
to achieve SDG2 targets.  Knowledge and guidance on measuring impact need to be suitable 
for use by all, including the private sector. 

7.  Enhancing  agricultural  national  and  regional  research  capacities  conducive  to 
innovation through partnerships.  This effort could promote development-smart innovation 
in  agriculture  in  particular  through  capacity  development  and  partnerships,  such  as 
Development-Smart Innovation through Research in Agriculture (DeSIRA). 

8.  Further  anchoring  rural  youth  employment  in  policy  dialogue  and  investment  in  the 
creation of jobs and training opportunities and ensuring youth is reflected in policy and 
projects  at  all  stages.  Efforts  made  by  EU  Member  States,  as  well  as  through  the  External 
Investment  Plan  and  the  Trust  Fund  for  Africa,  should  be  further  pursued  and  scaled  up, 
linking to G20 initiatives where relevant. 
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9.  Promoting  regional  agricultural  trade  by  supporting  existing  efforts  towards  a 
sustainable  food  systems  approach.  This  includes  linking  farmers  to  markets,  upholding 
human and labour rights as well as protecting the rights of local communities by applying the 
principles for responsible agricultural investment and implementing the Voluntary Guidelines 
on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests. 

10. Working  jointly  with  all  legitimate  actors  in  the  food  system  on  enhancing  global 
institutions  and  processes  to  guide  the  sustainable  transformation  of  food  systems  by 
reinforcing cooperation and coherence, as well as strengthening evidence-based action. 

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