The world is now facing the possibility of a crisis in global food security. World markets for food, fertilizer and fuel are thus extremely nervous. Of course, market forces could solve such a crisis, but only by driving food prices higher and forcing hundreds of millions of households into hunger and starvation.
Coordinated public actions at the global level can prevent this outcome. Such actions are difficult even in the best of times. In light of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in late February and the widespread dislocations to supplies of wheat, maize, vegetable oils, fertilizers and natural gas, such needed global public interventions will be extremely hard to design, agree on, and implement. But they must be attempted.
Fortunately, a unique opportunity to do exactly this is presented by Indonesia’s chairing the G-20 meeting in Bali in November. Two tracks would need to work hand in hand for the G20 Summit to succeed on food security: (1) the diplomatic and institutional coordination processes by which decisions are made; and (2) the substance of those decisions.
The first is working smoothly, with the Government of Indonesia actively taking the lead in placing food security at the top of the G20 agenda for the Summit Meeting. Because the needed policies and programs are still to be formulated, now is the time for progress in identifying the substantive topics and measures that might be considered and agreed by the G20 Summit members.
