G7 Food Systems Initiative in jeopardy

The initiative, which is due to be launched by the Italian Presidency of the G7 at the leaders Summit on 13 – 15 June, will be the first G7 initiative to take a joined up approach to food security and climate change and will focus on Africa.  

It plans to mobilise finance for agriculture adaptation and mitigation through debt for food swaps, food insurance schemes and increased investment by development banks and  support countries to include food and agriculture in their national climate plans. 

The farmers networks said they are “desperate for Apulia to be a success” and urge Meloni to learn the lessons from the last three G7 food security initiatives which have largely failed to deliver: 

• Involve affected communities from the outset: Family farmers organisations have yet to be consulted on the initiative even though they are key to its success. Africa’s smallholders account for 70% of food consumed on the continent and are critical to global supply chains for commodities such as coffee and chocolate.
• Get finance to the grassroots where it will have the most impact: It’s not yet clear how much new finance will be mobilised or how much will be targeted at grassroots organisations. In 2021 just 3.6% of international public climate finance spending in Africa went to small scale producers – a quarter of spending on the agri food sector in Africa.
• Promote a shift to more sustainable and just food systems. Apulia aims to tackle the climate and food crisis however it is not clear if this will translate into support for more diverse and nature friendly farming which are key to adaptation. 
• Increase transparency: A lack of clear and transparent targets, timelines and reporting mechanisms,  including on finance, means it is hard to know what previous G7 initiatives achieved.

Rym Ferchichi, Secretary General, Maghrebian and North African Farmers Union said: “Common sense tells us that Apulia food Initiative has to deliver for Africa’s family farmers if it is to be a success. We urge G7 Ministers to meet with us so they can hear – first hand – about the challenges we face; the climate solutions we are pioneering, and the barriers that are standing in our way.”

Climate change is fueling a hunger crisis across the continent. In recent months torrential rain and floods have destroyed thousands of acres of farmland in East Africa, extreme drought has pushed millions of people into hunger and malnutrition across Southern Africa and the Horn, and a deadly heatwave in West Africa has damaged crops leading to a surge in the price of cocoa on international markets. 

The Apulia Initiative builds on the Declaration on Sustainable Agriculture, Resilient Food Systems, and Climate Action signed by 159 countries at COP28  and Italy’s Piano Mattei plan for Africa announced at the end of 2023. 

Elizabeth Nsimadala, Eastern Africa Farmers Federation said: “Mobilising finance to close the huge agriculture adaptation gap is vitally important, but Apulia can’t stop there. It needs to break down the barriers which prevent farmers organisations accessing the affordable, long term finance which they need to adapt.”

Notes to editor

A media briefing on Apulia and the key lessons to be learned from the failures of past G7 Food Security Initiatives is here.

The letter is signed by regional family farmer networks: Eastern African Farmers Federation, Eastern and Southern Africa Small-Scale Farmers Forum; Maghrebian and North African Farmers Union;  Regional Platform of  Regional Platform of Farmers’ Organizations in Central Africa; West African Network of Peasants and Agricultural Producers.

Full text of letter and signatories:

12 June 2024

Dear Prime Minister Meloni,

The Italian G7 Presidency’s focus on food and climate is urgently needed. Across our continent, torrential rain and floods have destroyed thousands of acres of farmland in East Africa, extreme drought has pushed millions of people into hunger and malnutrition across Southern Africa and the Horn, and a deadly heatwave has damaged crops in West Africa leading to a surge in the price of cocoa on international markets. 

The Apulia Food Systems Initiative’s joined-up approach to food and climate is welcome. Climate change exacerbates the existing fragilities and inequalities in our global food system while the solutions required to build climate resilience – from diversifying production to creating stronger local markets – are also key to fixing our broken food system.

However, the G7 has a poor track record on food security. The three major G7 food initiatives launched in the last 15 years have had limited impact. Apulia must learn the lessons from past mistakes if it is to be a success: 

• Engage family farmer organisations from the outset. Africa’s small-holders produce up to 70% of the food consumed on the continent and are critical for global supply chains of commodities such as coffee. Apulia has to deliver for these producers if it is to be a success yet African family farmers organisations have not been consulted. How can Apulia hope to understand or address the challenges farmers face – or the solutions we bring – without involving us? It is particularly important that the voices of women farmers are heard. Women make up 43% of the agricultural workforce but produce up to 25% less than men because of unequal access to land, resources and training.
• Get finance to where it will have the most impact: The Apulia Initiative’s focus on mobilising new finance for food and agriculture is critical – it is estimated that climate finance spending on agrifood systems needs to be at least seven times higher.  Equally important is allocating funding to grassroots organisations where it will have the most impact.  In 2021 just 3.6% of international public climate finance spending in Africa went to small scale producers – approximately a quarter of spending on the agri food sector in Africa. 
• Promote a transition towards more sustainable food systems: The latest science, and the generations of farming experience, tell us that working with nature, promoting diversity,  building strong links to local markets and strengthening farm and forest producers organisations is key to adaptation. To transform our food systems Apulia must support – and help fund – a shift away from industrialised agriculture and towards more sustainable, resilient and just approaches such as agroecology.  
• Increase transparency and accountability: Clear and transparent targets, timelines and reporting mechanisms – including on how much finance has been delivered and what proportion is reaching small-scale producers  – is needed to build trust and confidence within Africa and G7 countries. 

As family farmers organisations representing millions of small-scale producers in 45 countries across Africa we are desperate for the Apulia Food Systems Initiative to be a success.  But common sense tells us that this will only happen if it is rooted in the experience of Africa’s farmers. 

We urge President Meloni – and G7 Development Ministers who will be working up the details of the Apulia Initiative over the next few months –  to meet with us so that we can ensure that it meets the needs of Africa’s farmers and capitalises on the solutions that they bring. 

Yours sincerely,

Joe Mzinga, Regional Coordinator for Eastern and Southern Africa Small-Scale Farmers Forum (ESAFF) which represents 5.5 million smallholder farmers in 17 countries across Eastern and Southern Africa