G20 ministers of agriculture meet in Brazil to discuss challenges to global food security, with the participation of the Director General of IICA

Chapada dos Guimaraes, Mato Grosso, Brazil. 12 September 2024 (IICA). Ministers of agriculture of the G20 countries, leaders of international organizations -including the Director General of the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), Manuel Otero- and world-renowned scientists, will meet beginning this Thursday in Mato Grosso, Brazil, to discuss the challenges facing agriculture related to food and nutrition security, technological innovation, adaptation to climate change, and sustainability.

The ministers involved in the meeting make up the G20 Agriculture Group, which was created in 2011 to promote international cooperation to address critical issues such as the sustainability of production, food security, and climate change adaptation.

Brazil, which holds the presidency of the G20 this year, chose the agricultural state of Mato Grosso as the venue for the deliberations, which will address the challenges facing agriculture in areas such as food and nutrition security, sustainability, technological innovation, and adaptation to climate change.

The ministerial meeting will also be used to prepare for the G20 Leaders’ Summit, which will be taking place in November in Rio de Janeiro with the heads of state and government of the G20 nations in attendance. Five of IICA’s 34 member countries form part of the G20: Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Mexico and the USA.

Carlos Fávaro, the Minister of Agriculture and Livestock of Brazil, invited the Director General of IICA to speak at the event. The G20 brings together the countries with the world’s biggest economies and is regarded as the largest international cooperation forum. Other speakers at the meeting include FAO Director General Qu Dongyu.

Otero will give a presentation to the ministers and guests entitled “Overcoming challenges: pathways to resilient and sustainable agriculture.” The IICA Representative in Brazil, Gabriel Delgado, and Special Advisor Jorge Werthein will be accompanying the Director General at the meeting.

Located in the Central-West region of Brazil, Mato Grosso is the country’s largest grain producer and the world’s leading exporter of soybeans, and also has the biggest cattle inventory of any state in Brazil. It was chosen to host the meeting of the Agriculture Group because it contains three biomes: the Amazon, the Cerrado and the Pantanal.

Sustainable Development Goals

Among the important issues that the G20 Agriculture Group will discuss are the pathways to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), set out in the United Nations (UN) 2030 Agenda.

Other key topics include the contribution of international trade to food and nutrition security, and the recognition of the key role of family farming, peasants, indigenous peoples, and traditional communities in achieving sustainable, healthy, and inclusive food systems. The Group will also address the promotion of the sustainable integration of fisheries and aquaculture into local and global social chains.

Brazil has been a member of the G20 Agriculture Group since its creation and the work this year has included the participation of not only the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock, but also the Ministry of Agrarian Development and Family Farming, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (EMBRAPA).

More information:
Institutional Communication Division.
comunicacion.institucional@iica.int