A Critical Assessment of the G-20 Food Security Agenda

This research paper by the South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA) evaluates the alignment of the G-20 food security agenda with the interests of the African continent. The analysis finds that while the G-20's commitments broadly align with African policy processes—particularly regarding food-price volatility, agricultural productivity, and nutrition—the G-20 has been slow to implement regulatory reforms and provide significant funding for African agriculture. The author argues that the G-20 often overlooks systemic issues requiring internal reform, such as biofuel policies and commodity speculation, which significantly impact food security in developing regions.

• The G-20 food security agenda broadly aligns with African policy processes and interests, particularly in three focal areas: food-price volatility, increasing agricultural production and productivity, and scaling up food safety and nutrition.
• Quantitative analysis shows a significant increase in G-20 discourse regarding food security and African interests over time. References to food security using selected keywords rose from 4 in 2009 to 83 in 2011, and direct references to Africa, African countries, or African organisations appeared 12 times each under the French (2011) and Mexican (2012) presidencies, whereas none appeared in 2009 or 2010.
• The G-20 has focused primarily on managing the impacts of food-price volatility through market information and risk management tools rather than addressing root causes, such as the regulation of financial markets and commodity speculation.

APA

Bramley, C. (2013). A Critical Assessment of the G-20 Food Security Agenda. South African Institute of International Affairs. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Occasional-Paper-153.pdf

Chicago

Bramley, Cerkia. A Critical Assessment of the G-20 Food Security Agenda. South African Institute of International Affairs, 2013. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Occasional-Paper-153.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Bramley |first1=Cerkia |title=A Critical Assessment of the G-20 Food Security Agenda |publisher=South African Institute of International Affairs |date=September 2013 |url=https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Occasional-Paper-153.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{bramley2013critical, author = {Bramley, Cerkia}, title = {{A Critical Assessment of the G-20 Food Security Agenda}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2013}, month = sep, url = {https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Occasional-Paper-153.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }