G-20 Food Security in Africa: Measures to Strengthen the G-20 Agenda

This policy briefing by the South African Institute of International Affairs evaluates the G-20's global food security agenda and its effectiveness in Africa. While the G-20 has established frameworks to address price volatility and agricultural productivity, the document argues that a lack of implementation of regulatory reforms and the persistence of protectionist trade practices within G-20 member states limit the actual impact on African food security.

• The G-20 has progressively integrated food security into its agenda since the 2009 Pittsburgh summit, later identifying it as one of nine pillars of sustainable development in the 2010 Seoul Multi-Year Action Plan on Development.
• The G-20's food security strategy focuses on several key areas: regulating food price volatility, increasing agricultural productivity for smallholders, creating humanitarian emergency food reserves (prompted by the crisis in the Horn of Africa), and removing food export restrictions for the World Food Programme.
• Despite official rhetoric, the G-20 has been slow to implement internal regulatory reforms, particularly regarding the regulation of speculation in financial and commodity markets, which is identified as a primary driver of food price volatility.
• Agricultural protectionism and restrictive trade practices in developed G-20 nations negatively impact the world's poorest countries; tariffs for agricultural products in middle- and higher-income countries are on average four times higher than for non-agricultural products.
• The G-20 has shown reluctance to address market-distorting biofuel policies despite research indicating they harm food security in the developing world, opting instead to call for further research.
• The document recommends that South Africa use its G-20 membership to advocate for the elimination of agricultural subsidies, the regulation of commodity market speculation, increased funding for African agriculture, and the reform of biofuel policies.

APA

Bramley, C. (2013). G-20 Food Security in Africa: Measures to Strengthen the G-20 Agenda. South African Institute of International Affairs. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Policy-Briefing-73.pdf

Chicago

Bramley, Cerkia. G-20 Food Security in Africa: Measures to Strengthen the G-20 Agenda. South African Institute of International Affairs, 2013. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Policy-Briefing-73.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Bramley |first1=Cerkia |title=G-20 Food Security in Africa: Measures to Strengthen the G-20 Agenda |publisher=South African Institute of International Affairs |date=September 2013 |url=https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Policy-Briefing-73.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{bramley2013g20, author = {Bramley, Cerkia}, title = {{G-20 Food Security in Africa: Measures to Strengthen the G-20 Agenda}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2013}, month = sep, url = {https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/Policy-Briefing-73.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }