The Principles for Responsible Investment in Agriculture and Food Systems
On 15 October, the member states of the Committee on World Food Security at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) unanimously adopted the Principles for Responsible Investment in Agriculture and Food Systems.
More than 800 million people worldwide are starving and 2 billion people are suffering from malnutrition. Public and private investment in the agricultural sector and the entire value-added chain are therefore urgently requied in many parts of the world in order to sustainably improve the food situation. But this investment must be made in a responsible manner in order to serve this aim; for the first time, there is now a body of regulations to ensure this.
Investments should benefit the people in developing and threshold countries
The aim of the so-called RAI Principles (Principles for Respondible Investment in Agriculture and Food Systems) is to ensure that investments benefit the people in developing and threshold countries. The Principles are the result of a multi-annual consultation and negotiation process of the states, with the extensive participation of both industry and civil society, within the FAO committee on World Food Security.
In contrast to the elaboration of other guidelines on the structuring of investments, representatives of small farmers, fishermen and workers in the agricultural sector, i.e. those directly affected by food security, as well as private investors and foundations, this time actually sat at the table with the state representatives. This large group of participants provides a high degree of legitimacy to the Principles and sets them apart from other international instruments intended to structure investment.
Germany manages to have important food-security aims enshrined
The Federal Government of Germany supported the work on the principles from the very start and was able, during the course of the negotiations, to have some of its key food-security aims enshrined in the Principles. The Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL) has for many years lent its support to realising the right to food on a global scale and has been committed to elaborating new guidelines and standards under international law that describe the duties of states and the responsibilities of private actors arising from the human right to food.
"We have succeeded in focusing attention on small farmers and producers and in clearly defining the duties of governments on the one hand and the responsibilities of private investors on the other", said Federal Agriculture Minister Christian Schmidt following the negotiations and stated: "Germany will undertake every effort at international level to ensure that these Principles are made known and implemented across the globe. I also believe that private investors bear considerable responsibility in this respect."
- As of:
- 13.11.14
Further information
Publications
- GFFA – BTF Political synergies in international activities (PDF, 818 KB, File does not meet accessibility standards.)
- Empowering Agriculture for Global Food and Nutrition Security - The 15th anniversary of the Bilateral Trust Fund with FAO (PDF, 2 MB, File does not meet accessibility standards.)
- Understanding global food security and nutrition - Facts and backgrounds (PDF, 2 MB, File does not meet accessibility standards.)
- Policies against Hunger XII - Summary 2016 (PDF, 189 KB, File does not meet accessibility standards.)
- GFFA-Kommuniqué 2016 (PDF, 261 KB, File does not meet accessibility standards.)
- Understanding global food security and nutrition - In Focus: Balanced nutrition across the globe (PDF, 179 KB, File does not meet accessibility standards.)
- BMEL-Concept for Global Food Security and Nutrition (PDF, 1 MB, accessible)
- Conception du BMEL sur l'alimentation mondiale (PDF, 1 MB, accessible)
- Fighting hunger together: BMEL food security projects – the Bilateral Trust Fund with the FAO (PDF, 257 KB, File does not meet accessibility standards.)
- Equitable and Sustainable Access to Land, Fisheries and Forests - Voluntary Guidelines on the responsible governance of these resources (PDF, 566 KB, File does not meet accessibility standards.)
- FAO: The State of Food Insecurity in the World 2015 (PDF, 2 MB, File does not meet accessibility standards.)