Yogyakarta, 27 July 2022
- As Chair of G20 Agriculture Working Group (AWG), Secretariat General of the Ministry of Agriculture, Kasdi Subagyono urged the G20 members to reaffirm their commitment and cooperation in finding effective and concrete solutions to face the global food challenges. The statement was part of his speech in opening the first day of the 2nd Agriculture Deputies Meeting (ADM).
"I really hope that we can show our achievements as the G20 in handling the pressing issue of global food," Kasdi said in Yogyakarta, on Wednesday (27 July).
Kasdi pushed for the meeting to reach an agreement on the draft communique of the G20 Agriculture Ministers on three main priority issues based on input from all parties. This draft communique will be presented by the Minister of Agriculture in the G20 Agriculture Ministerial Meeting at the end of September in Bali.
"For today and tomorrow, we will focus on finishing the draft communique of the Minister of Agriculture in a more detailed manner. The draft communique will be essential to the presentation of the Minister of Agriculture as the G20 presidency," Kasdi said.
Kasdi mentioned that this year's G20 AWG carried the theme of "Balancing Food Production and Trade to Fulfill Food for All". The goal is to represent the G20's commitment in ensuring adequate food supply for all. This is carried out through ensuring a balance between guaranteed supplies sourced from a resilient and sustainable food agriculture, and those sourced from seamless cross-border trad in food and agricultural commodities.
"In this meeting, we view that there should be no boundaries between countries and nations in the issue of food. It must be open, transparent, and accessible to all parties, especially G20 members," Kasid said.
Kasdi lauded the active contribution of G20 members, invited countries, as well as regional and international organization on previous initiatives and forums of the G20 AWG 2022. These forums include the Meeting of Agricultural Chief Scientists (MACS) on July 5-7, 2022, in Bali which discussed four priority issues proposed by Indonesia, namely post-COVID-19 food security policies, climate- resilient agriculture, food loss and waste, as well as agriculture and digital tracing. There was also a webinar for knowledge sharing on the implementation of digital technology in agricultural and financing sectors in rural areas on June 28-29, 2022, which was a cooperation between the Agriculture Working Group and Development Working Group.
"In these extraordinary circumstances, we need to encourage stronger collaboration and cooperation to ensure that there are no countries left behind," he said.
Minister of Agriculture, Syahril Yasin Limpo (SYL) virtually expressed his appreciation to all G20 agriculture deputies, invited countries, as well as regional and international organizations for their participation in the 2nd ADM and their support for Indonesia's G20 presidency.
"We must be able to maintain togetherness, unity, and cohesion in the G20 as the largest global economic and development forum," the minister said.
He called for solidarity from all members to recover together and recover stronger from the impact of the pandemic and the current multidimensional crisis through G20 forums. This is in accordance with the theme of the G20 Indonesia Presidency, "Recover Together, Recover Stronger".
"I hope that in the 2nd Agriculture Deputies Meeting, the delegates are able to discuss and agree on a commitment for the G20 to supporting global food resilience and achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) reflected in the G20 Agriculture Ministers' Communique," the minister said during his opening remarks.
In addition, he expressed his hope for the delegations to discuss the G20 AWG's concrete deliverables in order to help least developed countries and developing countries in facing the current problems of global food resilience.
100 delegates from the G20 members (17 countries attended physically and 3 countries virtually), delegates from 7 invited countries, and 13 international delegates attended the meeting in person and online.
