30 January 2013: At the Global Forum for Food and Agriculture (GFFA), Ministers from more than 80 countries released a Communiqué on responsible investment in the food and agriculture sectors, which outlines challenges and ways forward to secure food security and rural development. The 5th Agriculture Ministers’ Summit took place during the GFFA in Berlin, Germany on 19 January 2013. The Communiqué highlighted the Minsters’ commitment to implement the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests in the Context of National Food Security, which were developed through a process led by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO). The communiqué notes the challenges facing sustainable agriculture in the context of: global population growth; international commitments to enhancing food security; climate change impacts; food crises; food security impacts of growing non-food crops; and price volatility.

Ministers agreed on the need to increase responsible private and public investment in research, extension and interventions related to agriculture and food security. They noted a collection of enabling environment conditions that will increase the ability of rural communities to contribute to meeting food security challenges, including promoting secure land tenure. They encouraged acknowledging both the opportunities and risks associated with large-scale investments, and called on countries to support the further elaboration of the FAO International Guidelines for Securing Small-Scale Fisheries, as well as to support inclusive consultations within the Committee of World Food Security on the development of principles for responsible agricultural investment. The Communiqué included elements that were generated through public working meetings held by the FAO and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). [Berlin Agriculture Ministers’ Summit Communiqué] [Global Forum on Food and Agriculture]