We applaud the efforts of the international community to address the critical condition of hunger. We urge meaningful civil society engagement as decisive to successful sustainable food security. Families and communities are on the front lines of this struggle. Long-term food security depends on meeting communities and households needs by:

• increasing sustainable agricultural productivity;

• raising the earning potential of poor people;

• preparing for future hunger-related emergencies by developing disaster risk reduction capabilities and early warning systems;

• boosting resiliency by investing in social protection, safety nets, and nutrition and health delivery systems at the community level;

• Promoting participation of small farmers in agricultural markets and trade opportunities at all levels, including the provision of technical assistance.

Recommendations

InterAction’s G8/G20 NGO Coordination Group urges the U.S. government to take a strong leadership role at the June 2010 G8 Muskoka Summit and G20 Toronto Summit. We request that the following recommendations be included in the respective communiqués.

1. Fully fund and create a mechanism to document the three-year $20 billion commitment made in the L’Aquila Joint Statement on Global Food Security in Italy, 2009.

2. Continue the G8 Expert Group on Global Food Security created at the 2008 G8 Japan Summit and empower it to monitor the Global Food Security commitments made by the G8 nations in 2008 and 2009.

3. Ensure civil society—including smallholder farmer organizations—is integrated as a full partner into: (a) country-level planning and food security programs; (b) governance, technical assistance and implementation structures of the Global Agriculture and Food Security Program, a World Bank Multi-donor Trust Fund; and (c) reformed world institutions (i.e. reform of the Committee on Food Security) and the emerging global partnership on nutrition, agriculture and food security.

4. Reiterate support for a holistic response to food insecurity as described in the 2009 L’Aquila Joint Statement on Global Food Security: (a) support humanitarian assistance, social safety nets, nutrition, and agricultural productivity programs, focusing particular attention on women farmers; and (b) ensure that agriculture-related trade agreements strengthen and do not harm food security and promote participation, including through the provision of technical assistance, at local, national, regional, and international levels.