G20 Agriculture Meeting Starts in Durban, South Africa

Addis Ababa, April 24, 2025 (ENA) – The Group of 20 (G20) Agriculture Working Group meeting opened in Durban, South Africa to discuss on the macroeconomic factors driving food prices and affecting access to domestic and global food supplies.

Officials will also look at policy and investment strategies that support inclusive market access and strengthen food and nutrition security.

Opening the three day meeting on Wednesday, South Africa’s Minister of Agriculture John Steenhuisen urged the international community to work together to address food insecurity, climate volatility, and systemic exclusion, which continue to threaten the stability of global food systems.

He said South Africa is facing rising input costs, unpredictable climate shocks, and constrained fiscal spaces.

Steenhuisen stated that the solution lies in technology and innovation transfer, particularly to bridge the gap between those who invent and those who need access to those inventions. Countries have to build systems that can feed the world without destroying the ecosystems that support them, he said.

South Africa is committed to an approach that is inclusive, transparent, and focused on action, he added.

“As the host country and chair of this working group, we are deeply committed to ensuring that this working group becomes a platform for collective ambition, practical collaboration, and long-term transformation," the minister said.

"We believe that if we work together, we can build a future in which agriculture feeds not just stomachs, but economies, ecosystems, and futures."

Various working groups of the G20 have been holding meetings in South Africa since the country assumed the G20 presidency on Dec. 1 last year.

South Africa will host the G20 Leaders' Summit in November.