Japan-IFAD Joint Statement On the Strategic Partnership for Resilient and Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems

We, the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan and the President of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) held a productive and substantive meeting on 20 April 2023, ahead of the G7 Agricultural Ministers’ Meeting (AMM) in Miyazaki, Japan.

Small-scale food producers in developing countries are on the frontline of climate change. Although a number of local communities in developing countries are making strenuous efforts to improve agricultural productivity in a sustainable fashion, they are prone to struggle with lack of access to innovations and financial resources required to transform their agriculture into a sustainable one.

Acknowledging that private sector companies play a vital role in all parts of the food system, e.g. as traders, food manufacturers or retailers, we reconfirm that these companies can more actively drive investments and well-designed innovations to improve small-scale producers’ resilience, sustainability, market access, productivity and income. Bearing that in mind, we reiterate that cooperation between countries, international organizations, farmers associations and the private sector is of great importance.

In this regard, we aim to strengthen the strategic partnership between the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) of Japan and IFAD to eradicate hunger and malnutrition in all its forms by developing resilient and sustainable agriculture and food systems in the world. We, in line with our respective mandates and governing regulations, will:

i) launch the Enhanced Linkages between Private sector and Small-scale producers (ELPS) initiative, which will be financed by MAFF and presented at the G7 AMM in Miyazaki, with the aim to make small-scale producers and local food systems around the world more resilient and sustainable together with the enhanced engagement of private sector companies;

ii) co-organize advocacy events in Japan and beyond to raise awareness of global food security, for instance, to provide an update on the progress of global actions towards sustainable agriculture and food systems; and

iii) convene a meeting on an annual basis to review the progress of the previous two mentioned points (i and ii), discuss the emerging issues and identify areas for further collaboration between MAFF and IFAD.

 

Tetsuro Nomura Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Japan

Alvaro Lario President International Fund for Agricultural Developmen