This study considers how changes to the world’s food and agriculture system can contribute to improvements in food security in developing countries. It takes stock of a range of existing OECD work, including that undertaken with other international organisations, in particular for the G20, and places that work in the context of wider analysis both by international organisations and in academia. The purpose is to distil the main priorities for ensuring long-term global food security. The policy recommendations seek to improve the coherence of OECD countries’ policies and contribute to multilateral initiatives, such as those pursued through the G20. More widely, the study seeks to contribute to the global debate on issues pertaining to global food security.

This chapter describes the fundamental challenge of eliminating hunger and ensuring global food security. It assesses the scale of that challenge, identifies the basic conditions that need to be met, and sets out the key policy issues.

The chapter considers the ways in which governments can improve the availability of food sustainably. While food production will respond to the needs of a rising and more affluent world population, there are steps that governments can take to improve the availability of food, either by stimulating supply sustainably or by constraining demands that are detrimental to nutritional outcomes.

This chapter examines the role of agricultural trade in ensuring that food is available domestically. It considers the balancing role of international and regional trade, the benefits and costs associated with open markets, as well as the ways in which governments can manage shocks emanating from both domestic and international markets.

This chapter focuses on the ways in which agricultural and broad-based rural development can contribute to improvements in food security. It examines the ways in which governments can strengthen agricultural incomes, while enabling households to diversify their income sources and take advantage of non-farm employment opportunities.

This chapter examines the extent to which income growth explains food security outcomes, and identifies necessary complements such as improved health and sanitation. It also examines the allocation of Official Development Assistance in support of food and nutrition security.

This chapter provides the reports main policy conclusions. These fall into three categories: (i) an identification of priorities for global action; (ii) recommendations for ways in policies in OECD can be made more coherent with the goal of global food security; and (iii) broad recommendations in terms of developing countries’ own policies.