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G8 Leaders ‘Need To Go Further’ On Food Security In Africa
G8 leaders ‘need to go further’ on food security in Africa by Jonathan M. White 14 June 2013 When they meet at Lough Erne, G8 leaders will have to reconcile two competing visions of the New Alliance initiative started last year to lift millions of people out of poverty, says think-tank The New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition – a joint initiative of African leaders, the private sector, and G8 governments – was launched at last year’s G8 Summit with the ambitious goal of lifting 50 million people out of poverty by 2022. Over the past 12 months, 91 per cent of G8 government commitments have been disbursed on time, and more than half of the private sector investments, worth a total of over $3bn, have commenced. From creating an electronic customs clearance system for agriculture commodities in Burkina Faso to a new seed law in Ghana, New Alliance policy actions could prove to be transformational and strengthen food security in participating countries, which also include Ethiopia, Tanzania, Côte d’Ivoire, and Mozambique. During a pre-G8 Summit event on nutrition last week, Nigeria, Benin and Malawi signed up as well. When they meet at Lough Erne, the G8 leaders will have to reconcile two competing visions of the New Alliance. Some argue that, although well intended, it will not result in sustainable or responsible investments. Big global companies only understand large-scale intensive single crop production models, which are often highly destructive to biodiversity and the social fabric of smallholder farming communities. While the flow of corporate investment and the adoption of modern farm management, skills, and technology will increase agricultural production, these benefits would come at a high cost. Investments will also go toward exportable products and not the local market, making smallholder farmers increasingly dependent on volatile international markets. Others contend that the New Alliance aligns public and private resources with country-led strategies that are consistent with host-country priorities and needs. The initiative is also supportive of multinational guidelines on the governance of land, fisheries, and forests, designed to guard against land grabs and social disruption. Proponents argue that corporate investors, non-governmental organisations, and development partners will assist smallholder farmers integrate into agriculture value chains by helping them organise into cooperatives and engage in contract farming Public-private partnerships and innovative business models will ensure both development and commercial goals are achieved. Which narrative is right? Each holds some merit. In at least four New Alliance countries, there is evidence that local communities have not been sufficiently consulted by investors or governments in land transactions. In two countries, the compensation to households affected by these land investments has been determined to be inadequate. While public-private partnerships are promising, it is clear that some companies simply do not understand how to engage with smallholder farmers. At the same time, the Grow Africa initiative, which is supporting the New Alliance, has reported that more than $60 million invested so far has incorporated smallholder farmers into market-based activities. Approximately 270,000 metric tonnes of commodities were sourced, generating $300m in sales for farmers. Nearly 800,000 smallholders have benefited from a mix of training, service provisions, and market access. While land grabs are a concern, the New Alliance is not dominated by large global corporations. Many sizeable investments are, in fact, driven by African firms and small and medium-sized enterprises. Grow Africa data covers New Alliance countries minus Côte d’Ivoire and plus Kenya and Rwanda. At the heart of the debate over these competing visions is the role of the private sector. Business and trade are often viewed as sources of plunder in Africa – the depletion of oil, gas, and natural resources through shadowy networks of business and government officials. Africa’s economic growth and rising middle class are promising, and African leaders have clearly committed to private sector development. Yet, this has not completely tipped the balance in local perceptions about the private sector. Weak governance and corruption further undermine trust in both governments and business. As the host of the upcoming G8 Summit, British Prime Minister David Cameron will have to navigate this thicket of issues. He is off to a good start, forming a ‘coalition of the willing’ to publish guidelines for land transactions and making progress on nutrition through the Global Nutrition for Growth compact and commitments . Transparency through the release of the 2013 New Alliance progress report will build confidence behind the initiative. But global leaders will need to go further. New Alliance dialogues must be embedded in local contexts, opening them more broadly to public debate through formal platforms or institutions. This means local public and private sector leaders will have to step up. Others can help, but it is these local actors who must ultimately build the mechanisms that will strengthen governance and reveal which investment models succeed or fail, so that we may learn along the way to enabling agricultural transformational in Africa. Jonathan M. White is a transatlantic fellow with the German Marshall Fund of the United States, which first published this article in its Transatlantic Take series as Can the G8 Navigate Competing Visions for Food Security in Africa? Read more: http://www.publicser…a#ixzz2WrP1lKzS Continue reading
EU And US ‘In Biggest Trade Deal’
David Cameron: “We’re talking about what could be the biggest bilateral trade deal in history” UK Prime Minister David Cameron has announced plans for what could be “the biggest bilateral trade deal in history” between the EU and the US. He announced the start of formal negotiations on a trade deal worth hundreds of billions of pounds, aimed at boosting exports and driving growth. Mr Cameron said a successful agreement would have a greater impact than all other world trade deals put together. The talks were announced ahead of the G8 summit in Northern Ireland. US President Barack Obama said the first round of negotiations would take place in Washington in July. They aim to conclude by the end of 2014. Analysis Duncan Bartlett Business reporter, BBC World Service The French have already expressed misgivings about parts of the trade deal. They are worried that if they cannot protect their film industry from Hollywood’s dominance, their unique artistic culture will be undermined. After intense talks with other EU countries last week, it seems the French have persuaded the negotiators to honour what they call a cultural exclusion. That leaves the way open for other sectors to say they are also exceptional and should not be included in the trade deal. The French claim the Americans want to exclude financial services from the free trade negotiations. The Americans have not acknowledged that publicly but it is a reminder that behind closed doors the discussions might be very difficult. Mr Obama said he was confident of reaching an agreement. “There are going to be sensitivities on both sides… but if we can look beyond the narrow concerns to stay focused on the big picture… I’m hopeful we can achieve [a deal].” ‘Once in a generation’ Mr Cameron said the deal could be worth £100bn to the EU economy, £80bn to the US and £85bn to the rest of the world. He said the pact could create two million jobs, and lead to more choice and lower prices in shops. “This is a once-in-a-generation prize and we are determined to seize it,” said Mr Cameron. European Commission President, Jose Manuel Barroso. who will lead the negotiations with President Obama, said that integrating the EU and US economies would not be easy but “we will find convincing answers to legitimate concerns”. “We’ll find solutions to thorny issues, we’ll keep our eyes on the prize and we will succeed,” he said. Herman Van Rompuy, the president of the European Council, said: “Together Europe and the United States are the backbone of the world economy. Opening up that space further for opportunities for business and consumers is simply common sense.” The trade talks had been under threat from a potential veto from France, but on Friday EU ministers agreed to French demands to exclude the film and television industry from the talks. Obama: “I’m hopeful we can achieve… high standard comprehensive agreement” Some had argued that omitting the media business from the trade talks even before they had begun could prompt the US to seek exemptions for other sectors. Possible hurdles? The timeframe for the talks to conclude – 18 months – may surprise some, given that similar trade deals in the past have involved years of negotiations. The formal launch of the talks has been on the cards for some time. Free trade between the US and the EU has been under discussion for several years, and a US-EU working group was established in 2011 to discuss the prospect of a free trade agreement. The EU has said the deal will focus on bringing down remaining tariffs and other barriers to trade, and standardise technical regulations and certifications. Currently the US and EU impose relatively low tariffs on goods traded between them, but analysts say other barriers are often in place to prevent European companies competing in the US and vice versa. Continue reading the main story G8 facts Informal, exclusive body aimed at tackling global challenges Established in 1975 in Rambouillet, France Original members: France, Germany, Italy, Japan, UK, US Later members: Canada (joined at 1976 summit, San Juan, Puerto Rico), Russia (joined at 1998 summit, Birmingham, UK) Profile: G8 Can summit live up to ambitious agenda? One example is found in the car industry, where the EU and the US employ equally strict – but differing – safety standards, meaning that European car makers must meet both before they can sell cars in the US market, putting them at a disadvantage. Agriculture is also expected to be a significant bone of contention. The European farming industry is already heavily subsidised through the Common Agricultural Policy, and the European agriculture minister has already expressed reservations about the impact a free-trade deal might have. The US government is also likely to come under pressure from domestic businesses who have in the past called for protectionist measures to prevent the market from being swamped by cheaper Chinese imports. G8 agenda The trade announcement came ahead of a two-day meeting of G8 leaders in Lough Erne, County Fermanagh. In other developments: As the conflict in Syria dominates the summit, UK Foreign Secretary William Hague warned there were no “palatable options” for dealing with the crisis US President Barack Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin acknowledged that, though they share a common desire to end the violence in Syria, they have a different stance on how to approach the conflict On his first official visit to Northern Ireland, President Obama said the road to a lasting peace was “as urgent now as it has ever been” and vowed the US would stand by Northern Ireland Dr John Sentamu, the Archbishop of York, called tax avoidance “sinful” and tantamount to robbery , as G8 leaders prepare to discuss the issue on Tuesday Joining the UK and US for the 39th Summit of the Group of Eight are Germany, France, Italy, Russia, Canada and Japan. The wide-ranging agenda focused on the global economy on Monday, and on Tuesday will turn to tax transparency and counter-terrorism issues. Continue reading
G8 calls for urgent Syria peace talks despite Russia split
G8 calls for urgent Syria peace talks despite Russia split (AFP) / 19 June 2013 G8 leaders called for a peace conference on Syria to be held as soon as possible but deep divisions remained as Russia stood by its embattled Middle East ally. At the end of two days of tough talks in Northern Ireland, the leaders agreed to push for a transitional government in Syria that could include members of President Bashar Al Assad’s regime who switched sides. The Syria crisis overshadowed a deal by the world’s leading industrialised nations gathered on the picturesque banks of Lough Erne to crack down on tax evasion and share more cross-border financial information. British Prime Minister David Cameron insisted the leaders had forged a strong agreement on Syria despite a split with Russian President Vladimir Putin, but their closing statement was short on concrete steps. Cameron, the summit host, said Assad could not join a transitional administration after the deaths of 93,000 people and what Western nations say is the use of chemical weapons. The G8 communique pointedly made no reference to him however in an apparent concession to Moscow, Assad’s chief arms supplier. The statement said only that the transitional body should be “formed by mutual consent”. The G8 harked back to the chaos after the 2003 invasion of Iraq, saying that Syrian military and security services “must be preserved and restored” in a future set-up. The leaders did not suggest a date for the proposed Syria peace talks, which were supposed to take place this month in Geneva to follow up on a similar meeting last year but have already been delayed. They did however urge Syria to admit chemical weapons investigators and say they were “deeply concerned” by the threat of extremism among the rebels. The Syria conflict has sparked fears of a new cold war with Washington saying last week that it would start arming the rebels against the Russian-backed Syrian regime. Putin, who had an icy confrontation with US President Barack Obama on Monday, was in defiant mood after the summit, saying that Russia would not rule out new arms supplies. He denied however that he had felt frozen out of the summit by the G8, to which Russia was only admitted in 1998 and said that “not a single time did it happen that Russia was left alone in defending its approach to the solution of the Syrian problem”. British officials pointed to Cameron’s efforts to win over Putin in the run-up to the summit, including travelling for talks with the Russian president in Sochi in May. The Black Sea resort will host the next G8 summit on June 4-5, 2014. The G8 nations pledged almost $1.5 billion (1.1 billion euros) in humanitarian aid for refugees inside and outside Syria, including $300 million from the United States and 200 million euros from Germany. French President Francois Hollande meanwhile said that Iranian president-elect Hassan Rohani would be welcome at the Syria peace talks “if he can be useful.” The G8 leaders were more united on tax, vowing concrete steps to target not only illegal tax evasion but also tax avoidance by multinational companies that costs taxpayers billions in lost revenues. And they agreed to stamp out the payment of ransoms for hostages kidnapped by “terrorists”, and called on companies to follow their lead in refusing to pay for the release of their employees. On tax, Cameron heralded a commitment in the declaration to fight the “scourge” of tax evasion and to promote corporate transparency. But activists said the deal came up short. Alex Wilks, campaign director at global civic organisation Avaaz said opposition from Canada and Germany “blocked the strong deal the world demanded.” Hollande said the deal was a “big step forward” but admitted: “We wanted to go even further.” The summit also saw the launch of formal negotiations on a vast trade pact between the United States and the European Union. The meeting was guarded by 8,000 police officers in the biggest security operation ever mounted in Northern Ireland’s troubled history, but protesters were thin on the ground. The G8 brings together Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia and the United States. Continue reading
