In a series of policy briefs published for the T20, researchers from IDS and other Food Equity Centre partners have outlined policy options for strengthening equity food systems and their governance, and preventing hunger and famine.
The policy briefs will feed into recommendations being developed ahead of the G20 Summit in Brazil in November and particularly the launch of a Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty. This alliance is a cornerstone of Brazil’s G20 presidency and aims to promote the sharing of knowledge and resources to combat global hunger and inequality.
Lidia Cabral, Food Equity Centre founding member, IDS Research Fellow and co-chair of the sub-track of the T20 task force 1 Fighting inequalities, poverty and hunger said, “the T20 aims to offer G20 leaders research-driven policy advice, drawing on the expertise of think tanks globally. These policy briefs delve more deeply into a broader array of topics, providing a comprehensive overview of the issues that think tanks address in their research, policy guidance, and advocacy work.”
Equitable Pathways to Sustainable and Healthy Food Systems
Co-authored by members of the Food Equity Centre at Observatório de Políticas Públicas para a Agricultura (OPPA) and IDS, as well as the University of Vigo in Spain, this policy briefing addresses how sustainable future food systems must be centred around justice and equity as sustainability is intertwined with inequity. This briefing recommends that by focusing on supporting marginalised groups through meaningful representation, redistribution, rebalance and reparations, the root causes of food inequity can be addressed. Setting out policy recommendations at the local, national and international level is a priority when applying an equity lens to the food system. This policy briefing highlights how collaborative food systems policies need to favour holistic interventions that tackle multiple domestic and international policy goals whilst empowering diverse world views based on lived experiences.
Seeds of Change: Catalysing Zero Hunger through Innovation Social Protection in Fragile and Least Developed Countries
Co-authored by Food Equity Centre founding member Stephen Devereux (IDS and the Centre of Excellence in Food Security) alongside authors from the World Food Programme and the G7+, this policy paper explores how social protection systems play a key role in enhancing access to food and nutrition to help tackle the interconnected inequalities of poverty and hunger. This briefing argues that social protection policies should be centred around food and nutritional security whilst linking to investments and policies in other sectors to achieve more than simply delivering cash, food and vouchers.
Towards a Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty: The Role of the G20 in Strengthening Development Cooperation and Mutual Learning on Food and Nutritional Security
Co-authored by IDS senior research fellow Alex Shankland and researchers from Articulação SUL, Kings College London and the University of Oxford, this policy briefing highlights how hunger and poverty reduction approaches cannot be limited to lower-income countries, as systematic inequities are experienced across all G20 countries. Instead, this policy briefing reinforces the G20’s role in promoting mutual learning that supports the scaling up of local innovations in global efforts to reduce food insecurity. This briefing recommends that framing hunger, poverty and inequality as universal problems will begin to bridge the gaps between domestic and foreign policy. Furthermore, the authors argue that all G20 member states must prioritise building a multilateral system of collaboration that focuses on sharing connections and learning between international development approaches and national domestic social policy.
Averting and Preventing Famine: A New Approach
Authors from the World Food Programme and the G7+, alongside Food Equity Centre member founding Stephen Devereux (IDS and the Centre of Excellence in Food Security) present a new approach to averting and preventing famine. The briefing highlights the need to combine emergency food assistance and nutrition, social protection and safety net and agricultural interventions with the political will and improved governance to address the structural or root causes of hunger.
