Minister of Agriculture John Steenhuisen will this week, host the G20 Agriculture Working Group (AWG) and Food Security Task Force Meetings in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal.
The department said the high-level, three-day meetings, taking place from 23-25 April 2025, form part of a series of international meetings leading up to the G20 Summit, scheduled for November 2025.
The meetings aim to advance global collaboration on food security and agricultural development.
Organised by the Department of Agriculture, the sessions will be held under the themes: “Data-Driven Approaches to Addressing Food Security” and “Promoting Inclusive Agricultural Investment and Market Access”.
The meeting will focus on four key priorities, including:
• Promotion of policies and investments that drive inclusive market participation towards improved food and nutrition security;
• Empowering youth and women in agrifood systems;
• Fostering innovation and technology transfer in agriculture and agro-processing; and
• Building climate resilience for sustainable agricultural production.
The meeting follows the first G20 Agriculture Working Group Meeting, which was convened on 3 and 4 March 2025, where Steenhuisen noted the challenges facing farmers worldwide and called for strengthened global cooperation, built on the principles of Ubuntu which emphasise collective action, mutual respect and shared responsibility.
The first AWG meeting also provided an opportunity for G20 members, including invited guest countries and international organisations, to learn more about the priorities South Africa has identified during its Presidency, and deliberate on them.
There was overwhelming support for South Africa’s priorities, which include:
• Promotion of policies and investments that drive inclusive market participation towards improved food and nutrition security;
• Empowering Youth and Women in Agrifood Systems;
• Fostering Innovation and Technology Transfer in Agriculture and Agro-processing; and
• Building climate resilience for sustainable agricultural production.
“With the endorsement of these priorities, the AWG is now poised to pursue transformative agricultural policies, promoting global cooperation, increasing investment in sustainable farming, and ensuring a more resilient, food-secure future for all.
“The second AWG meeting will provide a further opportunity for G20 members to advance the above-mentioned priorities and to begin discussions on a forward-looking declaration to be adopted by Ministers of Agriculture later this year,” the department said in a statement. – SAnews.gov.za
