Blog: My Weekly Update: Expo Milano, Riga and some food for thought on global food security at the European Development Days - Hoofdinhoud

This week has offered much food for thought as I have had the chance to speak twice on global food security, to attend an informal council meeting in Riga and to speak at the much anticipated Expo Milano 2015.

I've spent the last two days at Expo Milano speaking at two separate events and engaging in a number of interesting bi-laterals. The International Agricultural Forum was an opportunity for me to speak on the important role of European agriculture in global food security, a topic which I have promoted in the past. By now the figures have become commonplace; at this very moment 795 million people worldwide are still suffering from chronic hunger. As I acknowledged in my speech, in order to address this significant issue we must fully support a knowledge-based agriculture, strengthening research and innovation, and promoting global cooperation. Beyond our boundaries, the agricultural sector in the EU has an important role to play in sharing innovation, good farming techniques and sustainable practices with other regions of the world. However, this needs to be partnered with sustainable and strategic investment, notably from the private sector, in order to transform agriculture in developing countries. For the full text of my speech follow the link here.

This wasn't my only involvement in the European debate on global food security this week. On Wednesday, in addition to several of members of the College of European Commissioners, I attended the European Development Days conference in Brussels. Prior to the speech I delivered, there was a lively panel debate on the topic of "feeding the planet" including Nouhon Coulibaly, Director of the Ministry of Agriculture of Ivory Coast, John Alistair Clarke, Director for International Affairs at DG AGRI, Catherine Mloza Banda a future leader in the area of food security in Africa, Patrick Caron, Director General for Research and Strategy at CIRAD and Barbara Noseworthy, Assistant Executive Director of the World Food Programme. Simply put, I believe it's clear what sustainable agriculture of the 21st Century should look like: production must intensify, food loss and waste must be urgently reduced and improved research and innovation will be the keys to unlocking a variety of challenges.

I have been taking part in a number of significant bi-laterals since arriving in Milan yesterday for example with New Zealand Agriculture Minister Nathan Guy and Korean Agriculture Minister Lee Dong-Phil.

By the end of the week in Milan I had also spoken at the Milan Charter where the overriding message, both from myself and other participants, is very simple; we must get involved in the present to positively influence the future. The major food challenges of our time such as food insecurity and malnutrition demand that each citizen takes responsibility and ownership of their own individual contribution to the greater collective process. As European Commissioner for Agriculture, I am committed to delivering high-quality traceable food from Europe for global consumption.

Earlier in the week, I visited Riga for the Informal Council meeting hosted by the Latvian Presidency. Apart from a very important discussion on the future of the Organics sector, this occasion provided an ideal opportunity for informal discussions with Ministers on a range of topical issues, including the ongoing discussions in the Council on the Commission's Organics Regulation. I must say that I came away from Riga more encouraged about the likelihood that the Council will come to an agreement on its position at the Council in Luxembourg on 16 June.

Looking ahead to next week, I will be travelling to Strasbourg for the monthly meeting of the parliament there and am looking forward to appearing at the Committee for Agriculture on Rural Development with fellow Commissioner Margrethe Vestager. Following this, I will make my first official trip to Spain.

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