Foreword

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) have come together for the 14th year to prepare the OECD-FAO Agricultural Outlook 2018-2027. This report is enriched by our close collaboration with contributing member country institutions, specialised commodity bodies, and other partner organisations, and has become an annual benchmark that provides a consistent picture of medium-term trends in global agriculture.

By bringing together evidence-based market and policy information from experts across a wide range of countries, the OECD and FAO are supporting our Members in the pursuit of their shared global priorities. This is particularly the case for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which aim to end hunger, achieve food security, improve nutrition, and promote sustainable agriculture by 2030. Our joint work on agricultural market projections helps to identify and assess opportunities and threats related to the SDG targets and to the commitments made in the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change’s 2015 Paris Agreement. Agriculture not only contributes to climate change (the sector still accounts for more than a fifth of all greenhouse gas emissions), but will also be impacted by climate change. So it is fundamental to promote the adaptation of agricultural sectors through sustainable practices that can also mitigate the impacts of climate change.

Global agro-food trade will also play an increasingly important role in ensuring food security, especially for import-dependent regions. An enabling trade policy environment is a crucial condition to achieve the SDGs and make progress towards zero hunger, particularly in the context of climate change. Building on these efforts, Agriculture Ministers convened at the OECD in 2016 and adopted a Declaration on Better Polices to Achieve a Productive, Sustainable and Resilient Global Food System, which places a high priority on policies that underpin competitive, sustainable, productive and resilient farm and food businesses.

This year’s edition of the Agricultural Outlook includes a special chapter on the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), a region where conflict and political instability have amplified issues of food insecurity and malnutrition. The need for the region to address these challenges, with limited land and water resources, will be further compounded by the expected impact of more frequent extreme climate-related events. We need to improve the resilience and sustainability of food systems in times of conflict, to valorise resources which are becoming ever more fragile and scarce.

Our partners in the G20 and G7 likewise continue to prioritise food security and agricultural issues on their policy agendas. Along with the Agricultural Outlook, the Agricultural Market Information System (AMIS) is part of our wider efforts to provide timely market information to policy makers and global stakeholders. It represents a vital tool that enhances transparency and helps to prevent unexpected price hikes by co-ordinating policy action. AMIS was championed by the G20 and is housed at the FAO with support by numerous international organisations like the OECD.

The challenges we face today cannot be tackled alone. We hope that our collaborative effort on this annual publication will continue to provide governments and all other stakeholders with the evidence base they need to achieve the ambitious and important goals we must meet together.

 

Angel Gurría

Secretary-General

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development

 

 

José Graziano da Silva

Director-General

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations