The new Agricultural Market Information System (AMIS) was one of the key items discussed at a Brussels Briefing on Food Price Volatility on 30 November. The Briefing brought together 170 actors from international organisations, ACP embassies, the European Commission, African farmers’ representations and civil society.

In two panels, the Briefing debated the causes of food price volatility and presented a set of policy recommendations that can improve food security in ACP countries. Hafez Ghanem, assistant director-general of the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), presented the AMIS, recently endorsed by the G20 summit in October and located within the FAO. AMIS is tasked to improve agricultural market information and provide market development forecasts at national and international level. “It will produce regular reports on the international food market situation, not only for UN member states but as a public good for all,” Ghanem stressed.

Greater transparency of international markets, agreed Mylène Testut-Neves from the French agriculture ministry that conceived the “G20 action plan on food price volatility and agriculture”, will give more planning security to smallholder farmers. Today sees the G20 presidence move from France to Mexico, which established four priorities to drive forward food security, according to Adriana I. Herrera Moreno from the Mexican agriculture ministry: Increasing research and development cooperation between G20 members, improving sustainability in the agricultural sector, enhancing risk management and promoting investment and public-private partnerships.

Further presentations were given by Dr Máximo Torero, Director of the Markets, Trade and Institutions Division in the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) who has developped a new methodology to measure price volatility, Chris Moore from the World Food Programme (WFP), Cédric Pène from the World Trade Organisation (WTO), Carmen Cahill from the Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Thomas Elhaut from the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and Mamadou Cissokho from the Network of Farmers’ and Agricultural Producers’ Organisations of West Africa (ROPPA). All presentations can be downloaded here: http://brusselsbriefings.net/past-briefings/no-25-food-price-volatility/.

The Brussels Briefing was organised by the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation ACP-EU (CTA), in cooperation with the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), the European Commission (DG DEVCO), the ACP Secretariat, the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC), Concord and various other partners.

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Picture source: Flickr CC BY frederikvanroest