Regina Birner IFPRI-FAO conference, "Accelerating the End of Hunger and Malnutrition" November 28–30, 2018 Bangkok, Thailand

1. Global governance architecture to
enhance food security and nutrition
Regina Birner, Chair of Social and Institutional Change in
Agricultural Development, University of Hohenheim, Stuttgart,
Germany
November 30, 2018, Bangkok

2. Questions to be addressed
 What is “global governance for agriculture, food and nutrition”?
And why do we need it?
 What are the global governance challenges affecting food and
nutrition security? And why do they prevail?
 Why does the current global governance architecture need
reform? And what are reform options?

3. Defining Global Governance
 Global Governance
o “The formal and informal institutions and organizations at the global
level that aim to influence the agricultural and food system,
o together with the patterns of organizational behavior to which they give
rise” (von Braun and Birner, 2016: 3).
Global governance
architecture
Global Governance Mechanisms
1) Creation of global organizations
2) Formulation of global goals
3) Binding agreements
4) Voluntary agreements and guidelines
5) Private commitments, standards and labels

4. Global Governance
Architecture
Global Governance
Bodies
G-7
G-20
UN
Secretariat
Assembly
ECOSOC
Security Council International
Financial Institutions and
Development Agencies
World Bank IMF
UNDP
Charitable
Foundations
Specialized
organizations in related sectors
WTO
IPCC
UN Environment
Environment
Trade
International
sector-specific
NGOs Specialized
organizations in food,
nutrition and agriculture
FAO
IFAD
WFP
Multinational
agri-food
companies
CGIAR
International
civil society
/NGOs
Intergovernmental
organizations
International private sector
organizations
International civil society
organizations and
Multinational
companies in
other sectors
WHO
CFS / HLPE
UN Women
Gender
UNSCN
Health
Climate Change

5. Justification for Global Action
Justification Problems to be addressed / Opportunities to be used
Social goals
Humanitarian principles Respond to and prevent food and nutrition emergencies
Reduce food price volatility
Global fairness and equity Ensure food and nutrition security in foreign investments and
international trade
Market failure
Global common pool resources
(non-excludability; rivalry)
Protect the resource base for food security: Reduce
greenhouse gas emissions; prevent loss of agro-biodiversity
Global public goods (strictly defined:
non-excludability; non-rivalry)
Support innovations that cannot be protected by Intellectual
Property Rights; Eradicate transboundary diseases
Externalities with global impact Prevent overuse of natural resources
Coordination failure Reduce transaction costs for global trade
Concentration of market power Regulate mergers of multi-national companies
Source: Adapted from von Braun and Birner (2016: 4)

6. Indications of global governance challenges:
Governance mechanisms in place, but limited progress
 Natural resource management related to biodiversity, water, and soils
o International agreements, but degradation continues
 Climate change adaptation and mitigation
o Paris Agreement as a milestone, but countries are leaving
 Trade regimes, food reserves, and related global information
o Progress on monitoring global food reserves; no progress on WTO, protectionism
 Competition policy and standards for foreign direct investment (FDI)
o Increasing concentration in the agro-industry; standards for FDI remain voluntary
 International research and innovation in food and agriculture
o Increase in funding after food crisis; but trend to turn CGIAR to a development agency
 Responding to food and nutrition emergencies & hidden hunger
o Food price crisis of 2008: caught the world unprepared; double burden unchecked
 Trans-boundary food safety and health related investments and standards
o Risk of transboundary livestock-originated human diseases

7. Global Governance Challenges
Underlying causes
 Problem of collective action – incentives for global free-riding
oEssential role of national politics to address this challenge
 Coordination challenges among an increasing range of actors
oReflected, e.g., at country level by overlapping agendas
 Bureaucratic inefficiency and “mission creep”
oRole of leadership versus management and structural reforms
 Global ideological divide on the future of agri-food systems
oBetween “eco-romanticism” and “naïve faith in technology & markets”
 Limits to regulating increasing private market power
oInternational Competition Network (ICN), but regulatory authority remains national
 Lack of speed in adjusting to new technological developments
oBiological revolution (ethical issues?); Digital revolution (data governance?)

8. Reform options (1)
 Global Platform for Food, Nutrition and Agriculture
oGoal
oEffective coordination body for global action – not replacing or duplicating
existing organizations
oStructure
oIndependent forum for all actors (governmental, civil society, private sector)
with a flat hierarchy
oLegalized as an intergovernmental authority (might be built from a
strengthened CFS, but truly independent)
oChallenges:
oLeadership often more important than institutional structure
oHow to create legitimacy for the members of this body?

9. Reform Options (2)
 A Science-based Assessment Mechanism for Food, Nutrition
and Agriculture
o Goal: Providing a sound evidence-base for global action
o Beyond the current ideological divide
o Model: Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
o Rules:
o Members are leading scientists from different parts of the world
o Only quality-assured literature to be considered (unlike in case of IAASTD)
o Limits of science-based assessment need to be acknowledged
oEnabling governments, parliaments and farmers to choose “best-fit
options”,
owhile creating awareness for the need of global cooperation and
coordination

10. Ideas for other reform options?

11. Reference
 Braun, J. Von, & Birner, R. (2016). Designing Global
Governance for Agricultural Development and Food and
Nutrition Security. Review of Development Economics.
Retrieved from
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/rode.12261/full
 (open access)