Acknowledgments from Ministries of Foreign and Economic Affairs for online consultation on food security policy

The Ministries of Foreign and Economic Affairs have received the final report on the consultation on Dutch food security policy from the Office of the Food & Business Knowledge Platform. They thank all contributors for their input and are now working on the policy letter in which they will do their best to translate the contributions into a coherent policy, in which all stakeholders recognize themselves and see an invitation to remain strong partners.

“The consultations for the next policy letter on food & nutrition security have yielded a rich harvest, both in terms of quantity and quality. This response underscores the broad interest in this theme, the challenge to do something about hunger and malnutrition. It also underscores the ownership and responsibility existing within all corners of the Dutch Diamond to do something, and not sit on the sidelines. Of course, contributions focus on the role the Dutch government can or should play. But many also highlight what the other corners of the Diamond – knowledge institutions, civil society and private sector – can offer. We see this as an encouragement to continue with this approach in which we cooperate with many stakeholders, both in terms of interactive policy formulation and implementation.

The Food & Business Knowledge Platform has done an excellent job in facilitating these consultations. They also managed to write an analysis that captures the essentials, acknowledging points of consensus and contention. With that these consultations are much more than input for a letter to Parliament. We hope – and expect – that they will be the point of departure for a continued debate on food & nutrition security, with this very platform at its centre.

We now have the difficult task to translate all this into a coherent policy, in which all stakeholders recognize themselves and see an invitation to remain strong partners for this cause. We hope and expect that the policy letter will be ready for release soon. We will inform you through the usual channels, and of course also via this platform.

We thank you for your contribution, and hope we can keep on counting on your partnership,

Yours sincerely,

Johan Gatsonides – Head Food Security and Agroresources, Ministry of Economic Affairs
Marcel Beukeboom – Head Food- and Nutrition Security, Ministry of Foreign Affairs”