On November 18, the Dutch Minister for Foreign Trade & Development Cooperation and the Minister for Agriculture sent their long-awaited letter on global food security to parliament. The letter presents the framework for the Dutch government’s efforts to work on sustainable agriculture and food security together with all its partners. It indicates the direction in which new international initiatives by the Netherlands will be developed over the coming years. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced to organize follow-up meetings with stakeholders to elaborate on the themes and ideas in the letter.

In the letter, the government calls on partners from the private sector, civil society and knowledge institutions to use the Netherlands’ strengths to eradicate hunger worldwide within a single generation and establish a sound basis for sustainably feeding nine billion people by 2050. The Netherlands is focusing on supporting people who are vulnerable to malnutrition, on strengthening opportunities for farmers and rural entrepreneurs, and on the sustainability of food systems.

On June 2 the first follow-up meeting is organized: Lucas Simons, author of Changing the Food Game, will debate on the world food problem with a select group of experts. Paul Schoenmakers and Monique Calon will give their reactions and share their experiences with Dutch initiatives in the field of sustainable supply chains and food security.

Programme of the lunch meeting (in Dutch)

10.30-11.00: Presentation Lucas Simons

11.00-11.10: Reaction Paul Schoenmakers (Ministry of FA, expert sustainable supply chains)

11.10-11.20: Reaction Monique Calon (Ministry of FA, expert food security)

11.20-12.00: Discussion

12.00-12.30: Lunch