G20: Brazil and India lead Global South in tackling hunger, poverty and nutrition crisis

At this year’s G20 summit on “building a just world and a sustainable planet,” Brazil and India amplified the voice of the Global South, which includes regions of Asia, Africa and Latin America. Nutrition took center stage, with leaders spotlighting programs to combat hunger, enhance food security and ensure equitable support for vulnerable groups.

Brazil hosted the intergovernmental forum, and its president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, said: “The ultimate symbol of our collective tragedy is hunger and poverty… Those who have always been invisible will be at the center of the international agenda.”

Host of the previous summit, India’s prime minister Narendra Modi began the discussion by stressing: “Countries of the Global South are most adversely impacted by the food, fuel and fertilizer crises caused by global conflicts.”

“Our discussions can only be successful when we keep in mind the challenges and priorities of the Global South.”

Lula da Silva underlined the UN Food and Agriculture Organization’s (FAO) finding that 733 million people are still facing undernourishment this year. “It is as if the populations of Brazil, Mexico, Germany, the UK, South Africa and Canada combined were going hungry. These are women, men and children whose rights to life, education, development and food are violated daily.”

During the first session, leaders discussed food security alongside issues related to fighting inequality, social and financial inclusion and international tax cooperation. 

Global alliance and WHO funding

The G20 launched the Global Alliance to Combat Hunger and Poverty, a collaborative effort to fund and implement policies that reduce hunger worldwide. Complementing this initiative, the WHO secured pledges of US$1.7 billion, covering 53% of the US$7.1 billion needed for its strategy to address global health and nutrition challenges.

Nosipho Jezile, South Africa’s representative to the FAO, shares that “one in nine people in the world go hungry, and a quarter of the hungry population is in Africa.” 

“Hunger is a human rights issue. The Global Alliance proposed by Brazil is a promising start, but we need to ensure that all continents are engaged.”

Lula, WHO director-general Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and minister of Health Nísia Trindade at WHO’s Investment Round (Image credit: WHO).Joint statement stress united approach

Leaders emphasized the need to strengthen agriculture to “fight poverty, end hunger and improve nutrition,” acknowledging that these goals are interconnected with global trade and sustainable farming practices. Open trade policies that follow World Trade Office rules are also key. 

However, agriculture is threatened by climate change, biodiversity loss, pollution and desertification. 

“While recognizing there is no one-size-fits-all solution to the challenges of agriculture and food systems, we commit to supporting developing countries to enhance their capacity for sustainable food production and marketing,” reads the statement. 

While local food production is important, having diverse global, regional and local supply chains helps make food systems stronger and better able to handle external challenges.

“We also aim to address the challenges of fertilizer shortages, including strengthening local production, trade, increasing fertilizer efficiency and utilizing biofertilizers while addressing the need to improve soil health and minimize water pollution,” continues the statement. 

Ani Dasgupta, president and CEO of nonprofit World Resources Institute, states: “The shadow of Donald Trump’s recent election in the US was expected to cast a shadow over the G20 summit, yet leaders stood by their dedication to collaborate on some of the world’s most pressing issues.”

Regenerative agriculture for food security

A recent discussion in India, hosted by the Observer Research Foundation (ORF) and Asia Solidaridad, focused on how the lack of crop variety in farming systems threatens nutrition for nearly three billion people in India and Africa — about 40% of the global population.

Experts highlighted the plight of 600 million smallholder farmers, mainly from the two areas, who work on less than two hectares of land yet produce 35% of the world’s food. However, globalization is reducing crop diversity.

The event promoted regenerative agriculture to solve food and nutrition challenges, particularly for smallholder farmers. This approach improves soil health and crop diversity, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and capturing carbon. It also helps farmers adapt to climate change, recognizing their crucial role in fighting its effects.

In addition to a “severe” water crisis, ORF warns that Indian agricultural farms are increasingly staring at another, with over 29% (96.4 million hectares) of India’s total geographical area (328.7 million hectares) being degraded. 

“Soil erosion has always occurred naturally, but today, topsoil loss from erosion due to agriculture surpasses the rate of soil formation.”

Meanwhile, FAO’s new study underlines this issue, with food insecurity and biodiversity loss being the top reported climate-related risks featured in 88% of national climate action plans.

Modi said the Global South is most impacted by the food, fuel and fertilizer crises caused by global conflicts (Image credit: pmindia.gov.in).India and Brazil under spotlight

Modi emphasized the nation’s commitment to nutrition through initiatives like free food grains for 800 million people, the Saksham Anganwadi and Nutrition 2.0 program for vulnerable groups and the promotion of millets for sustainable nutrition and food security.

The program focuses on nutrition for adolescent girls, children under six, pregnant women and newborns. “Through the Mid Day Meal scheme, special attention is being paid to the nutritional needs of school-going children,” he commented.

“We focused on inclusive development, women-led development and youth power. And gave wings to the hopes and aspirations of the Global South.”

Modi adds that 250 million Indians have come out of poverty in the last decade, while the nation recently provided humanitarian assistance to Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe. He highlights that over 40 million farmers have received benefits worth US$20 billion under the world’s largest crop insurance scheme.

“We have focused on sustainable agriculture, protection of the environment, nutrition and food security by promoting Sri Ann or millets [and] developed over 2,000 climate-resilient crop varieties and have started the ‘Digital Agriculture Mission.’”

Meanwhile, Lula looked back at Brazil’s “programs for social inclusion, promoting family farming and food and nutritional security, such as the Bolsa Família and the National School Meals Program.”

“We managed to leave the FAO Hunger Map in 2014, to which we returned in 2022, in a context of disarticulation of the welfare state… upon returning to the government, I found a country with 33 million hungry people.”

“In one year and eleven months, the return of these programs has already lifted more than 24.5 million people out of extreme poverty. By 2026, we will once again have left the Hunger Map — and, with the alliance [to Combat Hunger and Poverty], we will do much more.”