In an exclusive commentary for TV BRICS, Maximo Torero, Chief Economist of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), said that the upcoming G20 summit in Johannesburg is poised to become a milestone for solidarity and collective action.
Torero highlighted the global importance of food security as a central theme for the summit. He pointed to the latest FAO figures, noting that hunger affected 8.2 per cent of the global population last year – an improvement from previous years, yet still leaving around 673 million people in chronic hunger. With G20 members accounting for around 80 per cent of global food and agricultural production and trade, their actions can create significant positive spillovers for developing nations.
Maximo Torero underscored the need to continue momentum from the Brazil G20 presidency, which launched the Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty. He noted that FAO is actively supporting this agenda through its Hand-in-Hand initiative, designed to scale investments, improve data use and better target agricultural development. These efforts, he said, must remain high on the G20 agenda beyond South Africa’s chairmanship.
He added that progress also depends on enhancing the representation of developing nations in global decision-making. The African Union’s permanent membership in the G20 has brought new perspectives and strengthened discussions. Torero welcomed South Africa’s leadership in convening a G20 food security task force and stressed the importance of global cooperation to limit excessive food price volatility and food inflation.
Maximo Torero also emphasised that one of the central lessons of South Africa’s presidency is rooted in the African philosophy of Ubuntu (“I am because we are”).
“The principle of Ubuntu serves as a reminder that all shared prosperity calls for cooperation and shared responsibility. So the G20 summit in Johannesburg is expected to mark a historic milestone as the first to be held on African soil, invoking the spirit of Ubuntu and South Africa’s vision of solidarity, equality, and sustainability. So I’m positive that it will become evident that there is far more uniting than dividing us,” he said.
The TV BRICS International Media Network is an officially accredited media outlet at the G20 summit in Johannesburg, which will take place this year on 22–23 November.
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