G7 Agriculture Ministers in Miyazaki to Discuss Food Security

The Yomiuri Shimbun

16:43 JST, April 22, 2023

Agriculture ministers from the Group of Seven nations on Saturday gathered in Miyazaki to discuss ways to ensure a stable food supply. Growing concerns about the stability of the world’s food supply due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and other factors have made the issue a focus of the two-day Agriculture Ministers’ Meeting

The ministers are expected to take a unified stance on food security, reaffirming the importance of expanding agricultural production and sustainability.

In attendance are Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Minister Tetsuro Nomura, who is chairing the meeting, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Thomas Vilsack and other agriculture ministers from the G7 countries and the European Union.

The ministers plan to adopt an action plan for sustainable agriculture, in addition to issuing a joint declaration.

Prior to the meeting, Nomura met with Canadian Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Marie-Claude Bibeau on Saturday morning, and they decided to establish an intergovernmental dialogue between the two countries to ensure a stable supply of agricultural products.

For Japan, Canada is one of the most important sources of wheat and raw materials for fertilizers.

Over the same two-day period, the G7 Kurashiki Labor and Employment Ministers’ Meeting is being held in Okayama. In addition to the G7 countries, representatives from the International Labor Organization and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development are also participating in the ministerial-level meeting.

On Saturday morning, those attending the meeting, chaired by Health, Labor and Welfare Minister Katsunobu Kato, discussed labor market policies in response to post-pandemic challenges.

They were also to discuss how to improve the work environment so that employees can play an active role according to their motivation and abilities, regardless of gender or age.