G20 Agriculture Ministers commit to sustainable agriculture and antibiotics resistance

G20 countries will also work to tame grain price fluctuations, promote agricultural innovation, support investment in developing countries and help small farms
G20 countries will also work to tame grain price fluctuations, promote agricultural innovation, support investment in developing countries and help small farms

The European Commission welcomes the commitment by the G20 Agriculture Ministerial meeting to support sustainable agriculture.

The Commission welcomes pushing the message global food security forward and fighting antimicrobial resistance, including the phasing out of antibiotics as growth promoters in animals.

The G20 conclusions also called for greater cooperation in ICT roll-out in farming and reaffirmed the group's commitment to the major global agreements including the Sustainable Development Goals, the Paris Climate Agreement and the Nairobi WTO deal.

EU Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development Phil Hogan, who was representing today the EU at the meeting in Xi'an, China, said: "I welcome the G20 conclusions as a sign of our common commitment to tackle the global challenges of food security, sustainable agriculture, innovation and ICT use in farming."

In Brussels, Commissioner for Health and Food Safety, Vytenis Andriukaitis also welcomed today's outcome and declared: "It is encouraging to see progress in cooperation on fighting AMR on international level given the global nature of the challenge.

"European Union will continue contributing to broader collective actions, including in promoting international awareness, methodologies, and surveillance systems, where the EU can act as a global leader."