Everyone deserves an affordable, healthy, and nutritious diet. Achieving this requires just, sustainable, and resilient food systems rooted in food sovereignty and planetary boundaries. The dominance of a corporate and industrial globalized food model hinders the potential of family-based, small-scale, diversified food systems that feed most people, especially in Africa.

Climate change, the COVID-19 pandemic, and conflicts highlight the globalized system’s oligopolistic nature, unsustainability, and inequalities. Small-scale producers, local systems, and indigenous knowledge offer the roadmap to end hunger, poverty, achieve food sovereignty, climate resilience, restore the environment, and improve social justice.

The current global food system, driven by economic interests and speculation, perpetuates food crises. The EU should address global food insecurity through its policies, programs, AU-EU Partnership, and influence in international forums.

The interlinked relationship between ecosystems, livelihoods and development calls for responses to climate change that integrate a strong social perspective, respect for human rights and respect for the EU commitment to reduce inequalities. Such an approach would enable the EU to tackle climate and environmental challenges while delivering co-benefits on a wide range of sectors and issues.

In this policy brief, CONCORD continues to advocate for a 50% climate target to be included in the Neighbourhood, Development and International Cooperation (NDICI) programming. Moreover, a series of recommendations are provided to compliment the operationalisation of this target when designing EU development cooperation programmes; from realising multilateral environmental agreements beyond the Paris Agreement to integrating local and indigenous knowledge through community dialogue.

With the European Parliament elections around the corner, new EU leaders are about to take on their posts. CONCORD’s new paper puts these leaders’ priorities to the test and asks: “How will you work for sustainable development?” 

As parties start rallying up, our eyes are on what’s ahead: 2019 is a moment of truth for Europe. At the end of May, we will cast our votes which will determine the constellation of the a new European Parliament. We see these elections as a great chance. As new representatives are joining the parliament, and a new European Commission is put in place, we raise the questions: How will these new leaders respond to people’s’ calls for a change around the continent? How will they work for a fair and sustainable Europe in the world?

Well, no better time than this decisive moment to put future EU leaders to a test. CONCORD’s new publication takes stock of what the Juncker commission has achieved for sustainable development. It also defines aims for a global dimension of a Sustainable Europe 2030 Strategy and tests if EU leaders’ policy priorities truly work for sustainable development

Our aim? To equip future leaders with the background knowledge, mindset, and outlook needed to set their priorities for sustainable development.

Ready to be an EU leader? Then head inside and and take our litmus test!

As the biggest exporter and importer of agricultural food products, the EU holds a particular international responsibility. EU’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) is therefore an important policy area when it comes to mainstreaming Policy Coherence for Sustainable Development (PCSD) in EU legislation.

The current CAP is going under a reform proposal for 2020-2027. Therefore, this paper, created by CONCORD together with partners from Local dairy Campaign, West Africa, have gathered recommendations on how the EU can and should integrate PCSD into the CAP.

The paper especially targets the European Parliament Development Committee (DEVE) that is currently discussing the reform.

CONCORD invited Mr. Million Belay to attend the agroecology event “Opportunities and challenges for European development policy” at the European Parliament on March 20th 2018, and to provide a first-hand experience of the positive impact of agroecology on the life and work of smallholder farmers in Africa.

After the event, CONCORD did a short video interview with Mr. Belay, asking him questions on agroecology, both on the side of small-scale farmers and policy makers. He also provided some examples of successful agroecology practices.