Joint reflections on the new Dutch Development Policy: a cautiously positive outlook for food security amidst historic shifts

The recently presented development aid policy places Dutch national interests - trade, security, and migration - at the core of its approach. To support these priorities, it focuses on the topics of water management, food security, and health. Overall, aid spending faces historic budget cuts: funding for gender equality, education, and climate projects will be reduced or stopped. The aim is to make aid more focused and beneficial for the Netherlands, while still providing some humanitarian assistance where needed. A reflection session with Netherlands Food Partnership’s network partners about the policy and food security’s role in it yielded moderate optimism, concerns and questions.

In 2024, Netherlands Food Partnership organised the sector working on worldwide food and nutrition security around the call ‘Dutch approach to food security works’ to show the Dutch government why the subject is relevant to the Netherlands and the world and to indicate how the efforts and effectiveness of the sector could be further supported. This call was signed by 95 knowledge institutions and professors, private sector and civil society organisations. After that, Netherlands Food Partnership represented the message and its more concrete elaboration, often together with network partners, in various instances to the Dutch government. This was most notably through a conversation with the Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Aid and a Food Security Roundtable discussion in Dutch Parliament.

In the new Dutch development aid policy, food security is one of the focal points. In order to better understand the implications of the policy, Netherlands Food Partnership organised a reflection session with over 40 signatories and supporters of the call. It was encouraging to see broad consensus: there is optimism about the key role of food security, but the substantial budget cuts also raise some concerns and questions.

The following points represent the key concerns and questions of the reflection session. The participants all expressed their keenness to collaborate with the ministry to further translate this policy into effective implementation.

• Food security prioritised, but critical gaps exist

The prioritisation of Food Security is welcomed, but the budget cuts to capacity-building in collaboration with Dutch knowledge institutions, the removal of climate as priority and the lack of explicit support to smallholder farmers raises serious concerns about the long-term impact of the policy. Another strong concern among participants is that this already reduced budget commitment will be further diminished in the spring budget adjustments of this year. Especially in the current geopolitical turmoil, withdrawing from the international stage is ill-advised.

• Dutch Diamond approach acknowledged, but the support is unbalanced

The inclusion of the Dutch Diamond approach in the policy is a positive step. Yet both Dutch and LMIC civil society organisations and knowledge institutions are receiving significantly less support from the Dutch government. Participants strongly recommend investing in those stakeholders, as they are necessary for effective, long-term impact; they play an essential role in the growth of local and regional markets, but are also the primary partners through which the Netherlands gains new knowledge about common challenges.

It also remains unclear whether the emphasis on the private sector will benefit local businesses or primarily Dutch companies. The Dutch seed sector (also mentioned in the policy note) is for instance a world leader in export, but their business case and further growth also benefit from their collaboration with local, in-country organisations in order to grow local food markets. But for that, all parties benefit from the support of the Dutch government and diplomatic service.

• Uncertainty around implementation and geographical focus

Many uncertainties center around the geographical focus of the policy and how budget cuts to programs and personnel will impact development efforts abroad. The implementation is still being worked out in line with the new policy, with further clarity expected in the coming months. More details on country selection and thematic priorities are expected to emerge through embassy-led implementation plans and the upcoming trade policy.

• Food security as a goal, not part of transaction

A concern raised during the discussion was the strong transactional nature of the policy. Development aid is shifting away from global solidarity and cooperation and more explicitly linked to national economic and geopolitical interest; f.e. economic or migration deals. This fundamentally alters the purpose of Official Development Assistance. This shift also changes how success is measured. Traditionally, food security programmes have been evaluated based on improvements in nutrition or sustainable farming practices. Participants emphasised that access to sufficient, affordable, healthy and safe food should remain the key metric for food security programs, not the extent to which it for instance decreases migration.

• Questions about the vision on European cooperation

The new policy emphasises closer collaboration with the EU in the context of development aid, which could help maximise impact and address budget constraints. However, further clarity is needed on how cooperation with the EU and other member states - many of whom are also reducing their development budgets - will be structured. Additionally, with embassies likely facing staff reductions, it was questioned how they will effectively manage EU Delegated Cooperation responsibilities. Ensuring that embassies have the necessary capacity and resources would help strengthen diplomatic relations and development effectiveness in the long term.

In conclusion, the commitment to food security in the policy provides a strong foundation to build on, and is perceived as positive by the participants of the reflection session. At the same time, knowledge, capacity building, and engagement of - sometimes critical - civil society are important for long-term development and lasting impact. Including all stakeholders is key to achieving effective and sustainable partnerships. Given the open questions about the implementation, further clarity is welcomed on how the different policy elements will take shape. The sector working on food and nutrition security stands ready to actively contribute to shaping this process and content.

From the perspective of the Netherlands Food Partnership, we look forward to continuing the conversation with ministries, civil society and private organisations and knowledge institutes, both in The Netherlands and LMICs. We invite everyone to share their perspectives and join us in shaping the next steps for Dutch development cooperation.