Session Report: Food Security & Stability - Informal Round Table Discussions

Issues that are now, more than ever, back on the agenda. While efficiency has historically dominated food security paradigms, this round table highlighted the need for a broader, more resilient approach that considers stability and long-term sustainability.

This report captures the insights, and opportunities for collective action from the general and round table discussions. *This roundtable served as a platform for open dialogue, guided by Chatham House Rules*

Setting the scene

The session began with opening remarks by Wampie Libon, Director of IGG at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Habib Ur Rehman Mayar, Deputy Secretary General of g7plus; and Ivo Demmers, Executive Director of the Netherlands Food Partnership. Their introductions highlighted the need for collaborative, cross-sectoral efforts to address food security in fragile, conflict-affected regions.

Following the introductions, participants were divided into three roundtable discussions, each focused on a key theme:

• Food (Systems) in a Changing Global Order

• Stability through Food Security

• Food Systems in Conflict Settings: The Case of Sudan

These themes were introduced by experts from practice, academia, and government, providing context and framing for the discussions. After the presentations, participants engaged in focused discussions to explore opportunities and identify concrete actions for collectively addressing these challenges.

In the closing remarks the importance of connection between local stakeholders, all parties in the diamond of sectors represented, and Dutch society as a whole was stressed. Most participants felt this conversation was timely and would like to contribute to continuing the discussion. Where this discussion focussed on the ‘what’, a follow-up discussion will focus on the ‘how’. A follow-up conference will be planned for the beginning of next year. Here input from local stakeholders will be included and the focus will be on how strategies can be effectively implemented.

Food (systems) in a changing global order

The roundtable on Food (systems) in a changing global order focussed on the key question; How can we work through multi-stakeholder collaborations to create a global food system that is more resilient to disruptions and price instability from geopolitical shocks?

The discussion began by setting the context for the challenges in achieving food security, underscoring the interconnectedness of food security with global politics, sustainability, and economic resilience amidst complexities such as climate change, and dependence on imports. Economic security is a growing focus at the EU level, with increasing recognition of the food supply chain as a critical infrastructure. The private sector plays a crucial yet often overlooked role in ensuring food security, both globally and in fragile, conflict-affected regions. Large multinational companies, such as the ABCD (Archer Daniels, Bunge, Cargill, and Dreyfuss) are key players in global food supply chains. At the same time, the private sector is critical in local, fragile contexts like Yemen, where 90% of food imports are managed by private companies, as the government lacks the resources to address food security.

Ensuring resilience in national and global supply chains is now more important than price alone. Reflecting the growing importance of supply chain reliability, companies are now increasingly asking whether suppliers can reliably deliver before even discussing price, making reliability and resilience a top concern within value chains.

The shifting geopolitical order offers both risks and opportunities. The Netherlands, with its expertise in food systems, water management, and climate change, can leverage its position to influence global food security and reduce vulnerabilities. It was furthermore highlighted that coherence between political priorities in different contexts (e.g., NL vs. LMICs) can undermine global food security efforts, as policies that are beneficial in one region may not align with the needs of another.

This underscored a need for integrated approaches that balance local priorities with global strategies, prioritising resilience, and encouraging honest discussions about the trade-offs involved in building a secure and sustainable food system. The focus is on developing collaborative, inclusive policies that support food sovereignty and sustainability while preparing for global risks and shocks. This may necessitate forming new partnerships with regions that share similar dependencies, as reducing our own dependencies will require both collaboration AND compromise.

Stability through food security

The roundtable on stability through food security focussed on the key question: How can we work through multi-stakeholder collaborations to mitigate structural inequalities in food systems that prevent conflict and promote peace and stability?

Introductory presentations highlighted the complex intersection of food security, political dynamics, and conflict. The political economy of countries and power structures within food value chains play a significant role in either alleviating or exacerbating conflict, so taking into account these factors is an important step for achieving long-term stability and reducing or preventing conflict. However, if we can see food insecurity as a product of political exclusion, this also means that organizing support for food insecure groups is a highly political affair that may run counter to dominant political interests. In practice, this calls for a shift beyond merely increasing food production, as food is often sufficient but unequally distributed among population groups. Stability, meanwhile, is crucial to attracting public and private investments, scaling up production, integrating stakeholders into value chains, and transitioning from aid to trade-based relationships. Achieving these goals requires conflict-sensitive approaches that consider how political power shapes food distribution and the marginalization of certain groups. By fostering inclusive systems that equitably benefit all actors, stability can be sustainably promoted.

On the Dutch policy side there is increased attention for the interlinkage between stability and food security, as well as the Humanitarian-Development-Peace nexus. With an agenda that emphasizes trade benefits, countering migration and promoting stability it is important to understand how to do no harm.

The discussion highlighted opportunities for multi-stakeholder collaboration to address food security and governance challenges together. Key entry points for multi-stakeholder collaboration included: 1) joint root cause analysis, to focus on concrete problems (e.g. through Problem-Driven Iterative Adaptation); 2) addressing cross-cutting issues like land governance and climate, which open political rather than purely technical discussions (e.g. through horizontally oriented area-based approaches bringing together various types of stakeholder groups); 3) using vertically oriented approaches like value chains where actors have similar long term interests. Understanding the economic and governance systems helps identify and support key influencers; 4) start where you have common ground, such as the sustainability of farm systems.

Food systems in settings of (active) conflict: Sudan

This roundtable discussed the key question: What perspective for action exists for multi-stakeholder in countries affected by active conflict such as Sudan?

Introductory presentations highlighted that enhancing food security in the current context of Sudan with active conflict requires a shift towards locally adapted, climate-resilient crops and active collaboration with diverse local stakeholders. Sudan’s food crisis calls for innovative, context-sensitive approaches - because it matters where you are in Sudan for what is possible - that balance humanitarian aid with (scalable) private-sector-driven solutions. There are various value chains where we can make investments that not only can promote peace and stability in conflict zones but also respect local preferences and help strengthen local economies. Mangoes, for example, were often mentioned as a value chain with investment opportunities. As a key food during the lean season, mangoes are widely available in some areas but are highly perishable. Exploring ways to extend the shelf life of these and other local foods—with private sector support—could help improve food security in vulnerable regions.

Private sector challenges in the context of Sudan include low purchasing power, high costs, and logistical issues like fuel scarcity, which makes scaling up businesses difficult. Demonstrating practical successes in Sudan’s challenging context and leveraging influential platforms for investments and support to amplify these efforts is important as addressing logistical hurdles and empowering local production systems are central to building long-term resilience.

Key challenges discussed include the urgent need to increase purchasing power, reduce investment risks, and retain skilled talent within Sudan. Here we need to leverage the capacities and resilience of the Sudanese, both within and outside Sudan, by addressing obstacles, fostering local solutions, and creating collaborative networks. This includes supporting farmers, SMEs, and entrepreneurs, while ensuring Sudanese participation in designing and implementing initiatives. Supporting the Sudanese diaspora and promoting local investment are essential steps toward economic resilience. Immediate humanitarian aid is necessary for food security, but should complement, not compete with, local markets. Sustainable energy solutions and local food production are also key, though lasting progress ultimately depends on peace and stability in Sudan.

Next Steps - Moving from “what” to “how”.

We look forward to connecting next year to continue our conversation on the how, defining action perspectives for these opportunities!