also an important element in a number of other interlocking systems. It has strong ties to water, land, and energy, which are, like agriculture itself, under increasing pressure. And many of the events of 2011 underlined how food security— that is, availability of and access to sufficient, safe, nutritious food to maintain a healthy and active life—is linked to other notions of security. Tese include economic security (related to employ- ment, incomes, and gender), sociopolitical security (related to inequality, governance, and conflicts), and environmental security (related to natu- ral resources). New thinking has been accompanied by new


actors entering the global food system. In 2011, for the first time, the agriculture ministers of the Group of 20 (G20) countries met and agreed to work together to tackle food price volatility and food insecurity. Emerging economies such as Brazil, China, and India have gained an increas- ing voice in international decisionmaking, moving from being aid recipients to aid donors and trading partners, with their own global agendas. Tis overview reviews the major food policy


developments of 2011, drawing largely on the chapters in this report, which look back at the year in detail.


FOOD PRICE LEVELS AND VOLATILITY


Global food prices rose during the first half of 2011 and fell during the second half of the year. Te food price index of the Food and Agriculture Orga- nization of the United Nations, which measures monthly change in the international prices of a bas- ket of food commodities, reached a record high in February but moved steadily downward from June to December, ending lower for the year. Still, food price volatility remained high in 2011. Te factors that pushed up prices during the


2007–08 food price crisis were again at play during the 2010–11 crisis, including high oil prices, bio- fuel policies that promote the expansion of biofuel production, increased weather-related shocks such as droughts and floods, and growing demand from emerging economies. Further, the world remains vulnerable to food price swings because grain


2 MAJOR FOOD POLICY DEVELOPMENTS IN 2011


reserves are extremely low and staple grains are exported by just a few countries. However, favorable harvests in major producing regions and a stronger US dollar induced a fall in dollar-denominated prices during the second half of the year. What do rising or volatile food prices mean for


the poor? Higher food prices cut into the budgets of poor consumers but could raise the incomes of poor producers if they produce more than they consume. Volatile food prices, however, harm both consumers and producers by increasing uncer- tainty and making it difficult for households to budget for food consumption and to plan for pro- duction. Still, more needs to be learned about the specific impacts of price volatility on the diets of the poor, particularly women and children. In Ethi- opia, for example, research on the 2007–08 food price crisis found that female-headed households were especially vulnerable to food price shocks.1 Shiſts in food prices stimulated new policies and


initiatives during the year. As mentioned, the G20 ministers of agriculture came together to design an action plan to reduce price volatility, regulate commodity markets, and promote long-term agri- cultural productivity. Toward the end of the year, the countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, plus China, Japan, and South Korea (alto- gether known as ASEAN+3) established an emer- gency rice reserve to help ensure long-term food security in the region. Some national policies taken in response to


changes in food prices may have increased the strain on the global food system. To raise pro- ducer incomes, the government of Tailand, the world’s largest exporter of milled rice, established a rice subsidy scheme that threatened to shrink its exports and contribute to higher global rice prices—a trend observed in the second half of the year. Several countries, including China, turned to large grain imports to build up strategic reserves, raising concerns about tighter grain markets.


NATURAL AND HUMAN-CAUSED SHOCKS


Te world saw some of the most severe natural disasters on record in 2011. Te 9.0-magnitude


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