Agriculture ministers from the Group of Seven ( G-7) advanced economies on Sunday adopted a statement pledging to promote policies to support growth of sustainable agricultural productivity in order to strengthen food security, which has been threatened by climate change and the crisis in Ukraine, Jiji Press reported.    At the meeting, the ministers also compiled

“Miyazaki Actions,” an action plan that gives outlines of policies to be implemented by each country in efforts to achieve sustainable agriculture and food systems, such as making use of existing domestic agricultural resources, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and facilitating responsible private sector investment.  

Japanese agriculture minister Tetsuro Nomura, who chaired the meeting, told a joint press conference that the G-7 statement and action plan are “a very significant outcome that would make a difference in food security.” They will be reflected in discussions at the G-7 summit in the western Japan city of Hiroshima in May.  The ministers said in the statement that they are “deeply concerned about the devastating impact the crisis in Ukraine is having on food security globally.”

The Group of Seven (G7) economic powers called on Sunday for the “extension, full implementation and expansion” of a critical deal to export Ukrainian grain through the Black Sea, the group’s agriculture ministers said in a communique. Brokered by the United Nations and Turkey, the deal was signed in Istanbul last July, allowing Ukraine to export more than 27 million tonnes of grain from several of its Black Sea ports.

Russia, which invaded its neighbour in February 2022, has strongly signalled that it will not allow the deal to continue beyond May 18 because a list of demands to facilitate its own grain and fertilizer exports has not been met.

In the communique after a two-day meeting in Miyazaki, Japan, the G7 agriculture ministers “recognised the importance” of the deal, saying: “We strongly support the extension, full implementation and expansion of (the Black Sea Grain Initiative) BSGI.”

“We condemn Russia’s attempts to use food as a means of destabilisation and as tool of geopolitical coercion and reiterate our commitment to acting in solidarity and supporting those most affected by Russia’s weaponisation of food,” the communique said.

G7 members “stand ready” to support recovery and reconstruction of Ukraine, including by providing expertise in de-mining of agricultural land and reconstruction of agricultural infrastructure, the document said.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is scheduled to discuss the Ukraine Black Sea grain export deal with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in New York this week.  Meanwhile, Former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev said on Sunday that if the G7 moved to ban exports to Russia, Moscow would respond by terminating the Black Sea Grain deal that enables vital exports of grain from Ukraine.

The Group of Seven (G7) countries are considering a near-total ban on exports to Russia, Japan’s Kyodo news agency reported last week, citing Japanese government sources. Russia has repeatedly threatened to scrap its participation in the grain deal, which is due to expire on May 18.

“This idea from the idiots at the G7 about a total ban of exports to our country by default is beautiful in that it implies a reciprocal ban on imports from our country, including categories of goods that are the most sensitive for the G7,” Medvedev said in a post on his Telegram channel.

“In such a case, the grain deal - and many other things that they need - will end for them,” he added.

The G7 is reportedly discussing reversing its sanctions approach so that exports to Russia are automatically banned unless they are included on a designated list of products allowed to be shipped to the country. Under the current framework, goods are allowed to be sold to Russia unless they are explicitly black-listed.

Medvedev, a long-time ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, is Putin’s deputy chair at the influential Security Council and heads a government commission on arms production for the war in Ukraine.

Moscow has repeatedly rallied against the terms of the Black Sea grain deal — the only significant diplomatic breakthrough of the 14-month conflict in Ukraine.

It has said it will walk away from the initiative ahead of a May 18 deadline if the West does not lift restrictions on Russian agricultural and fertiliser exports.

The G7 called on Sunday for the “extension, full implementation and expansion” of the deal to export Ukrainian grain through the Black Sea, the group’s agriculture ministers said in a communique.  Russia’s richest people added $152 billion to their wealth over the past year, helped by high prices for natural resources — rebounding from the huge losses they experienced after the start of the war in Ukraine, Forbes Russia said.

WAM