Ministers met to discuss the EU's approach to the mid-term review of the UN's Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), set to take place in New York in September. One of those goals is to halve the proportion of the world's population that suffers from hunger by 2015.
In their conclusions, ministers endorsed European Commission proposals for an EU policy framework to assist developing countries in addressing food security challenges (EurActiv 02/04/10).
The paper, published on 31 March, was adopted as part of the EU executive's 'spring package' on development.
Ministers said they fully agreed with the objectives and priorities outlined in the Commission document, which suggests that small-scale food production should be the focus of EU assistance to increase the availability of food in developing countries.
The Council highlighted the potential of poor and smallholder producers to contribute to reducing hunger and rural poverty and noted that special attention was needed to secure small-scale farmers' access to land.
The Commission is to propose an implementation plan for the new policy framework before the end of 2010.
