Mandate:   -   Resolution of the Council concerning the revision of the mandate of the Committee for Agriculture [C(2024)183] adopted at its 1487th session on 16 December 2024.

 

 

Resolution of the Council [C(2024)183]

MANDATE OF THE COMMITTEE FOR AGRICULTURE

THE COUNCIL,

   Having regard to the Convention on the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) of 14 December 1960;

   Having regard to the Rules of Procedure of the Organisation;

   Having regard to the Resolution of the Council on Partnerships in OECD Bodies [C(2012)100/REV2/FINAL];

   Having regard to paragraphs 21, 22, 23, 26 and 89 of the Report of the Preparatory Committee concerning the creation of a Committee for Agriculture, whose mandate was last revised in 2017 [C(2017)39];

   Having regard to the Declarations adopted on the occasion of the 2016 and 2022 meetings of the Committee for Agriculture at Ministerial level [OECD/LEGAL/0423 and OECD/LEGAL/0483];

   Having regard to the proposed revision of the mandate of the Committee for Agriculture [C(2024)183];

   DECIDES:

A.    The Committee for Agriculture (hereafter “the Committee”) is renewed with the following revised mandate:

I.    Objectives

1.   The overarching objective of the Committee is to support efforts to define and implement coherent and integrated policy approaches for transformative solutions towards sustainable agriculture and food systems, by ensuring food security and nutrition, strengthening sustainability and ensuring opportunities for inclusive livelihoods, that are needed to underpin competitive, sustainable, productive and resilient farm and food businesses.

2.    The mid-level objectives of the Committee are to:

a)define and promote guidelines, best practices and policy approaches which are coherent with economy-wide objectives, transparent, targeted, tailored, flexible, consistent and equitable, while ensuring that costs and benefits of measures taken are balanced in view of scarce government resources;

b)assist policy making in shifting policy focus towards improving

i.sustainability in its economic, social, and environmental dimensions,

ii.innovation, resilience, risk management,

iii.plant, animal and human health,

iv.rural development,

v.instruments to mitigate and adapt to climate change, to conserve and sustainably use biodiversity and other ecosystem services;

 

c)facilitate sustainable and inclusive growth and development and strengthen the contribution of a well-functioning market and multilateral trade system to agriculture and food systems transformation;

d)develop new approaches and analysis to support inclusive policy efforts to promote global food security and nutrition, addressing both emergency responses and long-term developments.

II.    Working methods

3.    In order to achieve these objectives, the Committee shall:

a)provide the evidence to support policy processes, and a forum for sharing and comparing policy experiences;

b)evaluate coherence between sectoral objectives and policies and economy-wide measures, to advise on how to build comprehensive and consistent policy packages, reflecting, where appropriate, the diversity of economic, environmental, social and food security situations across and within countries;

c)monitor and evaluate agricultural policy and agricultural trade policy developments using the best available data, combined with qualitative and quantitative tools, to assess alignment with agreed shared goals;

d)provide forward looking policy and market information, covering short, medium and long-term perspectives;

e)monitor and analyse structural, economic and policy developments throughout the supply chain from farm to consumer, their implications for the farm sector and for farm and food sector policies.

f)build support for policy change through communication and dissemination of the Committee’s data, analysis and policy advice to a wide range of governmental and civil-society actors.

III. Co-ordination arrangements

4.    In order to achieve its objectives, the Committee shall:

a)collaborate closely with other relevant bodies of the OECD on cross-cutting issues related to agriculture and food systems, including on trade, investment, environment, development, territorial development, health, innovation science and technology;

b)co-operate with other international organisations, such as the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Trade Organization (WTO) and others as determined by the needs of the Committee’s work;

c)consult and share information, as appropriate, with Business at OECD (BIAC) and the Trade Union Advisory Committee (TUAC), as well as with civil society stakeholders in the food and agriculture sector and academia.

B.    The mandate of the Committee for Agriculture shall remain in force until 31 December 2029.