European Council
-    22-23 October: Agriculture and Fisheries Council [Luxembourg]
-    25 October: Environment Council [Luxembourg]

ACP Group
-    24-25 October: ACP Ministerial Trade Committee
-    26 October: Joint ACP-EU Ministerial Trade Meeting

You can also read our newspaper “CTA Brussels Daily” (fed by our Twitter account), follow our new Facebook group CTABrussels and our Twitter account CTABrussels to receive up-to-date information on EU-ACP events.

The 2012 Global Hunger Index report focuses particularly on the issue of how to ensure sustainable food security under conditions of water, land, and energy stress. Demographic changes, rising incomes and associated consumption patterns, and climate change, alongside persistent poverty and inadequate policies and institutions, are all placing serious pressure on natural resources.

Tackling food loss and waste could make a significant contribution to combating hunger and increasing farm incomes where it is needed most. One-third of all food produced for human consumption worldwide is lost or wasted. That translates into 1.3 billion tonnes, worth nearly one trillion US dollars. The quantity of food thrown out in industrialised countries is the same as the entire amount produced in sub-Saharan Africa. Added to this is the waste of natural resources used to produce food that is subsequently lost or discarded. The Policy Brief 'Going to waste - missed opportunities in the battle to improve food security' is now available for download.

To improve information sharing and promote networking, CTA, in collaboration with FAO, AgriCord and other partners organised a high-level panel in Brussels on 16 October 2012, in the context of the European Development Days. Various panelists gave their perspectives on how they see the future of farmers in the context of new drivers affecting food production, trade and the environment.
Topics that were discussed included how policy factors influence agricultural production and the nutritional status of the poor in developing countries, how small-scale farmers can increase their productivity to feed a growing population, the economic drivers behind key policy decisions, the new policy challenges affecting food production, the role of youth and women in the agricultural sector and the importance of property rights to protect farmers’ land.

On 11 October 2012, European Commission President José Manuel Barroso met in Brussels with the Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations, José Graziano da Silva. They agreed that the EU is a key strategic partner for the FAO and should play a full role in it and discussed food security including development, resilience and nutrition policies, as well as global governance issues.

European Commission
-    16 – 17 October: European Development Days 2012

European Council
-    15 October: Foreign Affairs Council (FAC) [Luxembourg]
-    15 October: Foreign Affairs Council (FAC) (Development) (Luxembourg)

ACP Group
-    16 October: ACP Sugar Committee
-    19 October: Sub Committee on Sustainable Development

You can also read our newspaper “CTA Brussels Daily” (fed by our Twitter account), follow our new Facebook group CTABrussels and our Twitter account CTABrussels to receive up-to-date information on EU-ACP events.

To improve information sharing and promote networking, the ACP-EU Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA) in collaboration with FAO, AgriCord and other partners will organise a high-level panel in Brussels on 16 October 2012, in the context of the European Development Days. Various panelists will give their perspectives on how they see the future of farmers in the context of new drivers affecting food production, trade and the environment.

The European Food Safety Authority has concluded that a recent paper raising concerns about the potential toxicity of genetically modified (GM) maize NK603 and of a herbicide containing glyphosate is of insufficient scientific quality to be considered a valid for risk assessment. EFSA’s initial review found that the design, reporting and analysis of the study, as outlined in the paper, are inadequate.

The so-called "Milk Package", designed with a view to the longer term future of the dairy sector following the end of the EU dairy quota system in 2015, is fully applicable from 3 October 2012. Drafted on the basis of the conclusions of a special High Level Group set up after the 2009 milk market crisis, this series of measures is aimed at boosting the position of dairy producers in the dairy supply chain and preparing the sector for a more market-oriented and sustainable future.

Resilience is the ability of an individual, a household, a community, a country or a region to withstand, adapt, and quickly recover from stresses and shocks such as drought, violence, conflict or natural disaster. The European Commission's new resilience communication outlines ten steps that will increase resilience and reduce the vulnerability of the world's most vulnerable people. These steps include support for the design of national resilience strategies, disaster management plans and efficient early-warning systems in disaster-prone countries, as well as putting forward innovative approaches to risk management through collaboration with the insurance industry.