Global South hit by food, fuel, fertiliser crisis due to conflicts: PM Modi at G-20 Summit

In address on first day of G-20 summit, PM Modi compliments Brazilian presidency of the grouping for taking forward ‘decisions’ taken at New Delhi summit and highlights the Centre’s various schemes

The countries of the Global South are most adversely impacted by the food, fuel, and fertiliser crisis caused by global conflicts, and the G-20 must give primacy to their concerns and priorities, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Monday (November 18, 2024).

In an address on the first day of the G-20 summit, Mr. Modi complimented the Brazilian presidency of the grouping for taking forward the “people-centric decisions” taken at the bloc’s summit in New Delhi last year.

The Indian G-20 presidency's call for "One Earth, One Family, One Future” continued to resonate at the Rio conversations, he said.

U.S. President Joe Biden, Mr. Modi, Chinese President Xi Jinping, French President Emmanuel Macron, and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer are among the leaders attending the two-day summit at Rio de Janeiro's Modern Art Museum.

“I would like to say that countries of the Global South are most adversely impacted by the food, fuel, and fertiliser crisis caused by global conflicts,” he said.

“So our discussions can only be successful when we keep in mind the challenges and priorities of the Global South,” he added.

The Prime Minister made the remarks at the G-20 session on 'Social Inclusion and the Fight Against Hunger and Poverty'.

The opening day's highlight was the launch of a global alliance to combat poverty and hunger that has been supported by at least 80 nations.

In a post on X, Mr. Modi called the initiative “commendable” saying it marks a significant stride towards ensuring food security and uplifting vulnerable communities worldwide. “India assures full support to this effort.” In his remarks at the session, the Prime Minister said India believes in the approaches of “Back to Basics” and “March to Future” and that is why it is emphasising organic farming, popularising millets, and encouraging climate-resilient crop varieties.

Mr. Modi also called for reform of the institutions of global governance.

“And just as we amplified the voice of the Global South by granting permanent membership of the G-20 to the African Union during the New Delhi summit, we will reform institutions of global governance,” he said.

Mr. Modi said the people-centric decisions taken at the G-20 Summit in New Delhi have been “taken forward during Brazil’s presidency”.

“It is a matter of great satisfaction that we prioritised SDG [sustainable development goals]. We focused on inclusive development, women-led development, and youth power,” he said.

“And gave wings to the hopes and aspirations of the Global South. It is clear that One Earth, One Family, One Future is as relevant at this summit as it was last year,” he added.

The theme of India's G-20 presidency was drawn from the ancient Sanskrit text of Maha Upanishad.

Speaking about India's initiatives to deal with hunger and poverty, Mr. Modi said India had pulled 250 million people out of poverty in the last 10 years and was distributing free food grains to 800 million people in the country.

The Prime Minister also highlighted the steps taken by India to strengthen food security in Africa and elsewhere.

“Over 800 million people are being given food grains free of cost; 550 million people are benefiting from the world’s biggest health insurance scheme,” he said.

“Now, 60 million senior citizens, over the age of 70, will also be able to benefit from free health insurance,” he said.

“Maintaining our focus on women-led development and social inclusion, over 300 million women microentrepreneurs have been linked to banks and given access to credit,” Mr. Modi added.

The Prime Minister also spoke about India's crop insurance scheme.

“Under the world’s largest crop insurance scheme, over 40 million farmers have received benefits worth 20 billion U.S. dollars,” he said.

“Under the farmers’ scheme, assistance worth over 40 billion dollars has been given to 110 million farmers. Institutional credit worth 300 billion dollars is being given to farmers,” he said.

Mr. Modi said India is not only ensuring food security but also focusing on nutrition. He said New Delhi is also contributing to global food security by sending food items to various countries.

“The main reason for our success is our approach: back to basics and march to the future,” he said.

“We have focused not only on natural farming and organic farming but also on new technologies. We have focused on sustainable agriculture, protection of the environment, nutrition, and food security by promoting Sri Anna or millets,” he said.

The Prime Minister said India has developed over 2,000 climate-resilient crop varieties and has started the ‘Digital Agriculture Mission’.

“India’s digital public infrastructure enabled social and financial inclusion. With the aspirational districts and blocks project, we created a new model for inclusive development that strengthens the weakest link,” he said.

Mr. Modi began his visit to Brazil after concluding a two-day trip to Nigeria.

Published - November 19, 2024 02:01 am IST