Brics countries have agreed to establish a collaborative, non-binding and farmer-centric Brics AGRIN (Agro-Inputs, Genetic Resources, and Information Network), as well as to continue work on a Brics-focused grain trading platform, according to the New Delhi Declaration adopted by the grouping on Saturday.
The leaders have welcomed the launch of a Global Forum on Farmers’ Rights in Seed Systems to address shared challenges, promote effective policies and facilitate the documentation and exchange of traditional knowledge on agriculture and seed systems. The declaration also backed continued work on establishing a Brics Grain Exchange, with members agreeing to discuss its functioning and subsequent development. The declaration called for greater coordination to improve food availability, accessibility, stability and affordability, as well as access to agricultural and food-production inputs. The declaration separately welcomed the creation of a Brics Network of Centres of Excellence on Agroecology and Regenerative Agriculture for Climate Resilience and Productivity, as well as a Brics Network on Digital Agriculture covering agroforestry, fisheries and aquaculture. They noted that changing policies and regulations increasingly affect agricultural production and trade, food security and the livelihoods of smallholders and family farmers.
Brics has 11 members—Brazil, China, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Iran, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa and the United Arab Emirates—and 10 partners—Belarus, Bolivia, Kazakhstan, Cuba, Malaysia, Nigeria, Thailand, Uganda, Uzbekistan and Vietnam.
The declaration said AGRIN would draw on national, regional, and international practices and focus on cooperation on agro-inputs, genetic resources, and agricultural information. The platform could eventually be expanded beyond grains to “other agricultural products and commodities,” the declaration said. The push comes against the backdrop of concerns over “acute food price volatility” and abrupt supply crises, including fertiliser shortages. BRICS leaders said the grouping’s position as a major force in global food production gave it a “critical role in enhancing agricultural productivity and sustainability” and ensuring global food security and nutrition. It specifically backed measures to strengthen countries’ ability to respond to supply disruptions, including national food reserve systems and “drought resilient and climate adaptive seed systems”. On global trade, Brics leaders reaffirmed their commitment to agriculture negotiations at the WTO and said they would work towards a “fair, balanced and development-oriented” agricultural trading system. The declaration also recognised family farmers, smallholders, pastoralists, small-scale fishers, aquaculture producers, indigenous peoples, local communities, women and youth as “essential stakeholders” in agriculture and food systems.
