On the 6th of July 2021, foodFIRST organised the first Vijverbergsessies (webinar) of its external perspective series, exploring the implications for global food security and international markets of the EU F2F strategy based on a comprehensive review conducted by the Economic Research Service (ERS) of the US Department of Agriculture. The study analysed the economic consequences of several of the proposed targets in the F2F strategy based on three adoption scenarios of the strategy, finding reduction in global agriculture production, higher prices, less trade, and more global food insecurity by 2030. The aim of this session was to further discuss the impacts of such economic measures on the Global South – specifically Africa – and the role of the EU and the Netherlands, as key a player in the agri-food sector, in absorbing the economic and agricultural consequences of the F2F strategy.

On Thursday, March 11, Socires/foodFIRST in partnership with the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung (KAS) organized a webinar to discuss EU-Africa relations with the President of Ghana, Nana Akufo-Addo. Close relations between the European Union and the states of Africa are of utmost importance for both sides and were hardly coincidentally one of the priorities of the German Council Presidency 2020. The webinar started with opening remarks from KAS President Prof. Dr. Norbert Lammert who laid out the context of the importance of such a session. Ms Shada Islam from New Horizons Project moderated the afternoon.