FAO released the report The State of Agricultural Commodity Markets 2015–16 (SOCO) in December which aims to decrease polarization of views around how trade policies in the agricultural sector affect national polices on food security and development. Trade was chosen as an overarching topic in this new edition partly because it is being recognised as pertinent in reaching the SDGs, especially goal 2 on ending hunger, achieving food security and improved nutrition, and promoting sustainable agriculture, says Jamie Morrison, lead author of SOCO 2015-16.
There is a complex myriad of links between how countries govern their trade policy processes and the concerns and strategies around food security policies. The main goal is to ensure that trade and trade openess do not constrain the effective implementation of national-wide food security and poverty reduction.