Ireland's EU Presidency: The Potential to Reduce Global Hunger and Food Insecurity

There is an expectation, domestically and internationally, that Ireland will use its EU Presidency (July to December 2026) to push for reducing global hunger and food insecurity. Linked to its own famine history, hunger reduction and promoting food security has been central to Irish foreign and development policies over decades.

This is the eighth time Ireland has held the EU Presidency since joining the-then European Economic Community (EEC) in 1973. Its track record in the role has been good: The 1990 Presidency, for example, is remembered in Germany for its constructive role in facilitating German reunification.

The 2026 Presidency takes place during a period of significant geopolitical turmoil, including the ongoing wars in the Middle East and between Russia and Ukraine and the world’s largest displacement crisis in Sudan and the Horn of Africa with over 40 million people requiring humanitarian assistance.

Against this background, Ireland has listed its EU Presidency priorities as: Competitiveness, to drive the objectives of One Europe, One Market economy; Security, involving enhanced European defence capabilities, and Values, including support for Ukraine and enlargement.

A central objective for the Presidency will be to seek agreement on the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF), the EU’s budget for 2028-34.

The Irish Presidency Programme states that “the impacts of geopolitical crises and emerging challenges will be an urgent focus for the EU. The issues of food, health and gender will be core dimensions in focusing strategic debate”. Compared to recent Council Presidency programmes, Ireland has given food and nutrition security a prominent place within its agenda, signaling that this issue is central to human security, peace, development and humanitarian policy.

To reflect this priority, the Presidency must develop politically realistic objectives which its EU partners can support and which can secure traction internationally. Some of these objectives will be EU priorities to be agreed and implemented by the EU institutions and “coalitions of the willing” member states – the Team Europe approach. Others will involve international processes where the EU can exert leadership and influence.

The Context for Action on Food and Nutrition Security

The context for framing the Presidency programme includes short and longer-term global food challenges; the scope to build on key national and international initiatives in recent years; and the reality that Official Development Assistance (ODA) cuts over the past three years will require innovative financial measures for future food and nutrition policies.

The progress achieved at international level in recent decades should be acknowledged and built upon. Since 1990 there have been major reductions in hunger, child mortality and childhood stunting. In 1990,1 in 4 people in the world experienced hunger. In 2024, it is 1 in 12. Over this period there has been a 60% reduction in child mortality, significantly influenced by the focus on improving nutrition in the critical period of 1000 days between a woman’s pregnancy and her child’s second birthday. Childhood stunting rates have declined from 40% in 1990 to 23% in 2024.

Despite the progress made, the world is falling short of achieving Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 2: “To end hunger, achieve food security, improve nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture by 2030”.

In the short term – 2026-27 – SDG 2 may be pushed further off track by the impact of the Middle East war on the price and supply of fertiliser and the possibility of a historically strong El Niño climate phenomenon causing heatwaves, flooding and affecting crop production.

Four Priority Areas to Advance Food and Nutrition Security

Ireland and the EU should seek to more fully integrate food and nutrition security into four key areas: the politics of food; addressing conflict as a root cause of hunger; climate policy; and science and technology.

The Politics of Food

The political priority given to food and nutrition security needs to significantly move up national and international agendas. Political leaders have the primary responsibility for ensuring their populations attain food and nutrition security and should be held accountable for this. They are responsible for prioritising food and nutrition security policies at national level which are coherent and sustained.

The Covid pandemic, the impact of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the Middle East war have shown the vulnerability of food systems to rapid increase in prices and supply chain risks. Countries and regions are working towards increasing their levels of self-sufficiency in food and energy within the context of greater strategic autonomy.

At the 2021 Food Systems Summit more than 150 countries committed to transforming their food systems in pursuit of the SDGs. This transformation recognises that, within a sustainable food system approach, agriculture, health, climate, biodiversity, trade and livelihoods are interconnected.

In January 2025, the African Union (AU) Heads of State and Government adopted the Kampala Declaration on Building Resilient and Sustainable Food Systems in Africa, a 10-year agenda (2026- 2035) for transforming Africa’s agrifood systems.

These positive developments should be the basis for two initiatives during the Presidency: strengthening EU support for the UN Food Systems Coordination Hub set up to support countries transform their food systems and the formalisation of an AU/EU collaboration to advance national capacity building in implementing the Kampala Declaration.

The EU Action Plan for Nutrition (2015-2025) positioned Europe as an international leader in nutrition policy and action. The final progress report, due to be published in October 2026, is expected to show the Plan’s achievements as well as lessons learned from its implementation. The Presidency should examine the option of adopting a new EU Strategy for Nutrition, using a Team Europe approach, which would maintain European leadership in this field.

Conflict and Hunger

There is a direct link between conflict and hunger. The Global Network against Food Crises reported that 266 million experienced high-level food and nutrition insecurity in 2025, reflecting the sixth consecutive annual increase. Conflict is the primary driver of this, with weather extremes and economic shocks other important factors. Major countries including Sudan, South Sudan, Afghanistan, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Yemen and many others are in protracted conflict situations, with little or no efforts towards conflict resolution or peace processes.

Given its commitment to food and nutrition security and the history of its own peace process, Ireland has legitimacy in working with the UN to highlight the link between conflict and hunger. The Presidency should make a political judgement as to which of the protracted conflict situations might be amenable to a possible intervention, involving both conflict resolution and humanitarian action.

Climate and Food Security

Increasing climate variability and extreme weather events are leading drivers of food insecurity. Recent COPs on climate have recognised the need for a greater link between climate and food policies. COP 28 in Dubai in 2023 adopted the Emirates Declaration for Sustainable Agriculture, Resilient Food Systems and Climate Action. COP 30 in Belem, Brazil, agreed to the Global Alliance against Hunger and Poverty.

The aim of the Ethiopian Presidency of COP 32, to be held in Addis Ababa in 2027, is that the conference should embed food systems transformation as a core pillar of global climate action. For Africa, this offers an opportunity to place adaptation, food security, sustainable agriculture and climate finance at the heart of the international agenda.

The Irish Presidency should signal support for the Ethiopian Presidency of COP 32 and initiate a joint work programme to make it a success.

Science and Technology

New science and technology, including artificial intelligence (AI), will be expected to assist in the world meeting its twin existential challenges by 2050: producing enough nutritious food to meet the needs of a population expected to reach almost 10 billion by 2050; and doing so in a way that limits climate warming.

Developing a sustainable bioeconomy which promotes the replacement of fossil-based materials with renewable biological resources and supports the circular economy will be a key part of the science and technology agenda.

The Global Bioeconomy Summit, hosted by Ireland in October 2026, offers significant possibilities for EU-African collaboration. The potential benefits for Africa from such collaboration include value added to its existing commodity base; reducing food waste and the large-scale creation of employment in rural areas.

Summary

In October 2026, the Irish Minister for Development and the Diaspora Neale Richmond will host an informal meeting of EU development ministers for a strategic discussion on the future of development cooperation, humanitarian assistance, the enduring challenge of poverty and how the EU can forge a path forward. The Ministers will reconvene for the formal Ministerial meeting on Development in December.

To reduce hunger and global food insecurity as part of its EU Presidency Ireland can best achieve its objectives through securing EU support and influencing the wider global community through engagement at international level. Food and nutrition security should be more fully integrated in four policy areas – the politics of food, addressing conflict as a root cause of hunger, climate policy and science and technology – , leading to greater impact.

The views in this paper are personal and do not represent the Irish government’s policy.

Tom Arnold is Chair of the Ireland Africa Rural Development Committee. Previously, he headed the EU Task Force on "Rural Africa", was chair of Concern Worldwide and coordinated Scaling up Nutrition (SUN).