Australia’s Empty Seat at the International Food Security Table

By Paris Capell, AgriFutures Fellow, World Food Forum Rome

Rome is famously known as the ‘eternal city’. World class art. Ancient architecture. The centre of Catholicism. You could not get much more juxtaposition than travelling from Far West NSW to Rome for a Global Voices delegation, but that is the journey I made in October to attend the UN World Food Forum. 

The World Food Forum expanded my worldview far beyond expectations. Over the week we heard from world leaders, minority voices, and got to sit on roundtables with youth across the Asia Pacific. We also attended amazing bilateral meetings with organisations like the International Fund for Agricultural Development and World Food Programme which really opened my eyes to global issues beyond my backyard. 

As a UN Conference, it was exactly what I dreamed of. Presidents, royalty, high security, broad topics. Translators of many languages surrounding the room, with countries sitting in the centre in rows behind their printed name placard. 

But behind the Australia desk, there were often two empty chairs. 

And this became one of the core themes I took home from my delegation: is Australia showing up for international food security the way we are led to believe?

The lights are on at home

Food security has been a massive topic on the Australian domestic policy agenda in 2025. After a 2023 parliamentary inquiry into food security, the federal government is now using these recommendations to develop ‘Feeding Australia: A National Food Security Strategy’. Feedback on the strategy has just closed, with the National Food Council set to be established at the end of 2025. 

The classic line we are often given is ‘Australia exports 70% of our agricultural production which contributes to global food security’. 

But food security is a multi-dimensional concept. Poverty, housing, environment and workforce are all food security policy issues. Like the classic adage of giving a man a fish versus teaching a man to fish, exporting food is one very small piece of a complex puzzle. 

We do have great Australian based organisations working in agricultural development across the Asia Pacific, including the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR), the Crawford Fund and AusAID. However, when it comes to global food security, these organisations aren’t multi-lateral. At the end of the day, they are Australian and will prioritise projects in the Asia Pacific that bring strategic gain to Australia and increase soft power with neighbours that have something to give in return. 

IFAD: Australia’s estranged child 

A multi-lateral organisation with a great track record is the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). The objective of IFAD is to transform agriculture, rural economies and food systems for people who are most at risk of being left behind. IFAD’s projects reach 90 million people in nearly 100 countries and help provide food security to smallholder farmers. Despite this- Australia is not a member. But it wasn’t always this way. 

In 1977, Australia was a founding member of IFAD and committed $50 million to the Rome-based agency. However, geopolitics began to shift by the turn of the millennium. In 2004 the Australian Government withdrew, citing limited relevance to the priority countries in the Asia Pacific. 

Since 2004 there have been several attempts to get Australia to rejoin. There was an AusAID proposal in 2012 which resulted in a failed Bill, an open letter from Asia Pacific leaders in 2023 and a recommendation from the Crawford Fund Annual Conference in 2025. Momentum is continuing to build with IFAD opening a new Asia Pacific regional office in Bangkok in October 2025 to help scale investment. 

The tone I heard from Asia Pacific youth at the World Food Forum is that Australia is missing from many dialogues and often shows up only when it suits them. There was a slight disdain in the language that I was not used to. This international reputation surprised me given our domestic focus on food security. 

What would sitting at the global food security table look like?

In 2024, Australia was one of the signatories on the Hiroshima Action Statement for Resilient Global Food Security alongside G7 and partner countries. There is plenty of goodwill in helping to build resilient food systems for vulnerable people, but it is time to put it into action without such a priority for strategic benefit. 

Foreign policy has been a high priority for the Albanese government, particularly in the Asia Pacific with new activity like the PNG mutual defence treaty. But perhaps there are more soft approaches available to the government, including contributing to agricultural development and food security for the region. 

Australia has so much human capital and expertise it could be contributing to help build the capacity in the Global South. Rejoining IFAD helps fit Australian skills in a globally coordinated system with rigorous approaches to investment. 

There are also significant improvements that could be made to adjacent policy like the PALM scheme and net zero emissions that will ultimately improve the food security of our island neighbours. 

How can we mass produce nutritious food that meets cultural requirements, which is cost effective and does not degrade land? I do not have the answers, but thinking multi-laterally and coordinating with international agencies is an important component to answering these questions rather than tackling it alone. My world was so broadened by delegation, it makes you wonder what other perspectives we are missing when we go for an Australian lead approach to Asia Pacific food security.

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The views and opinions expressed by Global Voices Fellows do not necessarily reflect those of the organisation or its staff.