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Israel

Food Security Administration

Israel established a Food Security Administration inside its agriculture ministry, which was renamed the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security when it took on coordination of government action on food security. The Administration is building a national food security plan running to 2050.

Institutional set-up and structure

The Administration was created following a decision of the Office of the Prime Minister, which gave the Ministry of Agriculture the mandate to establish a national food security and food safety programme. The Ministry was renamed accordingly, the Administration formed within it, and a new department for food security established under a senior government manager. Work is organised through thematic groups, each led by a different ministry, covering healthy eating, nutrition for vulnerable groups, and nutrition in times of crisis.

Mandate and decision-making power

The Administration was established to maintain national food security alongside the producers of raw food, and is entrusted with building the state's food security plan to 2050. Its purpose is to secure local production capacity and a regular supply of healthy and affordable food, in the quantity, quality, variety and physical and economic accessibility that support a healthy population, while promoting agriculture, local food industries and sustainable, climate-adapted food systems.

The Administration is tasked with the following roles (building blocks):

  • Agenda setting: advocacy and dialogue; deciding on goals and strategic priorities

  • Policy formulation and decision making: providing technical advice; coordinating policy development; developing policies for consideration by the relevant authorities

  • Implementation: coordinating policy and programme delivery

Who is involved

  • Government: the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security in the chair, with other ministries leading individual thematic groups

  • Academia and research: universities and research groups

  • Civil society

  • Professional groups: farmers' organisations and food industry representatives

Non-state actors take part in the thematic groups in an advisory capacity.

How it works in practice

  • Thematic groups are led by different ministries and work through the year

  • All groups come together once a year, with ministries represented on a panel and open comment

  • A dedicated department consolidates the thematic plans into a single national plan and works with ministries on delivery

  • Forward planning documents are published, along with the list of participating state and non-state actors

  • Conflict-of-interest questions are handled case by case rather than through a formal procedure

Opportunities for improvement

  • Establishing monitoring arrangements would allow progress against agreed steps to be tracked

  • Continuity arrangements would help the programme persist across changes of government

  • Greater attention to food security in rural populations would broaden the plan's reach

Evidence base: key informant interviews and policy documents, 2026. Last updated: September 2026.

Strengths

  • Multisectoral working across ministries is now active, after decades in which it proved difficult to establish

  • A planning horizon to 2050 anchors the work beyond short-term cycles

  • Participants and forward plans are published, making the process visible

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