Sustainable innovations and solutions presented at the 4th Agriculture and Rural Development Day, in Rio de Janeiro, 18 June 2012. Presented by Ann Tutwiler, Deputy General of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). http://www.agricultureday.org
Machine Learning Model Validation (Aijun Zhang 2024).pdf
Lessons in Sustainable Landscapes and Livelihoods. Synthesis of ARDD2012 Rio.
1. Lessons in Sustainable Landscapes and
Livelihoods from ARDD 4
Ann Tutwiler
Deputy Director General, FAO
2. The Context
• Livelihoods & jobs
• Food prices & nutrition
• Changing climate
• Population & food demand
• GHG emissions & land use change
• Food production
3. Agriculture: Durban to Rio+ and beyond
1.Consensus on pathways to a transformed
food system
1.Whole landscapes and the whole food
system
1.Work across sectors and ministries:
– agriculture, forestry, fisheries, energy, water
and development
Photo credits: C Schubert
4. How agriculture can rise to the challenge
• New leadership models
• Respect and livelihoods to engage
youth
• Beyond the hand hoe
• Organize farmers + advisory services
• Farming is a profession
• Landscape approach
5. Solutions from Learning Events
(1) Public policy and (2) investment
• Agricultural innovation:
• science + institutions + human
development
• Sustainable supply chains:
• Science + economics
• Bring farmers – especially women – and
scientists into policy-making
• ‘mosaic’ of solutions
6. Solutions from Learning Events (cont.)
(3) Sustainable intensification
• ‘Land sharing or land sparing’?
• Improved livestock forages & feeding
practices
• Leverage agro-ecological knowledge and
farmer-led research for resilience
• Nutrient management: lower input costs
& boost productivity
7. Solutions from Learning Events (cont.)
(4) Assist food-insecure populations
• Food security safety nets
• Women’s rights and leadership
(5) Food access & consumption
• Information & meaningful choices
(6) Food loss & waste
• Infrastructure, coordination & consumers
(7) Knowledge systems
• Rural advisory services
• Measure household- & landscape-level
resilience
9. A food secure future
• Strategic partnership
• Long-term funding
• Agrobiodiversity
• Gender equity
• Nutrition and health
• Landscape approach
10. Rio+20 and beyond
• Integrated approaches for
interconnected landscapes
• Knowledge generation and access
for sustainable agriculture Russia
2013
• Toward a SDG for sustainable food
systems
Photos: ICRAF and
The context of our discussions today is a complex set of interconnected issues for which agriculture is both a challenge and a solution.Livelihoods & jobs-Agriculture is the single largest employer in the world, providing livelihoods and jobs for 40% of today’s global population. Food prices & nutrition-Rising food prices threaten the nutritional security of the 1.4 billion people living in poverty who spend as much as 70% of their income on food.Changing climate-Unabated climate change could cost the world at least 5% of GDP each year and seriously undermine the ability of small-scale farmers to provide food for their families and national and global markets.GHG emissions & land use change-At the same time, more than a third of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions result from a combination of farming and land-use change, including deforestation.Population & food demand-As food production rises to in response to growing population and changing diets, agricultural GHG emissions are expected to rise by about 30-40% above 2005 levels. Food production-To feed a global population of 9 billion people by 2050 will require at least a 70% increase in global food production and a 50% rise in investments in food, agriculture and rural development.
Minister Mendes RibeiroFilho:-Reminded us that ARDD meetings have helped frame how the UNFCCC is considering agriculture…… and that, herein Brazil, the legacy of ARDD 4 must be to demonstrate to Rio+20 negotiators that there is a consensus across a broad partnership regarding what it takes to get agriculture, fisheries and forestry as part of a transformed food system that meets food and environmental needs. -He told us that there is commitment by Brazil and a range of governments, supported by dozens of organizations that are leading research and innovation in sustainable agriculture.Vice President Rachel Kyte-Reminded us that, if agriculture is to lead the way toward a transformed global food system, we must take sustainable technologies to scale, with speed. -She called for public-private partnerships, like those that have worked here in Brazil, to stimulate innovation in nitrogen use efficiency, build a robust communication infrastructure, unpack the issue of land grabbing and to tackle the full range of issues.-And she issued a call to organize a Landscape Day.Minister IzabellaVieira Teixeira-Spoke about Brazil’s achievements in simultaneously boosting biofuels production and protecting the Amazon.-She advised us all to move out of our silos of environment, agriculture and so on and told us we need a more integrated and meaningful discussion.
And then we had this discussion right away in the panel chaired by LindiweSibanda.Minister Marcelo BezerraCrivella-spoke about the need for leadership if we are to truly move in useful directions.Roberto Rodrigues-told us that it is necessary and possible to make agriculture an interesting profession for young people by matching their idealism with respect for the profession and the ability to earn a living.Anne GretheDalane-Pointed to the role of the private sector in engaging young people in agriculture’s role in addressing humanity’s most important challenges.DybornChibonga-Informed us that the hand hoe is an “instrument of mass urbanization” and that we need appropriate technologies if we are to meet yield gaps in Africa.-He also told us that the future belongs to the organized and that we must mobilize farmers in advisory services and farmer-to-farmer training. KanayoNwanze-Shared with us IFAD’s work to transform subsistence farmers into farmers who make money. -He emphasized that farming enterprises need access to infrastructure, finance, and governmental support – and that there are consortium activities to work on measuring outcomes.Jan McAlpine-Challenged us to remember forests and to bring a true landscape approach
Drawingon the 7 policy recommendations for achieving food security in the context of climate change that were articulated by the scientific Commission on Sustainable Agriculture and Climate Change, a diverse set of researchers, practitioners and stakeholders stepped forward to host 13 learning events that showcased tools and approaches for a sustainable food system. Across these learning events, we heard dozens of examples of cross-sectoral innovation and coordination that can aggregate up to meaningful global change. Colleagues from Brazil shared their experience with combining policy making and institutional and human development with a science-based strategy to promote agricultural innovation. They also highlighted progress in developing sustainable governance for fish production that integrates essential knowledge from science and economics.A learning events hosted by Farming First demonstrated the importance of bringing farmers and scientists into the center of policy making to promote a mosaic of solutions in agricultural landscapes.
Significant attention was given to understanding how sustainable intensification can be put into practice:-Discussion led by CIFOR clarified where and when “land sharing” and “land sparing” approaches can result in the best outcomes for sustainable agricultural production within complex multi-functional landscapes. -Participants learned from ILRI, CATIE and EMBRAPA about the potential to improve livelihoods and reduce greenhouse gas emissions through new livestock feeding practices and improved forages. -IFOAM and Biovision showcased ways to leverage agro-ecological knowledge and farmer-led research to build resilient rural communities, farms, economies and ecosystems. -SIANI and others shared local nutrient management strategies that improve crops, minimize resource use and reduce pollution through reuse of a natural liquid fertilizer.
World Food Program and others described innovative approaches for ensuring that the most food insecure people on our planet benefit from sustainable development and that patterns of undernutrition and overconsumption shift to healthy and sustainable eating habits. Access to information and meaningful choices are critical here.Importantly, GFAR hosted a learning event that looked specifically at pathways to women’s empowerment through agricultural innovation.The regional drivers and hotspots of food loss and waste across the food chain were explored in a learning event led by FAO, which identified infrastructure, supply chain coordination and consumer behavior as key areas for action.Finally, it’s clear that a sustainable food system needs a robust underlying knowledge system.-The role of rural advisory services in bridging scientific research, field-level innovation and markets -- and the potential for this to be a legacy outcome of Rio+20 – was the focus of a learning event convened by GFRAS and World Farmers’ Organization. -IFAD, ICRAF and EcoAgriculture Partners led a discussion about a broader view of measurement that addresses multiple dimensions and scales of resilience to better inform policies and programmatic investments.Together these learning events showcased the depth and breadth of our collectiveprogress toward sustainability goals and demonstrate that it is possible to achieve a food system that truly supports people and the planet.
In the afternoon, we brought our attention explicitly to the ways that science and technology can complement policy making, capacity and infrastructure building and entrepreneurship.Pedro Arraes-Recognizing the links to food security and poverty reduction, Brazil made a big investment in the science and technology of tropical agriculture and soil fertility. -Scientific advancement was supported by progress in policy, institutional entrepreneurship and marketing networks. -Brazil continues to plan for increasing exports, anchored in sustainable intensification, to meet future global food demand.Mary Robinson -The scientific community needs to respond to the needs of rural and food-insecure people around the world, recognizing that social issues are not separated from technical issues and that issues in forestry, agriculture, nutrition, energy and land rights are interconnected. -Since there is no one-size-fits-all approach, scientists must look and listen for specific needs as well as the common threads, and then develop more effective and innovative ways of responding.-We need to pursue farmer-led research, especially women farmers.-A climate justice approach focuses on the linkages between science and human rights and brings the voices of poor households into the dialogue with governments, businesses, NGOs and multilateral organisations.LindiweSibanda-Some major changes are needed in the way we do research for development so that funding is under a different mechanism and is sustained and gender and partnerships are tackled in totally new ways.-We are already seeing progress with the CGIAR’s new portfolio.
Frank Rijsberman [DONE]-Recent restructuring has positioned the CGIAR system to respond to the critical issues explored at ARDD by providing tools, technologies and approaches in support of more integrated management of land, forests and water resources.-A results-driven global portfolio of 15 agricultural research programs worth $5 billion over five yearssignals a new commitment to publicly-funded global agricultural research.-Partnership is key to respond to the global challenges for a food-secure future.The new norm must be strong collaboration between businesses, farmers, government, research, development and civil society organizations and between environmental, food security, and other specialists. Mark Holderness – role of partnerships [DONE]-Strategic partnerships, that develop shared objectives and expectations from the start, will be critical. -GFAR is providing a unique multistakeholder forum focused on smallholder farmers, especially women.-No longer a technology pipeline, but a dynamic ‘jigsaw puzzle’ of agricultural research for development with roles played by a broader range of countries, the private sector, innovative farmers and civil society.-We need a much broader view of capacity building that includes farmer organizations, advisers and other service providers and understands more clearly the role of women in food production.Jonathan Wadsworth – investment in research [DONE]-To meet food demand, significant investment in agricultural R&D is necessary NOW to generate the scientific and technological advances needed to simultaneously improve productivity and increase the efficient use of critical natural resources. -Despite the tight economic times, agricultural research is by far one of the most effective at cost-effective ways to sustainably reduce poverty and hunger, increase smallholders’ incomes, and spur economic growth and development in poor countries. -CGIAR research has helped to conserve water, renew soil fertility, and reduce erosion and greenhouse gas emissions while increasing farmers’ yields – without these advances, millions of hectares of primary forests and fragile environments would be under cultivation.Alexander Mueller – agrobiodiversity [TO BE CONFIRMED]-Our current food system is not sustainable (greenhouse gas emissions, nitrogen in waterways, groundwater extraction). -Agrobiodiversity approaches can give increasing focus to natural processes in agriculture – if we can do biological control instead of using pesticides then we need to do it; if we can maintain nutrients in the soil profile through better organic management, we need to do it. -This can’t be done overnight so we need a solid R&D effort on making agriculture more sustainable. Raj Paroda – gender equity [DONE]-Women’s potential contribution to agriculture, food and nutritional insecurity will be achieved when we dismantle the institutional, political and especially socio-cultural barriers facing farming women.-Meaningful involvement of women in knowledge generation and innovation relies on explicit engagement in priority setting, planning and implementation of research, education and development programs -We must prioritize technological alternatives to the labor intensive farming practiced by many women.CristinaTirado – nutrition & health [DONE]-A global food system that promotes healthy diets and appropriate consumption can have co-benefits for the environment by moderating per capita food demand.-Nutrition and health should be considered as key indicators for sustainable agriculture and food security programs.-Health impact assessments can and should be applied to agricultural and trade policies and research agendas.Frances Seymour – agriculture & forestry [DONE]-Agriculture is the main driver of deforestation, but there are many undervalued contributions of forests to livelihoods, food security, and climate resilience.-Policy and governance reform – such as removal of perverse subsidies, strengthening land tenure and the rule of law, not just technology improvements -- are needed to realize the optimal integration of agriculture and forests at the landscape scale.
We now need to move beyond talk. We must see progress in the negotiations and in action on the ground. We need integration: farming + livestock + fisheries + forestry (+ energy + water)Interconnected landscapes need integrated approaches. We must account for both direct and indirect effects on: -food, fiber & energy-livelihoods-natural resources & biodiversityPartnerships across sectors & ministries are critical -- these can pave the way for coordinated regulatory frameworks and more appropriate economic incentives.We must support research and ExtensionWe have already and will continue to build the portfolio of sustainable technologies & methods from both scientific research and on-the-ground innovation. It is the pairing of these two approaches that will lead to the best results.A robust, integrated knowledge system for sustainable land management is required forscaling up. This includes connecting food producers and processors [ADD NUTRITION, WOMEN] and researchers through education and advisory services. [CAPTURE MORE FULLY THE SENSE OF RESEARCH, EDUCATION, KNOWLEDGE SHARING, IMPLEMENTATION AS A SHARED ENTERPRISE AMONG SCIENTISTS, FARMERS/FISHERSTo create real momentum and accountability, we need an Sustainable Development Goal for sustainable food systems.An SDG should make explicit links among agriculture, environment and food security – and help move us from crisis response to resilience & sufficiency.This SDG should include a mandate for targets and indicators so that we can measure progress on the ground and globally and track return on investments.The time is now for policy makers at the Rio+20 Earth Summit to commit to real progress on integration of agriculture, forestry and fisheries, supported by robust systems for knowledge generation and extension and to launch a process toward a related Sustainable Development Goal. The legacy of this 4th ARDD is in your hands. Each of us have an opportunity and a responsibility to carry these high-level points of agreement into your home organizations and countries and into the Rio+20 negotiations. Thank you.