Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance IAASTD: From Johannesburg to Rio+20 Scaling-Up Agro-Ecological Food Production: What needs to be done and by whom? IAASTD: From Johannesburg to Rio+20 Rio de Janeiro 11:00 - 12:30. 17 June, 2012 Hans R. Herren President www.millennium-institute.org President www.biovision.ch Co-Chair IAASTD www.agassessment.org Coordinator UNEP GER Agriculture Chapter 1

The IAASTD Reports Multi-stakeholder: 400 authors, 52 countries (www.agassessment.org) Co-Chairs: Hans R Herren & Judy Wakhungu Multi-stakeholder: 400 authors, 52 countries Multi-disciplinary Multi-locational: Global / sub-Global Reports 2

The IAASTD Reports Multi-stakeholder: 400 authors, 52 countries (www.agassessment.org) Co-Chairs: Hans R Herren & Judy Wakhungu Multi-stakeholder: 400 authors, 52 countries Multi-disciplinary Multi-locational: Global / sub-Global Reports A New Approach? Written by over 50 contributors from 21 organizations, and using case studies from China, Guatemala, Jordan and other communities, the report recommends changes to three specific areas - environmental protection, water resources management and food production (eg. farms, fisheries and livestock) - which are needed to improve food security and reduce stresses on water supply. • Creating corridors to promote the movement of livestock, which can reduce overgrazing and land degradation caused when animals are confined to small areas. 
• Diversification of land to integrate crop, tree and livestock production and promote soil fertility through manure, crop residues and provide tree fodder for feed. 
• Cultivation of local plants better adapted to dry conditions, which can capture benefits from infrequent rainfall and control erosion in areas too dry to support traditional field crops •Reducing pollution of wetlands through improved practices for the use of fertilisers and pesticides 
• The use of buffer strips between land and water to protect rivers and lakes from potentially harmful run-offs. 
• Providing alternative drinking sites for livestock away from sensitive wetlands 
• Improving monitoring and assessment of environmental changes to wetlands ..interconnections between agriculture and ecosystems services. The resulting "agroecosystem" approach can improve food security and nutrition by diversifying food sources, while also improving sustainability. Key recommendations from the report include: • Incorporating trees, hedgerows and other natural vegetation in agricultural landscapes to connect forest habitats, provide more insects for crop pollination and reduce soil erosion
• In livestock systems, using crop residues and tree fodder for animal feeds to reduce water use • nvest in animal health measures to help reduce the need for bigger herds and, subsequently, reduce water use for maintaining livestock
 3

• Population and Demand Growth • Shrinking Natural Resources / Energy The IAASTD: why? • Eradicating of Hunger and Poverty • Improving Rural Livelihoods • Improving Nutrition and Human Health • Facilitating Environmentally, Socially, Equitable and Economically Sustainable Development …under the Challenges of: • Climate Change • Population and Demand Growth • Shrinking Natural Resources / Energy ….to which agriculture itself is contributing negatively Realizing these goals requires acknowledging the multifunctionality of agriculture: the challenge is to simultaneously meet development and sustainability goals while increasing agricultural production

IAASTD: Key findings We feed only 6 out of 7 billion people with the present food system….in addition, we count 1.5 billion obese and 300 million type 2 diabetes cases The industrial food system uses some 10 Kcal to produce one, energy problem The industrial and conventional food system (incl. the traditional systems are a major part of the CC problem Soil degradation, water shortages & biodiversity loss underlie food security, natural resource problem Jobs, Industrial agriculture emptied the rural areas and multidisciplinary research labs, social problems Unfair trade works against the small-scale famers and the poor, economic and social problems Business as usual is not an option The prevalence of diabetes has reached epidemic proportions. WHO predicts that developing countries will bear the brunt of this epidemic in the 21st century. Currently, more than 70% of people with diabetes live in low- and middle income countries. An estimated 285 million people, corresponding to 6.4% of the world's adult population, will live with diabetes in 2010. The number is expected to grow to 438 million by 2030, corresponding to 7.8% of the adult population. While the global prevalence of diabetes is 6.4%, the prevalence varies from 10.2% in the Western Pacific to 3.8% in the African region. However, the African region is expected to experience the highest increase. 70% of the current cases of diabetes occur in low- and middle income countries. With an estimated 50.8 million people living with diabetes, India has the world's largest diabetes population, followed by China with 43.2 million.

Why change course now: Conventional models of agriculture are environmentally unsustainable Grain Unctad 2011

Why change the course of agriculture now? Land and biodiversity loss

Why change the course of agriculture now? Waste of natural resources , GR bases is also socially unsustainable The transfer of externalities to the general society (at large and the future generations) has lead to cheap food and so wastage

The IAATD: then what? “a fundamental shift in AKST and the connected • agri-food system policies; • institutions; • capacity development; and • investments” 2. Paradigm change: Transition to sustainable / organic / agroecology / agri - culture 3. An agriculture that addresses the multifunctionality and resilience needs of the small-scale and family farmers (social & economic: equity issue, farmer status, land ownership, empowerment, women), quality job creation (Edu at all levels); 4. Need to use a systemic and holistic approach (basic ecological principles); treat cause not symptoms; is part of the solution to hunger, poverty, health, natural resources conservation, CC

Brown way ahead: mono-landscape, -crop….or

Ecological agriculture as the main solution: Multifunctionality paradigm for sustainable development viable livable equitable

Urgent need for transformation High productivity Conventional system: Best ngnt practices Soil conservation practices IPM Reduction of chemical inputs System in Transition to sustainability: substitution of external inputs with biological processes Peasant low input: state support to reach “substitutions etc… Indigenous traditional systems: state support to reach the substitutions…. Low productivity Un-sustainable Sustainable 12

Transition…..the never ending debate…. • Can organic/agroecological based agriculture feed the planet? (and who can afford it?) (wrong question, as one should ask: • Does the present industrial / conventional (green revolution) model which is being promoted? • How can we nourish 9.5 billion people; eradicate hunger and poverty; assure rural livelihood; eradicate inequities; assure good nutrition and health; and do all this in a socially, environmentally and economically sustainable manner (back to the top)

Transformation through proven Agroeclogical practices Agroecology is the study of the interactions between plants, animals, humans and the environment within agricultural systems. Consequently, agroecology is inherently multidisciplinary, including factors from agronomy, ecology, sociology and economics. In this case, the “-ecology” portion of "agroecology is defined broadly to include social, cultural, and economic contexts as well (Dalgaard et al.2003)

Transformation through changing consumption Barilla, 2011 Encouraging a wider genetic base in agriculture…trees, fruits, grains, vegetables, lost crops, animals for nutrition and health, cultural diversity, incomes, pest control, resilience to climate change

Transformation: through education Green way ahead: is knowledge intensive Improve and expand extension services (ICT) Introduce capacity building (ICT) Agriculture is very localized = local solutions www.organicfarmermagazine.org & www.infonet-biovision.org http://www.biovision.ch

Transformation through better science and policy interface To provide timely and effective responses to emerging global challenges, the link between science and policy implementation should be strengthened, in particular taking into account local knowledge

Science and policy interface: Taking a systemic, multistakeholder approach to policy development Barilla, 2011/ Millennium Institute

Possible? Affordable? i.e., UNEP GER Global investments across sectors (1% and 2% of GDP, Stern report); 0.1% and 0.16% of GDP invested in agriculture for: Pre harvest losses (training activities and effective bio-pesticide use) Ag management practices (cover transition costs from till to no till , organic, agroecological agriculture, training, access to small scale mechanization) R&D (research in soil science and agronomy, crop improvement (orphan crops), appropriate mechanization, and more) Food processing (better storage and processing in rural areas)

Agriculture in a Green Economy (UNEP GER Report – 2011) Investing 0.1% or 0.16% of total GDP ($83-$141 Billion) / year Year 2011 2011 2050 Scenario Unit Baseline Green BAU Ag production Bn US$/Yr 1,921 2,852 2,559 Crops Bn US$/Yr 629 996 913 Employment M People 1,075 1,703 1,656 Soil quality Dmnl 0.92 1.03 0.73 Ag water use KM3/Yr 3,389 3,207 4,878 Harvested land Bn ha 1.20 1.26 1.31 Deforestation M ha/Yr 16 7 15 Calories p/c/day for consumption Kcal/C/D 2,081 2.524 2.476

The way forward: Leadership Multistakeholder Committee of World Food Security (CFS) to provide strategic Leadership for the transformation of agriculture and food systems at all levels. CFS to support continuous assessments of agricultural knowledge, science, technology, infrastructure and institutions including research on enabling mechanisms, to encourage the transformation, as now indicated in the latest draft declaration

Conclusion 1. Need to acknowledged that transformation of our current agriculture and food system is needed, if we want to nourish our people and sustain the environment. …..we can only nourish our people, if we nurture our planet!

Conclusion 2.  Effective policies and programs need to be informed by sound knowledge and scientifically proven methods. That’s why the Committee on World Food Security, as the most participatory body currently known, shall be invited to facilitate participatory, regular, multi-stakeholder assessments on agriculture.

Conclusion 3. To support and guide the implementation of sustainable agriculture and of the Rio+20 commitment to change, mandate the Committee on World Food Security to guide the implementation of sustainable agriculture….. ….again with the objective to nourish our people, and nurture our planet.

You cannot solve the problem with the same kind of thinking that created the problem Albert Einstein IS NOW Thank you www.millennium-institute.org & http://www.biovision.ch