he right to
adequate food is a universal human right. The world has the capacity to
produce enough food to feed everyone adequately. Yet despite progress
made over the past two decades, about
793 million people in the world still suffer from hunger on a daily
basis. To meet the growing food demand of the over nine billion people
who will exist by 2050 and the expected dietary changes, agriculture
will need to produce 60% more food globally in the same period. At the
same time, roughly one-third of the food produced – 1.3 billion tonnes
per year – is lost or wasted globally throughout the supply chain with
enormous financial and environmental costs. To add to the story of woes
is the fact that about 2.5 billion smallholder farmers, fishers,
tree-dependent communities, livestock owners and small entrepreneurs who
depend on the production, marketing and consumption of crops, fish,
forests, livestock and other natural resources are threatened by
disasters and crises. Over the past 12 years (2000-12), disasters have
caused an estimated USD 1.3 trillion in damages, causing loss of life of
1.1 million people and affecting another 2.7 billion.
A striking link exists between growth in agriculture
and the eradication of hunger and poverty. Agriculture broadly
understood as crop and livestock production, fisheries and forestry
provides income, livelihood security, food and other goods and services
for the majority of people now living in poverty. As a result, overall
GDP growth originating in agriculture is, on an average, at least twice
as effective in reducing poverty as growth generated in non-agriculture
sectors, and up to five times more effective than other sectors in
resource poor low-income countries.
The broad environment that encompasses food systems
and their production and consumption components has changed considerably
in recent years. The environment for food and agricultural production is
increasingly challenging particularly for smallholders due to natural
resource degradation, more frequent and severe weather events,
globalisation, urbanisation and market concentration. Higher and more
volatile food prices have slowed or even reversed progress in reducing
food insecurity in many countries, highlighting the fragility of the
global food system. Food prices are likely to remain relatively high and
price volatility is expected to become more common in the future.
The current trajectory of growth in agricultural
production is unsustainable because of its negative impacts on natural
resources and the environment. One-third of the farm land is degraded,
up to 75% of crop genetic diversity has been lost and 22% of animal
breeds are at risk. More than half of the fish stocks are fully
exploited and over the past decade, some 13 million hectares of forests
a year have been converted into other land uses.
Experience tells us that there is an urgent need for
a universal agenda, for country and context-specific strategies and for
people-centred approaches. Appropriate governance mechanisms need to be
established at regional and country levels. The accountability
mechanisms and monitoring capacities need to be strengthened in all
phases of sector-wide and cross-sectoral policies, programmes and
investments to ensure the greatest possible impact. Knowledge-exchange
mechanisms as well as institutional and individual capacity development
efforts need to be supported. Sustainable agricultural practices must
make full use of technology, research and development, though with much
greater integration of local knowledge than in the past. This will
require new and more robust partnerships between technical and
investment oriented organisations. Analysis should focus on both
production systems and the underlying natural and socio-economic
resources. In particular, policies and institutions are needed that
provide incentives for the adoption of sustainable practices, to impose
regulations and costs for actions that deplete or degrade natural
resources and to facilitate access to the knowledge and resources
required.
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