Biovision Foundation
FOCUS AREA 2: SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE, FOOD SECURITY AND NUTRITION
Statement delivered by Michael Rütimann, Biovision Foundation (m.ruetimann@biovision.ch)
On behalf of: Major Groups NGOs, Women, Indigenous Peoples, Children and Youth, Local Authorities, the Food and Agriculture Cluster, as well as the following stakeholders: Wada Na Todo Abhiyan, World Society for the Protection of Animals, Millennium Institute, Biovision Foundation, Shumei International, Temple of Understanding, Association of World Citizens, Institute for Planetary Synthesis, All Win Network and the Commons Cluster.
Thank you Co-Chair.
We will confine ourselves to present concrete suggestions to the Working Document of the OWG. The full statement and rationales will be uploaded on the OWG website.
• We welcome the title of focus area 2. We would however suggest to substitute the word “through” with “and develop” in order not to exclude other means to end hunger and ensure food and nutrition security for all.
• In bullet point a) we suggest to add after “…all year around”, the wording “[comma] consistent with the right to adequate, (healthy, GMO-free and toxic-free) food and the fundamental right of everyone to be free from hunger”.
• In bullet point b) we would like to point out that stunting needs to be measured particularly for under two years of age, and “reducing anemia” shall be added.
• In bullet point c) we suggest to amend the text as follows: “by 2030 ensure sustainable, productive, efficient, climate-resilient and diverse agriculture and food production systems that maintain and regenerate natural resources and ecosystems across the urban rural continuum through promoting indigenous and sustainable farming, including crops, livestock, forestry, fisheries and aquaculture”.
• We suggest to delete bullet point g), because the main elements are taken up in bullet point c) and also because climate-smart agriculture is not compatible with truly sustainable and multifunctional agriculture. Climate-smart agriculture places a strong emphasis on carbon sequestration and does not sufficiently address the challenges of emission reduction and prevention, as well as adaptation, and does not consider other vital aspects of sustainable agriculture, including the conservation and regeneration of natural resources and ecosystems.
• In bullet point d) we suggest to reformulate the text as follows: “all small food producers, especially women and indigenous peoples, have secure access to and control over adequate inputs, knowledge, productive resources, seeds, land tenure, veterinary services, financial services and markets to increase their
productivity sustainably and increase their income and resilience”. The term small food producers includes smallholders and family farmers, pastoralists, fisherfolk and foresters, which are all critical agents of change for a shift to sustainable agriculture and food systems. Furthermore, productivity, incomes and resilience are all critical factors to foster a positive interplay between increased access and improved food and nutrition security for the large share of the global population engaged in small scale food production. Local and regional food production is a crucial part of resilience and increased sustainability, as is increased support for small scale production. In particular, the rights of women and men over traditional seeds are recognized and supported and genetic resources are reclaimed from corporations. We agree with the UNCTAD 2013 report, Wake Up Before it’s Too Late, that “We need to see a move from a linear to a holistic approach in agricultural management, which recognizes that a farmer is not only a producer of agricultural goods, but also a manager of an agro-ecological system that provides quite a number of public goods and services (e.g. water, soil, landscape, energy, biodiversity, and recreation)” which leads to understanding that we need "as much regionalized/localized food production as possible; as much traded food as necessary". Monoculture agricultural industry, excessive development of cash crops, and externalities born by the public or a degraded environment must be shifted towards localized food production.
• In bullet point h) we recommend the following change; “achieve by 2030 protection of agricultural biodiversity, including through use of sustainable farming systems and traditional and local knowledge related to agro-biodiversity and diversity of food”
Finally, we would like to present the following comments for consideration:
• We note that no reference is made to addressing excessive food price volatility and suggest to address the issue under focus area 2. International guidance is needed to contain excessive food price volatility and enhance food security. This can be done through the consequent implementation of the Agricultural Market Information System (AMIS) as an early warning system, commodity-specific position limits and increased transparency in over-the-counter trading, as well as the establishment of national food reserves.
• We suggest to include a target under Focus Area 15 (means of implementation) or Focus Area 16 (governance): “by 2030 establish inclusive, transparent and equitable decision-making processes on food, nutrition and sustainable agriculture at the international and national level that fully include local, regional and subnational voices” Inclusive, transparent and equitable decision-making processes are key to accelerating progress towards food and nutrition security for all. Such multi-stakeholder processes must therefore be established at the international, regional, national and local level.
• We welcome bullet point e) and suggest an additional target “limit the usage of human-edible food crops for animal feed at x% in order to significantly enhance access to
and availability of food for human consumption”. This would reflect the recent conclusion by the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food that Over one third of the world’s cereals are already being used as animal feed, and if current trends continue, this will rise to 50 per cent by 2050. Continuing to feed cereals to growing numbers of livestock will aggravate poverty and environmental degradation.
• We propose a specific target addressing land ownership and landgrabbing: “The concentration and misappropriation of land is halted and productive lands are redistributed through socially just and environmentally sound land reform programs that guarantee in particular women’s rights to land tenure and allow for collective ownership and governance over natural resources.”
• We suggest to include the following target: “By 2030, ensure access to basic resources to small scale producers in rural areas of land, water, infrastructure in order to increase rural development by at least as much as 30%”
• Add to Means of Implementation: encourage use of owner operated businesses (cooperatives). These tend to take good care of the natural resources they need because all have a stake in good stewardship.
I thank you Co-Chair.
Statement delivered by Michael Rütimann, Biovision Foundation (m.ruetimann@biovision.ch)
On behalf of: Major Groups NGOs, Women, Indigenous Peoples, Children and Youth, Local Authorities, the Food and Agriculture Cluster, as well as the following stakeholders: Wada Na Todo Abhiyan, World Society for the Protection of Animals, Millennium Institute, Biovision Foundation, Shumei International, Temple of Understanding, Association of World Citizens, Institute for Planetary Synthesis, All Win Network and the Commons Cluster.
Thank you Co-Chair.
We will confine ourselves to present concrete suggestions to the Working Document of the OWG. The full statement and rationales will be uploaded on the OWG website.
• We welcome the title of focus area 2. We would however suggest to substitute the word “through” with “and develop” in order not to exclude other means to end hunger and ensure food and nutrition security for all.
• In bullet point a) we suggest to add after “…all year around”, the wording “[comma] consistent with the right to adequate, (healthy, GMO-free and toxic-free) food and the fundamental right of everyone to be free from hunger”.
• In bullet point b) we would like to point out that stunting needs to be measured particularly for under two years of age, and “reducing anemia” shall be added.
• In bullet point c) we suggest to amend the text as follows: “by 2030 ensure sustainable, productive, efficient, climate-resilient and diverse agriculture and food production systems that maintain and regenerate natural resources and ecosystems across the urban rural continuum through promoting indigenous and sustainable farming, including crops, livestock, forestry, fisheries and aquaculture”.
• We suggest to delete bullet point g), because the main elements are taken up in bullet point c) and also because climate-smart agriculture is not compatible with truly sustainable and multifunctional agriculture. Climate-smart agriculture places a strong emphasis on carbon sequestration and does not sufficiently address the challenges of emission reduction and prevention, as well as adaptation, and does not consider other vital aspects of sustainable agriculture, including the conservation and regeneration of natural resources and ecosystems.
• In bullet point d) we suggest to reformulate the text as follows: “all small food producers, especially women and indigenous peoples, have secure access to and control over adequate inputs, knowledge, productive resources, seeds, land tenure, veterinary services, financial services and markets to increase their
productivity sustainably and increase their income and resilience”. The term small food producers includes smallholders and family farmers, pastoralists, fisherfolk and foresters, which are all critical agents of change for a shift to sustainable agriculture and food systems. Furthermore, productivity, incomes and resilience are all critical factors to foster a positive interplay between increased access and improved food and nutrition security for the large share of the global population engaged in small scale food production. Local and regional food production is a crucial part of resilience and increased sustainability, as is increased support for small scale production. In particular, the rights of women and men over traditional seeds are recognized and supported and genetic resources are reclaimed from corporations. We agree with the UNCTAD 2013 report, Wake Up Before it’s Too Late, that “We need to see a move from a linear to a holistic approach in agricultural management, which recognizes that a farmer is not only a producer of agricultural goods, but also a manager of an agro-ecological system that provides quite a number of public goods and services (e.g. water, soil, landscape, energy, biodiversity, and recreation)” which leads to understanding that we need "as much regionalized/localized food production as possible; as much traded food as necessary". Monoculture agricultural industry, excessive development of cash crops, and externalities born by the public or a degraded environment must be shifted towards localized food production.
• In bullet point h) we recommend the following change; “achieve by 2030 protection of agricultural biodiversity, including through use of sustainable farming systems and traditional and local knowledge related to agro-biodiversity and diversity of food”
Finally, we would like to present the following comments for consideration:
• We note that no reference is made to addressing excessive food price volatility and suggest to address the issue under focus area 2. International guidance is needed to contain excessive food price volatility and enhance food security. This can be done through the consequent implementation of the Agricultural Market Information System (AMIS) as an early warning system, commodity-specific position limits and increased transparency in over-the-counter trading, as well as the establishment of national food reserves.
• We suggest to include a target under Focus Area 15 (means of implementation) or Focus Area 16 (governance): “by 2030 establish inclusive, transparent and equitable decision-making processes on food, nutrition and sustainable agriculture at the international and national level that fully include local, regional and subnational voices” Inclusive, transparent and equitable decision-making processes are key to accelerating progress towards food and nutrition security for all. Such multi-stakeholder processes must therefore be established at the international, regional, national and local level.
• We welcome bullet point e) and suggest an additional target “limit the usage of human-edible food crops for animal feed at x% in order to significantly enhance access to
and availability of food for human consumption”. This would reflect the recent conclusion by the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food that Over one third of the world’s cereals are already being used as animal feed, and if current trends continue, this will rise to 50 per cent by 2050. Continuing to feed cereals to growing numbers of livestock will aggravate poverty and environmental degradation.
• We propose a specific target addressing land ownership and landgrabbing: “The concentration and misappropriation of land is halted and productive lands are redistributed through socially just and environmentally sound land reform programs that guarantee in particular women’s rights to land tenure and allow for collective ownership and governance over natural resources.”
• We suggest to include the following target: “By 2030, ensure access to basic resources to small scale producers in rural areas of land, water, infrastructure in order to increase rural development by at least as much as 30%”
• Add to Means of Implementation: encourage use of owner operated businesses (cooperatives). These tend to take good care of the natural resources they need because all have a stake in good stewardship.
I thank you Co-Chair.
Stakeholders