Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)
Statement of the
Food and Agriculture Organization with the United Nations (FAO)
at the
First Intersessional Meeting of the
United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development
Session II: Green Economy in the Context of
Sustainable Development and Poverty Eradication
United Nations
New York
11 January 2011
FOOD AND
AGRICULTURE
ORGANIZATION
OF THE
UNITED NATIONS
ORGANISATION
DES NATIONS
UNIES POUR
L’ALIMENTATION
ET L’AGRICULTURE
ORGANIZACION
DE LAS NACIONES
UNIDAS PARA
LA AGRICULTURA
Y LA ALIMENTACION
2
Mr. Co-Chair,
Distinguished delegates,
With reference to the green economy, I would like to recall three points:
· Agriculture and forests occupy about 60% of the Earth’s surface, farming uses
70% of all water withdrawals, and agriculture and forestry combined are
responsible for 30% of all greenhouse gas emissions;
· Farming, livestock raising, forestry and fisheries provide livelihoods for
approximately 2.6 billion people;
· Agricultural growth has greater poverty-reducing effects than any non-agriculture
sector.
As these points indicate, agriculture and food systems can be considered the most costeffective
solution for the green economy, as outcomes are likely to be far higher than a
similar effort in any other sectors in improving the environment, providing livelihoods
and alleviating poverty.
Acknowledging that current agricultural management systems are among the major
contributors to deforestation, greenhouse gas emissions, water use and biodiversity loss,
the question is how to manage agriculture and food systems ecologically, while
continuing to provide – and even increase – economic benefits in terms of livelihoods and
food security? In other words, how can we produce more with less and, at the same time,
create healthy landscapes, promote ecosystem services and sequester more carbon?
More food, more jobs that provide improved livelihoods, and less environmental impact
mean more ecological and economic efficiency at all levels of the food chain: from the
resources used during production, through waste minimization at post-harvest, retail and
consumption levels, to trade policies.
Clearly, there are success stories whereby agriculture provides economic growth,
environmental stewardship and poverty alleviation. We heard yesterday about organic
agriculture in Uganda and many other sustainable agriculture examples that exist
worldwide. But, how to scale-up such models? What are the investments needed for
agriculture to leave a smaller resource footprint? How do we gauge financ ing gaps and
promote alternative financing mechanisms? How do we protect the most vulnerable in
this transition? What enabling conditions and policy instruments are needed to etablish
low-carbon food systems?
These and other questions are being explored by FAO. In fact, the Organization is
preparing for an expert meeting in September 2011 that will discuss how the green
economy translates in the food and agriculture sector, including potential opportunities
and constraints. In the preparatory process, we plan to work with selected countries on
assessing progress and gaps over the last 20 years and also to model food chain
development scenarios towards 2050.
3
The Rio+20 process is a unique opportunity to turn an argument on its head and reconcile
ecological, economic and social imperatives by investing in sustainable agriculture.
Greening the Economy with Agriculture incidentally gives us a new acronym: GEA,
meaning the Earth, the mother Earth who feeds us.
Ladies and gentlemen, colleagues, member countries,
A green economy is simply not possible without the food and agriculture sector. Any
sustainable development strategy (or road map), be it international, national or local,
needs sustainable food production and consumption patterns. I mention here that the
participation of agriculture in GDP is not significant, but GDP per se is a misleading
indicator of economies, as any economy also includes informal activities. Considering the
current percentage of agricultural land use and the number of people depending on this
activity for survival, we can confidently say that at least one-third of our natural and
human capital is today at stake. Also, exploring green economy potentials in the
agriculture and food sector inherently implies dwelling on social impact and poverty
alleviation. With population growth and increased incomes in developing countries, the
demand on natural resources for food production is expected to rise further in the next
decades, well beyond the so-called “safe operating space for humanity”, with more
disparities, more armed conflicts, more price crises…
The focus on the green economy emerged (or revived) during the financial crisis of 2008,
which itself followed food, fuel fuel and climate crisis. Unfortunately, these distressing
crises are not over. It is time to act to reverse perverse trends but this will only be
possible if there is willingness to act collectively. Delegates from environment ministries:
please call upon your national agriculture colleagues and forge partnerships for Greening
the Economy with Agriculture. Everybody will benefit – nature, people, the economy.
FAO will also do its part. We stand ready to mobilize the agriculture, forestry and
fisheries sectors in this direction, and to work with both private and public partners as a
contribution to the UNCSD process and beyond.
The GEA Report will look into costs and benefits for:
· low footprint and resilient food systems;
· decent rural livelihoods and green jobs; and
· trade, investments and good governa nce pathways.
All of these are critical elements that will contribute to our understanding and our ability
to offer development scenarios and recommendations for informed decision-making.
Thank you for your attention.
Food and Agriculture Organization with the United Nations (FAO)
at the
First Intersessional Meeting of the
United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development
Session II: Green Economy in the Context of
Sustainable Development and Poverty Eradication
United Nations
New York
11 January 2011
FOOD AND
AGRICULTURE
ORGANIZATION
OF THE
UNITED NATIONS
ORGANISATION
DES NATIONS
UNIES POUR
L’ALIMENTATION
ET L’AGRICULTURE
ORGANIZACION
DE LAS NACIONES
UNIDAS PARA
LA AGRICULTURA
Y LA ALIMENTACION
2
Mr. Co-Chair,
Distinguished delegates,
With reference to the green economy, I would like to recall three points:
· Agriculture and forests occupy about 60% of the Earth’s surface, farming uses
70% of all water withdrawals, and agriculture and forestry combined are
responsible for 30% of all greenhouse gas emissions;
· Farming, livestock raising, forestry and fisheries provide livelihoods for
approximately 2.6 billion people;
· Agricultural growth has greater poverty-reducing effects than any non-agriculture
sector.
As these points indicate, agriculture and food systems can be considered the most costeffective
solution for the green economy, as outcomes are likely to be far higher than a
similar effort in any other sectors in improving the environment, providing livelihoods
and alleviating poverty.
Acknowledging that current agricultural management systems are among the major
contributors to deforestation, greenhouse gas emissions, water use and biodiversity loss,
the question is how to manage agriculture and food systems ecologically, while
continuing to provide – and even increase – economic benefits in terms of livelihoods and
food security? In other words, how can we produce more with less and, at the same time,
create healthy landscapes, promote ecosystem services and sequester more carbon?
More food, more jobs that provide improved livelihoods, and less environmental impact
mean more ecological and economic efficiency at all levels of the food chain: from the
resources used during production, through waste minimization at post-harvest, retail and
consumption levels, to trade policies.
Clearly, there are success stories whereby agriculture provides economic growth,
environmental stewardship and poverty alleviation. We heard yesterday about organic
agriculture in Uganda and many other sustainable agriculture examples that exist
worldwide. But, how to scale-up such models? What are the investments needed for
agriculture to leave a smaller resource footprint? How do we gauge financ ing gaps and
promote alternative financing mechanisms? How do we protect the most vulnerable in
this transition? What enabling conditions and policy instruments are needed to etablish
low-carbon food systems?
These and other questions are being explored by FAO. In fact, the Organization is
preparing for an expert meeting in September 2011 that will discuss how the green
economy translates in the food and agriculture sector, including potential opportunities
and constraints. In the preparatory process, we plan to work with selected countries on
assessing progress and gaps over the last 20 years and also to model food chain
development scenarios towards 2050.
3
The Rio+20 process is a unique opportunity to turn an argument on its head and reconcile
ecological, economic and social imperatives by investing in sustainable agriculture.
Greening the Economy with Agriculture incidentally gives us a new acronym: GEA,
meaning the Earth, the mother Earth who feeds us.
Ladies and gentlemen, colleagues, member countries,
A green economy is simply not possible without the food and agriculture sector. Any
sustainable development strategy (or road map), be it international, national or local,
needs sustainable food production and consumption patterns. I mention here that the
participation of agriculture in GDP is not significant, but GDP per se is a misleading
indicator of economies, as any economy also includes informal activities. Considering the
current percentage of agricultural land use and the number of people depending on this
activity for survival, we can confidently say that at least one-third of our natural and
human capital is today at stake. Also, exploring green economy potentials in the
agriculture and food sector inherently implies dwelling on social impact and poverty
alleviation. With population growth and increased incomes in developing countries, the
demand on natural resources for food production is expected to rise further in the next
decades, well beyond the so-called “safe operating space for humanity”, with more
disparities, more armed conflicts, more price crises…
The focus on the green economy emerged (or revived) during the financial crisis of 2008,
which itself followed food, fuel fuel and climate crisis. Unfortunately, these distressing
crises are not over. It is time to act to reverse perverse trends but this will only be
possible if there is willingness to act collectively. Delegates from environment ministries:
please call upon your national agriculture colleagues and forge partnerships for Greening
the Economy with Agriculture. Everybody will benefit – nature, people, the economy.
FAO will also do its part. We stand ready to mobilize the agriculture, forestry and
fisheries sectors in this direction, and to work with both private and public partners as a
contribution to the UNCSD process and beyond.
The GEA Report will look into costs and benefits for:
· low footprint and resilient food systems;
· decent rural livelihoods and green jobs; and
· trade, investments and good governa nce pathways.
All of these are critical elements that will contribute to our understanding and our ability
to offer development scenarios and recommendations for informed decision-making.
Thank you for your attention.