Major Group: Business & Industry
Agriculture Statement
Business and Industry Major Group
To the Commission on Sustainable Development ? IPM session
February 24, 2009
Madam Chairperson, Your Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen
With modern agriculture, farmers have doubled the production of world food
calories since 1960, tripled the output of foods such as cooking oils and
meats and increased per-capita food supplies in the developing world by
25%. And we?ve maintained a stable area of agricultural land since 1950,
despite a global population that has more than doubled.
Still, there is a great deal more to be done and agriculture must rise to the
top of the policy agenda. Ensuring food security while protecting natural
resources calls for increases in agricultural productivity through sustainable
intensification. Agriculture presents many solutions by providing
opportunities to steward the land, protect biodiversity, and provide jobs and
sustenance for people.
Some 20-40% of the world?s potential crop production is still lost annually
due to the effect of weeds, pests and diseases; however crop losses would be
doubled if existing pesticides uses were abandoned. The depletion of soils
from essential nutrients and erosion are also preventing farmers from
increasing their yields. Organic agriculture presents good opportunities for
farmers to access niche export markets. However, organic agriculture cannot
feed 9 billion people in a sustainable way, without incurring intolerable
environmental costs due to extensification. Different agricultural systems can
coexist, but meeting challenges of the future requires investments in a new
Green Revolution.
Most subsistence farmers are essentially farming without inputs like good
quality seeds, fertilizers, and crop protection. If given the opportunity to
have access to technology and training, smallholder farmers can grow more
food on their available land and free their children to go to school and
expand their horizons. We need to increase access to these tools and to the
many programs which work to spread the use of best practices, such as
Integrated Pest Management.
Future rises in food prices will be exacerbated without the techniques and
technologies we have now to increase production being applied more
sustainably in all regions. Plus, we need to continue developing new
technologies to further food production in an environmentally responsible,
socially sensitive manner.
Thank you.
Business and Industry Major Group
To the Commission on Sustainable Development ? IPM session
February 24, 2009
Madam Chairperson, Your Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen
With modern agriculture, farmers have doubled the production of world food
calories since 1960, tripled the output of foods such as cooking oils and
meats and increased per-capita food supplies in the developing world by
25%. And we?ve maintained a stable area of agricultural land since 1950,
despite a global population that has more than doubled.
Still, there is a great deal more to be done and agriculture must rise to the
top of the policy agenda. Ensuring food security while protecting natural
resources calls for increases in agricultural productivity through sustainable
intensification. Agriculture presents many solutions by providing
opportunities to steward the land, protect biodiversity, and provide jobs and
sustenance for people.
Some 20-40% of the world?s potential crop production is still lost annually
due to the effect of weeds, pests and diseases; however crop losses would be
doubled if existing pesticides uses were abandoned. The depletion of soils
from essential nutrients and erosion are also preventing farmers from
increasing their yields. Organic agriculture presents good opportunities for
farmers to access niche export markets. However, organic agriculture cannot
feed 9 billion people in a sustainable way, without incurring intolerable
environmental costs due to extensification. Different agricultural systems can
coexist, but meeting challenges of the future requires investments in a new
Green Revolution.
Most subsistence farmers are essentially farming without inputs like good
quality seeds, fertilizers, and crop protection. If given the opportunity to
have access to technology and training, smallholder farmers can grow more
food on their available land and free their children to go to school and
expand their horizons. We need to increase access to these tools and to the
many programs which work to spread the use of best practices, such as
Integrated Pest Management.
Future rises in food prices will be exacerbated without the techniques and
technologies we have now to increase production being applied more
sustainably in all regions. Plus, we need to continue developing new
technologies to further food production in an environmentally responsible,
socially sensitive manner.
Thank you.