Mister Chairman,
The Farmer's Major Group appreciates the opportunity to have this type of
dialogue on partnerships. We would like to offer some specific points
under each thematic cluster which we believe, along with our Farming First
colleagues in other major groups, will further the goals of this thematic
cluster and can be achieved through partnership.
In each case, we believe there are examples of partnerships working in
these areas, whether UN or by others.
In the area of Sustainable production and consumption
? Promote access to improved tools to optiimize resources use (e.g.
drip irrigation) and access to recycling schemes (e.g. container
recycling)
? Build local storage, including cold storage, and transport facilities to
help reduce post-harvest crop losses
? Improve supply chain efficiency and provide remote access to market
information, to help farmers grow crops that are in demand, thus
ensuring profitability and minimising the amount of crops that go to
waste.
? Educate the public on the impact of food waste and improve access
to composting facilities
In the area of Waste Management
? Provide incentives for adoption of best practices to encourage
recycling and better land and water management.
? Improve delivery systems for key resources, such as water, to limit
waste
? Increase the level of education on agricultural waste through training
programmes for farmers and local communities, including practices to
minimize waste, as well as treat and dispose of waste properly With
appropriate systems of recycling
? Build storage facilities, including cold storage, and improve
transportation networks to minimise losses in storage, transformation
and transportation.
? Develop uses and markets for parts of plants that may be
underutilised or discarded ? for example using stems or leaves to
produce bio-energy.
In the area of Chemical management
? Improve and promote access to best practice and sound chemical
management, such as through Integrated Pest Management (IPM),
Fertilizer Best Management Practices (FBMP), and container
management best practices.
? Improve access to appropriately packaged inputs (e.g. small or one
use packaging)
? Promote capacity building with farmers to meet trade standards
? Improve supply chain management of chemicals through training of
distributors and local suppliers
In the area of Transportation
? Invest in and build infrastructure ? particularly roads and ports ? to
make supplies available to farmers and for farmers to access markets
and to use a corridors approach
? Build transportation facilities in developing regions to reduce the
amount of food lost during production and transformation phases of
the food chain.
We encourage you to visit the web site farmingfirst.org and the ifap.org for
more information and some excellent examples of these principles in
action. We are very proud of the partnerships we have created with a wide
array of stakeholders, including national and regional governments, NGOs,
the private sector, the science community, and others. Thus we find the
Director?s proposition to look at partnerships as a means to further
implementation of CSD policies has great merit.
Thank you Mr. Chairman.
