Nourish Our People, Nurture Our Planet - Summary of presentation
Summary of Hans Herren’s Presentation, “Nourish Our People, Nurture Our Planet”1
Key messages:
• Due to the overwhelming relevance of sustainable agriculture as well as food security and nutrition
for sustainable development and poverty reduction, these issues must be given high priority.
• To develop fair and inclusive post-2015 Goals, a multi-stakeholder approach which includes
Farmers Organisations and Civil Society must be pursued.
• To achieve sustainable development, a holistic, integrated, and inclusive approach that promotes
sustainable agriculture2 and food systems is necessary: Nourish the people, nurture the planet!
• Smallholder farmers must be given priority if we want to arrive at an effective set of post-2015
Goals. One of the targets for a sustainable agriculture and food and nutrition security goal needs to
address this.
• Women play a major role all along the food chain from the field to the plate. Their knowledge and
needs have to be taken into account on all levels of decision making regarding agriculture and food
systems.
• To address current and future global goals, a transformation to sustainable, diverse, resilient
and multifunctional agriculture and food systems is necessary.
• The implementation of targets and transformation need to be informed by global, regional, and
national multi-stakeholder assessments on sustainable agriculture and food systems.
• Progress on the post-2015 Goals needs to be measured and monitored by independent bodies
with the relevant knowledge, competence and capabilities.
We therefore propose the following global goal and targets, to be achieved by 2030:
Goal: Achieve food and nutrition security through sustainable agriculture and food systems.
Target 1: End malnutrition and hunger in each of their forms, including undernutrition, nutritional
deficiency and overnutrition, so that all people enjoy the right to adequate food at all times.
Target 2: Ensure that all smallholder farmers and other rural communities, in particular women and
disadvantaged groups, enjoy a decent livelihood and income, and protect their right to access to
productive resources and assets, everywhere.
Target 3: Achieve the transformation to sustainable, diverse and resilient agriculture and food systems
that conserve natural resources and ecosystems, and reverse land degradation.
Target 4: minimize post-harvest and other food losses and waste.
Target 5: Establish inclusive, transparent, and equitable legislative and other decision-making processes
on food, nutrition, and agriculture at global, regional, national, and local levels.
Short rationales for each target are outlined in the full document, annexed to this summary.
1 Summary of 1st of April 2013. This paper is part of a longer discussion paper that reflects the view of Alliance Sud, Berne Declaration,
Biovision Foundation, Millennium Institute, Helvetas Swiss Intercooperation, HEKS, and Swissaid (also available online at:
www.biovision.ch/sdg).
2 The key characteristics of sustainable, diverse, and resilient agriculture and food systems can be common to all future agriculture and
food systems, both large and small. They include: the sustainable management of land, water and other natural resources, regenerative
soil management, zero land degradation, responsible land tenure, increased resource use efficiency, minimized emissions and use of
non- renewable inputs, high biodiversity and farm animal welfare, strengthened urban-rural linkages, fair prices at farm gate level,
access to markets and locally produced food of high nutritional quality, sustainable diets and consumption patterns, reduced waste and
other unsustainable practices throughout the food chain, improved public health, empowerment of rural women, safeguarding the rights
of agriculture and food systems workers, system resilience, social safety nets and disaster preparedness.
Key messages:
• Due to the overwhelming relevance of sustainable agriculture as well as food security and nutrition
for sustainable development and poverty reduction, these issues must be given high priority.
• To develop fair and inclusive post-2015 Goals, a multi-stakeholder approach which includes
Farmers Organisations and Civil Society must be pursued.
• To achieve sustainable development, a holistic, integrated, and inclusive approach that promotes
sustainable agriculture2 and food systems is necessary: Nourish the people, nurture the planet!
• Smallholder farmers must be given priority if we want to arrive at an effective set of post-2015
Goals. One of the targets for a sustainable agriculture and food and nutrition security goal needs to
address this.
• Women play a major role all along the food chain from the field to the plate. Their knowledge and
needs have to be taken into account on all levels of decision making regarding agriculture and food
systems.
• To address current and future global goals, a transformation to sustainable, diverse, resilient
and multifunctional agriculture and food systems is necessary.
• The implementation of targets and transformation need to be informed by global, regional, and
national multi-stakeholder assessments on sustainable agriculture and food systems.
• Progress on the post-2015 Goals needs to be measured and monitored by independent bodies
with the relevant knowledge, competence and capabilities.
We therefore propose the following global goal and targets, to be achieved by 2030:
Goal: Achieve food and nutrition security through sustainable agriculture and food systems.
Target 1: End malnutrition and hunger in each of their forms, including undernutrition, nutritional
deficiency and overnutrition, so that all people enjoy the right to adequate food at all times.
Target 2: Ensure that all smallholder farmers and other rural communities, in particular women and
disadvantaged groups, enjoy a decent livelihood and income, and protect their right to access to
productive resources and assets, everywhere.
Target 3: Achieve the transformation to sustainable, diverse and resilient agriculture and food systems
that conserve natural resources and ecosystems, and reverse land degradation.
Target 4: minimize post-harvest and other food losses and waste.
Target 5: Establish inclusive, transparent, and equitable legislative and other decision-making processes
on food, nutrition, and agriculture at global, regional, national, and local levels.
Short rationales for each target are outlined in the full document, annexed to this summary.
1 Summary of 1st of April 2013. This paper is part of a longer discussion paper that reflects the view of Alliance Sud, Berne Declaration,
Biovision Foundation, Millennium Institute, Helvetas Swiss Intercooperation, HEKS, and Swissaid (also available online at:
www.biovision.ch/sdg).
2 The key characteristics of sustainable, diverse, and resilient agriculture and food systems can be common to all future agriculture and
food systems, both large and small. They include: the sustainable management of land, water and other natural resources, regenerative
soil management, zero land degradation, responsible land tenure, increased resource use efficiency, minimized emissions and use of
non- renewable inputs, high biodiversity and farm animal welfare, strengthened urban-rural linkages, fair prices at farm gate level,
access to markets and locally produced food of high nutritional quality, sustainable diets and consumption patterns, reduced waste and
other unsustainable practices throughout the food chain, improved public health, empowerment of rural women, safeguarding the rights
of agriculture and food systems workers, system resilience, social safety nets and disaster preparedness.