New York City, New York
February 24, 2009
Source:
CropLife International
A call to action on agriculture and food policy was presented
at the United Nations' Commission on Sustainable Development
(UN-CSD 17).
“Farming First” was developed by three of the Major Groups
within the Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) - the
farmers, scientists, business and industry. It is a
call-for-action to enhance sustainable development and food
security through agriculture, in particular in developing
countries. Recognizing that farming policies have tended to
neglect the critical role which farmers play in making
sustainable development a reality, Farming First calls on
policymakers and practitioners to increase agricultural output
by developing locally sustainable value chains, knowledge
networks, and policies centered on helping farmers, in
particular subsistence farmers, become small-scale
entrepreneurs.
Actions are proposed in six key areas:
- safeguarding natural resources
- sharing knowledge
- building local access
- protecting harvests
- enabling access to markets
- and prioritizing research imperatives.
The ratio of arable land to population is expected to decline by
up to 55% by 2030. By 2025, 1.8 billion people will be living
with acute water scarcity. Climate change will put regional and
global food supplies at risk. The basic livelihoods of hundreds
of millions of people in developing countries will be threatened
by a more extreme and variable climate. Governments, businesses,
scientists, farmers’ organizations and other civil society
groups must focus on the source of our food security. All these
groups must work together to enable the many millions of farm
families, especially smallholders, to grow more crops
sustainably through effective markets, more collaborative
research and committed knowledge sharing.
“It’s time for action instead of discussion. It’s time to plant
fields and it’s time for national governments – with their
farmers – to implement real solutions that have visible,
sustainable impacts,” says Ajay Vashee, President of the
International Federation of Agricultural Producers.
Farmers, Scientists, Business and Industry hope that country
delegates will take into consideration the six founding
principles of the “Farming First” action plan to increase
agricultural output in an environmentally-sustainable,
economically-feasible, socially-responsible manner.
"A knowledge-centred approach to agricultural development is
needed," says Luc Maene, Director General of the International
Fertilizer Industry Association. "Farming First is based on
getting farmers the tools and information they need to steward
land, grow crops, bring in their harvest and then get it to
market."
The following organizations cooperated to draw up “Farming
First”: CropLife International, International Council for
Science (ICSU), International Federation of Agricultural
Producers (IFAP), International Fertilizer Industry Association
(IFA).
The United Nation's Commission on Sustainable Development will
conclude in May its two-year round of negotiations that has been
focusing on Africa, agriculture, drought and desertification,
land, and rural development. |
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