CGIAR call for action at Rio+20

Agriculture is the single largest employer in the world, providing livelihoods and jobs for 40 per cent of the global population. Moreover it is the single largest use of land of any sector. In developing countries, smallholder farms provide up to 80 per cent of the food supply. Faced with environmental degradation, climate change, scarcity of land and water, loss of agricultural biodiversity and ecosystem services, and a world population that is continuing to climb, it is critical for farm and natural resource management and policies to play a more central role in shaping the broader development and environmental agendas.

image009

CGIAR, the world’s largest publicly-funded global research partnership for agriculture and natural resource management , calls for a focus on the entire agricultural landscape as an integrated system, which recognizes that isolated solutions will not reduce risks or achieve required progress in the same way as integrated approaches will.

The seven point plan
  1. Adopt cross-sectoral approaches
  2. Address the unequal sharing of natural resources and their benefits
  3. Support knowledge sharing
  4. Restore and better manage degraded environments and ecosystems.
  5. Strengthen and support local food production groups, livestock herders and smallholder farmers
  6. Fully implement of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA).
  7. Make a clear commitment to sustainable agricultural systems that prioritize food and nutrition security.

CGIAR calls for a focus on harmonizing food security and environmental sustainability through agricultural research and development. This will require us to minimize the harmful effects of agriculture on the environment through more efficient management of water, soils and agricultural inputs.

CGIAR calls for the sustainable management of complex agricultural systems while maximizing agricultural productivity and improving the livelihoods and food/nutrition security of the poor.

Read the full document [PDF 100Kb]

image010