Commission

By Cecilia Schubert

As world food demand increases, so too does demand for farmland. Agricultural expansion threatens valuable forests and biodiversity, contributing to climate change and destroying precious ecosystems. Seeing as a country’s GDP growth from agriculture generates at least twice as much poverty reduction than any other sector, and 40 percent of the world’s population is engaged in farming, agriculture must be viewed as key for economic growth, food security, poverty reduction and environmental sustainability. Agriculture has huge potential in contributing to the solution, instead of only be seen as part of the problem. Is intensification the silver-bullet solution?

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by Sir John Beddington

I have just been briefed on the outcomes from the 4th Agriculture and Rural Development Day (ARDD 2012) held today in Rio de Janeiro. As Chair of the independent Commission on Sustainable Agriculture and Climate Change, I am pleased that our seven policy recommendations were taken up through the set of learning events held at this important venue and that so many good examples, tools and approaches for a sustainable food system were shared by this diverse set of researchers, practitioners and stakeholders.

When the Commission released its report, Achieving Food Security in the Face of Climate Change, it was our intention to foster cross-sectoral innovation that would lead to meaningful global change. The work at ARDD 2012 exemplifies this innovation and the coordination needed to transform the global food system. Read more »

by Cecilia Schubert

“Small-holder farmers in developing countries are expecting urgent, decisive action coming out of the ongoing climate conference in Bonn”, said Manyewu Mutamba (SACAU) yesterday to a full packed audience at the Ministry of Transport in Germany. Mr Mutamba spoke as an official panelist at the United Nations intersession side event “The status of knowledge on how agriculture can contribute to adaptation and mitigation”, co-convened by the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) and the Southern African Confederation of Agricultural Unions (SACAU) at the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA).

With the inclusion of agriculture as a topic for discussion on the climate agenda, CCAFS took this window of opportunity to map out the importance of including agriculture in the future negotiations, not only for ensuring global food security but also because of its mitigation potential. Mr. Mutamba, together with moderator James Kinyangi, East Africa Regional Program Leader (CCAFS), and panelists Sonja Vermeulen, Head of Research (CCAFS), Henry Neufeldt from World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF) and Mohammed Asaduzzaman, Vice-Chair of the Commission on Sustainable Agriculture and Climate Change therefore showcased interlinked perspectives on how agriculture can contribute to adaptation and mitigation. The panel also discussed the prospects for a work program as a likely outcome from the SBSTA high level meetings. 

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In an editorial published on 6 April, the New York Times endorses the recommendations from the Commission on Sustainable Agriculture and Climate Change, noting that the report "illustrates the complexity of the problem and makes clear that action must be taken soon to address it." The editorial highlights some of the complex but urgent challenges for food and farming:

These are complex goals that require a new vision of how we farm and how we eat, a vision of how to take better care of this planet’s biological resources and live equitably within our planetary means.

Read the full story on the NYTimes.com: Sustainably Feeding a Changing World

Read more about the Commission and download its report