Lois Wright Morton, small holder farmer and board member of Solutions from the Land, a farmer-led NFP organization representing all scales of agriculture and food systems concurrently producing food and nutrition security, healthy ecosystems, rural livelihoods and other SDGs.
Thank you for the invitation to take part in the online consultation regarding the new Food System Integrated Program. On behalf of Solutions from the Land (SfL), I wish to present farmer perspectives on the proposed Change of Theory diagram, the draft Results Framework, and some overarching observations:
Overarching Observations:
First of all, SfL is very pleased to see the concept of “integrated” in the title of this new program. We fully support this important integrated effort for farmers, ranchers, fishers, and foresters to improve agricultural and food production per unit of land and water and ecosystem/habitat enhancing production and management practices while concurrently delivering biodiversity, quality ecosystem services; increased food and nutrition security; robust rural livelihoods and a host of other SDGs.
To guide the development of this new 21st Century program, a traditional Theory of Change planning model is being proposed. However, the enormous challenges local and global agriculture and food systems are now facing and the outcomes we seek require that we adopt a new approach, a change of theory. The keystone of this new theory is the placement of farmers, ranchers, fishers, and foresters at the center of all discussions and placing much greater emphasis on enabling policies, programs and market mechanisms that incentivize and reward them financially for delivering not just abundant high-quality nutritious food but concurrently the full range of ecosystem services that well managed farms can deliver. See SfL recs for HLPE Vo- Reducing inequalities for food security and nutrition and Candidate submission for V0 draft of the HLPE 3rd Note on Critical Emerging and Enduring Issues SFL 2022.05.17
A 21st Century integrated program acknowledges that incentives, policies, and investments with “transformation” goals must utilize multiple strategies to integrate natural, human and financial resources, knowledge, and activities to accomplish the 17 SDGs (which include nature-positive, resilient and pollution-free systems). The Sustainable Development Goals are interdependent, the reduction of poverty and ensuring food and nutrition security that accompany transformed food systems are dependent on abundant and high quality water and soil resources, and producers who can make a living from farming using a variety of science-based technologies, innovations and approaches that can be used to adapt to local conditions while allowing the producer to pivot and quickly adjust and change management under increasingly variable weather and accelerated climate change conditions. The SDGs cannot be achieved unless agricultural contributions are fully enabled. For agriculture to be successful, farmers must be successful in sustainably intensifying production of the full range of goods and services that come from well managed farming operations.
Thus, efforts to transform local and global food systems require active participation and leadership from farmers, fishers, ranchers, foresters—the keystone to abundant food systems and healthy agroecosystems. To this end we urge that this global document and recommended country-specific development and implementation actions at the country level pro-actively invite and engage their farmers, fishers, ranchers, foresters—those people (women, men, small holders, producers of all ethnicities and scales of agriculture) who are at the beginning of the food system-as they develop their own country specific policies, programs, projects, and investments.
Suggested edits/modifications to the Change of Theory Diagram and Results Framework for Food Systems Integrated Program are in the attached file.
Mr. Ernie Shea