Attached are comments on behalf of the Global Harvest Initiative. Our comments address question number 4: Are production systems and their role in shaping diets and nutrition outcomes adequately address?
We feel that some additional work can be done in this area. In it's current format, the report reflects primarily two types of agriculture - "industrial" agriculture and agroecology. In our comments, we express our concerns about the characterization of large-scale production agriculture in the report, especially as it relates to the sustainability of food systems. We offer some data-driven insights, based on data from FAO and USDA, on the relationship between agriculture and sustainability, especially in light of climate change. We encourage the authors to adopt a more nuanced approach to its discussion of agricultural production so that it more accurately reflects the complexities and challenges of producing sufficient nutritious affordable food for a growing world.
We also offer case studies for consideration that highlight public-private-producer partnerships to increase the productivity, sustainability and nutrition of food systems, while protecting the natural resource base and helping farmers adapt to climate change.
Ann Steensland
Deputy Director, Global Harvest Initiative.
Ann Steensland