Global Forum on Food Security and Nutrition (FSN Forum)

Consultation
contributions:
45

Sustainable Farming Systems for Food and Nutrition Security

The 2015 Sustainable Development Goals and the UN Decade of Action on Nutrition call on all countries to end hunger and prevent malnutrition in all its forms by 2030. This is quite a challenge, and it is a challenge with sustainable agriculture and food systems at its very heart.  The current situation does not look good however. The latest State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World report estimates that in 2016 the number of chronically undernourished people actually increased to 815 million (up from 777 million in 2015). 

Sustainable Development Goal 2 also sets the world targets that agricultural productivity and the incomes of small-scale food producers should double by 2030.  At the same time food production systems should be sustainable, reduce their impact on ecosystems and be resilient to environmental change.  But here again we are facing major challenges.  The latest evidence from advanced global crop models suggests, for example, that global yields of wheat, rice, maize and soybean will decline substantially with the predicted increase in global temperatures in the coming years.

Research has only recently begun to address the links between agriculture, food security and nutrition, and the environment. In Asia, for instance, the Sustainable and Healthy Diets in India project led by London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine calculated for the first time greenhouse gas and water footprints of food production in India and estimated the dietary changes required to meet future declining groundwater availability.  These are among the first research efforts in South Asia to quantify the links between environmental sustainability and food and nutrition security at a time when, because of rapid urbanisation, transitions in diets and increasing populations, the food system is under increasing pressure.

Another example is the LANSA programme, which is working with local communities in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Pakistan and to identify farming system interventions that address community nutritional inadequacies, reduce environmental impacts and also increase resilience to environmental stressors. These are important first steps in the generation of novel evidence to help meet current and future agricultural system challenges.

A recent review found that there are a large number of studies on the impacts of agricultural interventions on nutrition in South Asia. But, more research is required to help reduce the impact of agriculture on the environment, and build the resilience of local farming systems to current and future environmental change – this will be critical to ensuring food security and good nutrition for all.

Against this background, the discussion aims to strengthen LANSA research understanding on sustainable farming systems for nutrition security. The discussion also provides opportunity to showcase experiences and on-going research from low and middle-income countries on the links between agriculture, nutrition and the environment. 

Questions for the 3-week discussion include:

  1. Are you documenting the impact of the farming system on the environment?
  2. Are you conducting any research on the impact of agriculture and environment on food and nutrition security?
  3. Have you had any experiences of linking research and policy regarding sustainable agricultural systems for nutrition?
  4. What interventions do you think are needed to increase the agriculture sector resilience to environmental stressors, especially among smallholder farmers?

Our focus is specifically on low and middle income countries where the impacts of environmental stress on food and nutrition security are projected to be the most severe. 

We hope that you find this topic and these questions stimulating, and invite you to share your experiences. 

We look forward to hearing from you.

Lead Facilitator:

Alan Dangour, Professor in Food and Nutrition for Global Health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and Nutrition-sensitive Agriculture Pillar lead for LANSA Consortium

Co-facilitators:

Aliza Pradhan, Agronomist and Coordinator of the M S Swaminathan Research Foundation Farming System for Nutrition study in India under LANSA

Md. Sirajul Islam, Programme Head of Agriculture and Food Security Programme, BRAC Bangladesh and Agriculture Expert for Agricultural Value Chain Study under LANSA

Topics

This activity is now closed. Please contact [email protected] for any further information.

* Click on the name to read all comments posted by the member and contact him/her directly
  • Read 45 contributions
  • Expand all

Dear Moderator

As to me sustainable farming system requires proper land use planning and cropping patter as mono cropping practice is the major cause for production decline due to decreased soil fertility, It also develops resistance to pests and diseases which is the main factor for production decline and food and nutrition insecurity

Inadequate understanding of food security in its full content also aggravates food and nutrition insecurity. Heavy focus on food availability while ignoring access issues and utilization where the importance of nutrition comes in.

Sustainable farming system also requires research, extension and farmers linkages to identify underlying causes of food and nutrition insecurity in order to design remedial measures. Considering the hidden hunger such as zinc defficiency, the need for biofortification, nutrition education and demonstration of vegetable meal preparation using school garden, farmers field days are essential

Regards

Takele

Sustainable farming system should have resource conserving technologies, address climate resilience and should be community supported. Climate change is perhaps the most serious environmental threat to the fight against hunger, malnutrition, disease and poverty, mainly through its impact on agricultural productivity.

Agriculture is a major provider of environmental services and it plays an important role in sequestering carbon, managing watersheds and preserving biodiversity. Agriculture is also a major consumer of natural resource, contributing to underground water depletion, agrochemical pollution, soil exhaustion and global climate change. Agricultural extension personnel have to take a lead role in this respect in promoting sustainable farming system.

Consumers are now more concerned about obtaining safe food.. Food safety involves a much broader range of public health issues related to food production. Food safety concerns begin from on farm production of food commodities. It is the key entry point for the introduction of management practices that allow minimising potential contamination with excessive residues of harmful chemicals in food and water. GAP is one such preventive food safety approach which ensures that food is produced concerning about health and environment. Nutrition and food security must be considered in developing food safety guidelines and standards.

The International Human Rights framework which includes instruments that address the right to food, water and health as well as human rights is to be considered. Food sovereignty is critical because our current food and farming system is thoroughly broken. Food sovereignty is essential to guarantee the human rights of communities to choose when and how their food is produced and what food they consume. This is more relevant in the present context of controversy related to type of food being consumed

Prof. R. M. Prasad

Former Professor, Kerala Agricultural University

General Secretary, Farm Care Foundation, Kerala

Q. What interventions do you think are needed to increase the agriculture sector resilience to environmental stressors, especially among smallholder farmers?

Low or middle income countries are highly suffering from various environmental hazards impacting to almost all the people of the country. But, especially the smallholder farmers known as small farmers who are living in a poor condition even in the form of tenants are vulnerable. They have to suffer from different environmental threats like untimely and torrential rain, drought, flood, landslides, avalanches, earthquake, and epidemics etc. They are lacking of food to meet their hunger every day. Consequently, the under 5 children and the lactating and pregnant mothers will highly be affected due to deficiencies of nutrients resulting to malnutrition. Further it will be more serious in the case of under two children who could be retarded physically as well as mentally. Thus the environmental hazards are suppressing to the countries towards low level of food and nutrition security.

Considering the scenario of agriculture sector resilience to environmental stress some remedies is recommended focusing to the small farmers as follows:

  1. Orientation about the improved farming techniques depending upon the food crop that they are cultivating. Use of compost, as one of the techniques, especially the vermin compost is highly recommended for organic farming that is more lucrative and nutritious with high demand in the market.
  2. Facilitation and orientation to promote production and consumption of indigenous foods depending upon the soil and climatic condition of the locality.
  3. Provided the inputs like seeds, medicines, and other machineries for farming.
  4. Prefer to intensive farming rather than extensive to get better productions from limited area of the land.
  5. Prefer to use traditional tools / weapons in sloping area to save the land from sweeping way and landslides in sloping area. 
  6. Increase awareness of crop diversification with potentialities.
  7. Apply the policy of early warning system of disasters and natural calamities to the farmers.
  8. Prefer to other types of farming like livestock and birds raising, aquaculture, cash crops like cardamom, ginger and tea plantation.
  9. Provision of rented in of barren land to the small land holders should they want to cultivate on it.
  10.  Introduce the livelihood programs for the farmers to reduce dependency from farming occupation.

Dear Friends,

Good Day

We were looking for the answer to question of "What interventions do you think are needed to increase the agriculture sector resilience to environmental stressors, especially among smallholder farmers?" our experience indicates following points as important.

1. More or less policies of present day agriculture department are restrictive for diversity, mainly they focus on limited crops and varieties. Agriculture officers follows conventional extension programs which are of givers mode, not respecting farmers knowledge.

2. As for as small and marginal farmers are going through dilemma of traditional versus market controlled, nutrition oriented vis-a-vis cash generating. VAAGDHARA believes some where farmers need dual approach of nutrition sensitive farming with market approach, taking benefit of community awareness about the fresh and chemical free food.

3. There is need for strengthening a network of farmers led institutional platforms which will have interactive farming, research, education, and marketing. Unfortunately present day agriculture promotion institutions are in two parallel streams one is scientific & government institutions another is administrative department of agriculture management, which do not have concurrence  at many front.

4.In this direction we have been using approach of creating local level farmers network, we are also moving towards traditional institution of "Gram Chopal" to take this agenda forward. In this direction we would like to collaborate with other agencies and groups who are active with this approach.

5.Improvement in farm diversity through tools like "What we produce - What we consume" and focusing on concept of reducing "Food Mileage" could be really helpful in this direction

Thanks 

Deepak

Mr. Aqleem Abbas

Plant Pathology & Agriculture( https://www.facebook.com/plant.path.agric )
Pakistan

Everyone is familiar with the changing climate of the world. Countries are taking initiatives to minimize the effect of climate change on food security. Being a plant pathologist, we may incorporate biological agents to manage plant diseases. Fungicides and pesticides have impact on farming system as well as on environment. Moreover the fungicides give the results very quick. No doubt they are polluting the environment as well as super races of pathogens evolve. Biological agents such as Trichoderma spp, Coniothyrum spp as well as other in various formulations must be provided by the respective countries to the farmers in cheap price. The farmers will slowly become habitual to spray these biological agents on their plants. In this way thousands of beneficial species which are stabilizing the ecosystem can be saved from the toxicity of the chemicals. In the underneath of plants, we must create more completions between pathogen and biological agents so that the pathogens will not find time to infect plants as a result the yield will be boost up and will feed the growing populations. I am currently working on biological agents and find that biological agents perform well as compared to toxic synthetic fungicides. I think the environment become safer with the biological agents and if the environment would be safe, certainly the food and nutrition will be more secured. I want to explore the microbes further to gain sustainable agricultural systems. 

Dear all,

Q2. Are you conducting any research on the impact of agriculture and environment on food and nutrition security?

Yes I’m working on linking food security and crop diversification across districts of Sindh. According to my findings though yield is decreasing here but availability is not the issue. Issues lie in the accessibility and adsorption of food and as food inflation and general inflation is rampant as well as no standardization or food protocol about the food quality or preparation is implemented. Moreover, absence of drinking water and sanitation facilities making the conditions worse which not only results in stunting or malnutrition even deaths and losses to the livestock and productivity.

Climate change is a biggest threat as Sindh is mostly arid and dependent on rain water. Higher temperature and low moisturize with delayed or no rain plays havoc for the people depending on crop production, livestock rearing or fishing.

One of the areas that is often neglected in designing agricultural policies and strategies relates to the environmental and natural resource sustainability considerations. However, to achieve this it is important ot understand what factors contribute the policy processes and how one can steer the process in the right direction. Our recent paper in Nigeria provides some insights. I attach the link here for the participants to access this. Comments are welcome.

http://ebrary.ifpri.org/cdm/ref/collection/p15738coll2/id/131345

Thanks Mr. Md. Kamrul Islam and Dr. Kuruppacharil for your inputs. There are few changes occurred during recent years on the homestead gardening. BRAC has introduced this concept of homestead gardening in a bit different way. We called it Nutri-garden. Nutri-garden is the yearlong comprehensive package of growing nutrient dense and naturally fortified fruits and vegetables by engaging rural women to enhance diet diversification and improve nutritional status in the household’s. Nutri-garden intervention offers a great potential for alleviating malnutrition and improving household food security and diversity. Nutri-gardens are established in homestead, gher/pond dyke areas and other fallow and unutilized land by which proper utilization of fallow land is being ensured and crop area is being increased. Nutri-gardens are an important source of income for rural households from sales of the garden products. Women are playing a vital role in providing better nutrition for their family by producing their own nutritious foods in Nutri-gardens.

The objectives of Nutri-garden interventions of BRAC are: 1. To improve nutritional status of households through consumption of diversified food. 2. Year round availability of at least five nutrient enriched fruits and vegetables in the households. 3. Enhance household income by engaging rural women and 4. Raising awareness for producing safe food.

Several nutrient enriched fruits and vegetables are being cultivated in Nutri-garden such as Red amaranth, Spinach, Pointed gourd, Okra, Tomato, Brinjal, Aroid, Sweet gourd, Bottle gourd, White gourd, Sponge gourd, Snake gourd, Cucumber, Long yard bean, Country bean, Carrot, Orange flashed sweet potato, Drumstick, Papaya, Guava, Banana etc.

An outcome study was conducted by BRAC about Nutri-garden from which it was found that- 5 to 14 crops was available in each Nutri-garden and about 8 crops was found in 30% Nutri-garden. Annual production is 2,130 kg/Nutri-garden/year and annual income is BDT 39,902/Nutri-garden/year (80 BDT = 1 US$).

A success story on Nutri-garden can be found following the link below: Nutri-gardening: Hosne Ara’s endeavor to success

Problem to be addressed :

Marshland area of Madaripur and Gopalgonj Districts are known as very low crop ( paddy ) yielding areas and frequent crop failure is the natural phenomenon in these areas as usually these areas are steadily being swamped by locked water body almost every time of the year.  Only 5 months in a year from December to May lands come out of water when the poor farmers cultivate to get one time yearly paddy especially known as BORO Paddy and for the conventional cultivation practice and lack of proper modern agricultural know-how, technique and knowledge, the per acre paddy yielding is much less than 1 ton which is one of the lowest level in Bangladesh which is the main cause of poverty and misery of people these areas. On the other hand, if proper agriculture technology and applicable appropriate cultivation methods are used in cultivation and if people are fully conversant to modern way of crop cultivation, the yearly paddy yielding can easily be multiplied to more than  2 tons to 2.5 tons in several folds, which not only alleviate their poverty but will ensure their sustainable growth in  socio-economic status.  The main root causes for this problem are ignorance of local people to modern agricultural technologies, their traditional and conventional attachments, beliefs and approaches for paddy cultivation, lack of facilities to effective technology transfer to these farmers & cultivators because of the isolation and poor communication to reach the target areas, absent of government & NGOs initiatives to solve this problem & poor facilities to make people conversant to modern agricultural technologies applicable to these areas. As a result, it is often found that when people face severe crop shortage or crop failures, ultimately they pledge their arable land to affluent ones and quickly become landless and marginal  farmers and transform into agriculture labor. In this way when work for agro-based labor become scarce in non-agro-period, they have to starve and ultimately migrate to urban slums for low skilled jobs and pass most inhuman and miserable lives. Thus a farmer family from this area become uprooted very quickly and go under poverty line and become enormous load to community and country as well. So, look into their problem is of urgent  need on humanitarian and socio-economic perspective.

 

 

See the attachments: