Forum global sur la sécurité alimentaire et la nutrition (Forum FSN)

Dear Members of the HLPE,

First of all, thank you very much for allowing this broad consultation on your draft report Agroecological Approaches & Other Innovations for FSN. Secondly at Sida we appreciate being able to provide some initial thoughts on the content of the report. Please find these summarised below:

Sida welcomes the work with the report on Agroecological Approaches and other Innovations for Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems that enhance Food Security and Nutrition. It has the potential to be an important stepping stone for future work. Agroecology is more an approach and not a single system for farming per se. At the moment there is a comparison between agroecology and other ways of farming such as Sustainable intensification, Organic agriculture and Agroforestry to name a few. Sida would like the report to more clearly raise that Agroecology is an approach encompassing a number of principles (including social supportive) but not prescribing how agriculture is to be performed. This makes it hard to compare with different production systems that more clearly prescribe how farming should be undertaken and what should be used.

As agroecology is more an approach taking in a broad range of aspects of farming practices, there could be a possibility to more clearly highlight the findings written under section 4.2.1 (p. 83). As Sida has a clear mandate to work with people living in poverty, the report is very good in highlighting that there are other ways of approaching farming that is more centred around not only maximising yields and profits, but also supporting the small and medium sized farms and farmers to more sustainably produce food for consumption as well as for the market. Sida therefore welcomes an approach that centres around the farmer, recognising both farming men and women, more than the market – although we are aware there is a need for both.

Sida would like the following to be more prominent in the report:

• Access to rural financial services: A key issue for nations and governments to move towards agriculture food systems that enhance food security and nutrition is the opportunity for farmers to access rural finance and financial services. Sida would like to see this better reflected in the document.
• Social equity: In Box 4 – A consolidated set of agroecological principles, Sida would like to propose a possible change of the headline Social equity/responsibility. This describes supportive principles to the three headlines above, is more connected to the act of farming, and relate to the social dimensions of sustainable agriculture and farming practices. Perhaps ‘Social development and responsibility’ would be a better headline.
• Gender: The report would benefit from recognising to a larger extent the role of gender in agriculture, agroecology, FS and FSN throughout. Women and men have different roles within all these areas and contribute differently depending on geographical contexts, cultures, economic systems and types of farming systems. For instance, women often have less access to markets and land tenure, but may at the same time have greater responsibilities than men for food production and food security within the households. Sida would welcome such a recognition and discussion in the heart of the agroecological approach (perhaps as a principle and mainstreamed throughout the rest of the report). It is noticed that the report uses the term gender equity rather than gender equality, the latter being the preferred term used by Sida as it more truly helps eliminate all gender discrimination.

Thank you again for the opportunity to provide comments on this promising report. We very much look forward to receiving later versions of the text.

Best wishes,

Jan Wärnbeck and Esse Nilsson, Sida, Stockholm

First, I want to congratulate the authors of this document for the great work done. You can clearly see the time and effort put into it. Thank you.

I send you some considerations of the document:

A.- Why these different approaches are call “agroecological approaches”?. The title of this document should be “Agroecology and other different world agriculture approaches …..”. Beside that I consider that the name of this new world paradigm in agriculture should be agroecology as an umbrella of other concepts. Because agroecology as it is writing in the report is a scientific discipline, a social movement and a practice that include food sovereignty. Analysis can be carried out moving forward from productive units’ plots to sustainable agroecosystems towards the construction of a sustainable agro-food model where agroecology is the discipline that studies this construction over time (Dussi and Flores, 2018)

On the other hand, I would like to emphasize that give different names to what is agroecology, I think, creates confusion and the objective of taking care of our land and feed everyone with a principle of equity is atomized.

B.- It will be important to deepen core topics like:

- Human rights to the world germplasm. The seeds have been and continue to be a collective creation of peoples and attempts of appropriation and privatization through breeders' rights, patents or standards of quality are a threat to the food sovereignty of peoples. The material genetic content is pre-existing, and not the result of a human invention. Is by this, because of the history of the human work that it contains, which cannot be patented.

- Loss of productive land and diversity due to real estate pressure, oil and large monoculture corporations.

See: Dussi, M.C. y L.B. Flores. (2018). Visión multidimensional de la agroecología como estrategia ante el cambio climático. INTERdisciplina 6 (14): 129-153. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.22201/ceiich.24485705e.2018.14.63384

C.- Among the innovative approaches towards sustainable food systems for FSN it can be mention Biodynamic agriculture. It will be interesting that this report contemplates this system of production.

D.- The policy of the central countries is, through the indebtedness of the poor or developing countries, to appropriate the natural resources and impose the guidelines of their use. This appropriation of biocapacity results in the loss of diversity and resources of the peripheral countries. This is related to the concept of ecological footprint developed in this report. (Dussi and Flores, 2018)

Many of the underdeveloped or developing countries depend on the external debt contracted from the IMF. Then, when the recommendations are made in this document, it is substantial that the IMF do not collect the debt exploiting the natural resources and diversity of the indebted countries or undermine the food sovereignty of the citizens.

E.- It is extremely important to consolidate what is stressed in line 37. Working at education level is the main thing if we want to see changes. This point should be developed in a deeper way and in different educational levels, for example It is important to study agroecology in the universities to have professionals trained in the area.

F.- Importance to have more fresh food and less processed to have better health: healthy diet would end up in heathier human beings that at the end will think better and besides that, from the capitalism point of view, healthier people will save a lot of money to the world Health System.

There are examples of improvements in the nutrition of people at local level in countries that have adopted community urban garden development programs working with different local actors with a substantial change in families’ diet. Local consumption of food also reduces food waste.

It is also necessary to develop networks of producers and consumers based on fair trade and the nutritional assessment of food produced with agroecological principles. This type of development must be strengthened and, in some cases, financed to give it solidity and permanence.

Dialogue of farmer to farmer could be promoted by local organizations, NGO; state initiatives, etc.

G.- One important thing of agroecology is that sometimes the examples cannot be extrapolated because each region has different cultures, ways of food systems and traditions that involves different ways to work. This is remarkably when we talk about technology, so we should ask what technology, when, how, why and in each region the answer will, for sure, differ. That is way the peasant, producers, farmers, orchardist opinion is central. Were the farmers consulted around the world?

H.- The use of some terminology is not minor. I think you should not talk about "ecosystem services". This terminology is purely anthropocentric and productivist, for that reason, “Ecosystem functions" should be used. This has a particular importance specially in this report in where the concept of foot print is developed (Dussi & Flores, 2018).

I. Participatory guarantee systems (PGS) is another point of view different from organic certification 1.1.3. PGS should be explained outside the 2.3.8 Sustainable food value chains. Because the principles of PGS are trust and solidarity that are in accordance with agroecology.

J.- Agroecology networking and participatory research are concrete actions that can be done. This includes universities, farmers, ONG´s, etc. Also, there is a need of research founding towards systemic and holistic approach that is time and money consuming.

K.-The majority of world´s nutrition is provided by small and medium sized farms. Therefore, multiplying farms of these sizes at territorial level, would be the way in which agroecology increases in scale. This should be worked with the municipalities (town halls), producers, consumers, universities, NGO, etc. at the beginning, then grow to regional levels and so on.

Thank you very much for taking the time to read these considerations. Fraternal greetings. Maria Claudia Dussi.

Prof. Maria Claudia Dussi is a full professor of Agroecology and Temperate fruit physiology and culture at the Department of Agricultural Sciences, Comahue National University, Rio Negro - Patagonia – Argentina. She led the Study group in Sustainability of Agroecosystems. She trains graduate students in Indicators of Sustainability, energy flux and efficiency and carbon footprint in agroecosystems. Board member of the Latin America Scientific Society of Agroecology (SOCLA). Member of the ISHS since 1991 and actual co-chair of the Commission Agroecology and Organic Horticulture. Convener of the workshop “Agroecology and Education: Socio-ecological resilience to climate change”, XXX International Horticultural Congress 2018 (ISHS). Email: [email protected]  www.academia.edu

Dear all,

We have commented on the brief chapter on GMOs, which seems to be in a preliminary state, requiring further work. For example, it does not mention the new genetic engineering techniques such as genome editing and CRISPR gene drives at all. Yet these are being used in agricultural research and actively promoted for use in the field. Furthermore it is widely claimed that they are not actually GMOs.

We think a vital  and undeveloped aspect of this chapter should be to identify the systemic differences between agro-ecology and GM in order to show that GM approaches are incompatible with agro-ecology.

Here is one paragraph from our submission on this subject:

'Agro-ecology includes human and social values, culture and food traditions, while GM is part of industrial monoculture agriculture, promoting the privatisation of the food system and the imposition of one very specific method of farming and underlying scientific/agricultural paradigm. The introduction of patents and farmer contracts creates an enforced dependency that is in conflict with the participatory processes fundamental to agro-ecology and acts as a barrier to the maintenance of different social/cultural/food traditions. Agro-ecology also promotes the development, use and exchange of farmer varieties, plus farmer experiment and related knowledge. Such practices are often explicitly forbidden under, eg: GM contracts, but we would argue they are a crucial part of adapting to climate change, protecting biodiversity and ecosystems, and delivering nutritious food for the future.'

We trust that somewhere in the rest of the document there is detail on agro-ecology as a systems approach and what that actually means, how it differs from industrial agriculture and why it is so important. Above all we need to be able to explain agro-ecology clearly to those who do not understand it.

sincerely,

Helena Paul

Dear Partners.

I am writing on Agro Ecology as a practitioner and an ardent student of Ecosystem Adaptation for Food Security in Africa (EBAFOSA)

Ecosystem is the way to go and it is devoid of climatic hazards and effects usually available in inorganic farming practices.

The practice of Agro ecology takes care of the Eco system and ensures production of quality foods and reduces health issues usually available in the Genetically modified foods.

Ebafosa is an African treaty and it is based on taking care of the Eco system while producing healthy and quality foods.

Lizzy Igbine Mrs. +234 8034106448.

National President,

Nigerian Women Agro Allied Farmers Association,

Vice President, Nigerian National Bereau,

EBAFOSA (Ecosystem Based Adaptation for Food Security in Africa.

Dear all,

Thank you for your report.

I was delighted to find out that FAO looking at innovations like a real way to improve the current food and agriculture markets.

Just wondering if you are considering new disruptive blockchain technology as one of the potential methods for increasing of sustainability, traceability, visibility and accountability of food supply chains, improving food waste management, getting the direct access to the global food market for small food producers/farmers all over the world.

Sincerely,

Gregory Arzumanian

Founder&CEO

FOODCOIN GROUP AG (FOODCOIN ECOSYSTEM)

Luzern - Switzerland

Dear Director,

I have viewed this document and am alarmed!

Some of it reads as if produced by the CEO of Monsanto (now Bayer).

Although some doubts are shown about the consumption of GMOs there is no mention of the victims of cancer produced by glysophate

and now being used all over Africa and the world!

Yours

Graham Knight

BioDesign

P.S. Please view the 'Monsanto Papers'!

Dear HLPE members,

Congratulations for the very good report on "Agroecological approaches and other innovations for sustainable agriculture and food systems that enhance food security and nutrition". I enclose you some suggestions.

Please do not hesitate to contact me if you need further inputs.

Kind regards,

Maite

​​Dear Sir/Madam,

I am submitting herewith (as email attachment: in MS Word) my inputs/contribution for the HLPE consultation on the V0 draft of the Report: Agroecological approaches and other innovations for sustainable agriculture and food systems that enhance food security and nutrition. I hope you will find my contribution useful. 

Sincerely,

Dr. Santosh Kumar Mishra (Ph. D.)

Basically, I have the feeling that livestock, while having a potential strong contribution to agrobiodiversity is largely underrepresented in the draft. In term of messages, what I understand from a brief look to the document is that more emphasize should be given to poultry for smallholders, which misses the importance of grazing and pastoral systems across the world.

I will not go to too much details at this point, but among other things:

• The report should absolutely deal with agroecological practices in pastoral systems, given their importance in Agricultural area, and considering that the majority of grazing areas across the world is not suitable for crop production, and the importance of Ecosystem Services related to livestock mobility (landscape management...).
• In mixed systems, it is also important to underline more the role of grazing in crop rotation circle and for provision of manure.
• Further elements should consider the role of livestock in biocircular economy, considering for instance its interest in recycling of crop residues and agro-industrial by-products.
• Maybe some further elements should be given on the potential of community breeding programmes to take advantage of local breeds adaptive capacities while improving their performance.

Dear Sir,

Pleasae find attachment of my comments/observations/suggestions on the "Agroecological approch -----" in article format attached.

With Regards

Dr. S. Jeevananda Reddy