المنتدى العالمي المعني بالأمن الغذائي والتغذية

This is a great initiative that also carries serious risks. I want to briefly emphasize the need for a holistic, critical and thought-provoking report.

Agroecology has been defined as the 'ecology of food systems' (Francis et al. 2003) which means that to discuss the potential benefits of agroecology, it is necessary to consider the food system as a whole, and not only agronomic or technical aspects. The food system in a globalized economy has a specific shape to it: an hourglass. Between approximately one billion food producers and seven billion food consumers, a tiny handful of transnational corporations controls food as commodities-- from seeds, fertilizers and inputs to food processing, distribution and sales. To have relevance to my students, the report should consider the ecological impacts of the whole food system, including 'food miles', the Western diet, the consequences of the Green Revolution and the implications of the 'New Green Revolution', the concentrated control over the world's seeds and the inclusion of food in trade agreements.

Another key aspect of the report will be its position on the issue of knowledge in food systems. Agroecology is recognized widely as building from centuries of indigenous and traditional knowledge; yet small farmers, indigenous groups and peasant organizations are precisely the sectors being excluded and disenfranchised by policies that foment land markets, privatize seeds and focus on private research and development programs (or public research that yields private patents). The discussion of innovation should be clear about who is carrying out the innovation and who benefits from the innovation. On a deeper level, whose rights will this report support? These issues are fundamental to agroecology and need to be transparently addressed in the report. 

Finally, it is important to address the issue of false solutions. An acritical report that glosses over the significant political struggles currently taking place around the issue of food will be of little use. The moment calls for a report that places all would-be solutions under the magnifying glass, carefully scrutinizing the implication that both 'agroecology' and 'other innovations' have for food producers (farmers, fishers, peasants, herders, etc.), consumers and ecosystems. This means going beyond buzzwords, 'win-win' superficialities and 'silver bullets'. Instead, the report should recognize and clarify the principles that can be strengthened, and the rights that must be guaranteed, to create enabling conditions for local innovation. The point is not to cleverly sweep controversy under the rug, but rather to engage with the whole picture-- a vulnerable food system on a warming planet-- the resilience and sustainability of which requires immediate, transformative effort by all of us.