- There is general recognition of the importance of sound natural resource policy to ensure long-term sustainable food production.
- Most stakeholders recognize that farmers play an important role in producing food while at the same time managing a significant portion of natural resources and contributing to a range of public goods.
- Sound soil and water management is critical for ongoing agricultural production. Improvement in soil management is seen as a key factor for improving productivity. At the same time, greater efficiency in water use is primarily seen as the best way to manage trade-offs between environmental and food production objectives.
- Some stakeholders view environmental regulations as a major inhibitor to farmers’ and fishers’ abilities to produce food. There is, thus, need for continuous improvements in food production to minimize effects on the environment.
- The merits and shortfalls of different food production systems are a major point of interest in relation to farming and fishing industries.
- Many stakeholders perceive an opportunity to minimize unnecessary food waste and redirect surplus food to members of society facing food insecurity. Organizations that donate surplus food to those in need are seen as a positive example of how food waste could be reduced.
- Reducing food waste is seen as an easy way to save money, reduce pressures to produce more food globally, reduce the impact on the environment, and help others in need. Creating functional products from food waste, such as compost, is seen as having dual benefits of reducing food waste in landfill while also reducing reliance on synthetic fertilizers for further food production.
Santosh Kumar Mishra