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Showing posts with label agriculture. Show all posts
Showing posts with label agriculture. Show all posts

Ecological Intensification and Ecosystem Services

Posted by Ricci Symons Wednesday, December 14, 2016 0 comments

Forests play an important role in the production of food, fuel, fibre and the provisions of other goods and services critical for human well-being. The quality and quantity of biodiversity, that underpins production systems, also benefits from forests.

IFAD’s Oliver Page, speaking at The Rio Pavilion at CBD COP13, said that every year large areas of forests are lost. The majority of crop and livestock production systems are, unfortunately, still among the most significant drivers of global deforestation.

Page was facilitating a session in the Forest and Agriculture Day on Ecological Intensification and Ecosystem Services. The event was co-organised by UNEP, The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB) and the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD).

TEEB’s Salman Hussain opened the session with a keynote address on ‘Recognizing the value of agro-forestry systems to global production‘.

Hussain said that TEEB AgriFood commissions feeder studies on forestry, investigating the co-benefits of carbon mitigation as it is not just about sequestration.

TEEB are trying to avoid just giving a value to agroforests as policy makers prefer to have an analysis of the status quo vs different inputs. In this way, they can highlight the value added using various valuation methods.

Oliver Page rounded off the presentation by saying how this study provides the hard evidence which allows us to take this beyond the walls of the already converted and influence policy.

FAO’s Chikelu Mba talked to ‘Mainstreaming biodiversity and ecosystem services in agricultural systems’.

He spoke of a new FAO publication linking mainstreaming ecosystems services and biodiversity. But why the focus on ecosystems and biodiversity?

Mba said that sustainable agricultural production systems can reduce carbon footprints. However, agricultural and food systems have significant social and biological constraints. Agriculture at the farm level can be regenerating, but solutions need to be targeted as ‘one size fits all’ does not work.
Bernardo Strassburg, Executive Director, IISD, gave an illuminating presentation on ’Agricultural intensification as a key to achieving climate commitments in Brazil while reducing pressure on biodiversity in the Cerrado’.

Achieving climate change commitments in Brazil will require a mix of policy, science and practice. The biggest challenge of the 21st century is how to feed the world, produce enough food and at the same time protect land.

He gave an in-depth review of the IISD hypothesis that Brazil already has enough suitable land to intensify farming with no more deforestation needed and actually with some restoration of existing agricultural land.

In this hypothesis, meat production would increase with more efficient land use, meaning higher carrying capacities. Carrying capacity is the number of livestock units a certain area of land can support - relative to a 100 per cent efficient pasture. When pastureland is well managed and efficient, its carrying capacity increases. Ideally there would be an increase to just 49 per cent carrying capacity in 30 years. It is currently producing between 32-34 per cent of what it could.

“By 2040 we could go from 32 per cent to 49 per cent carrying capacity which would still only equal the production of Mexico. If we could get to 70 per cent by 2040 it would liberate 36 million hectares of land.”

There have been extremely good results with this hypothesis and it is ready to be up-scaled. Failure to do so could see catastrophic loss of biodiversity in the Cerrado, equalling if not exceeding that of recent global extinctions.

He said that they have done studies as to why this intensification coupled with land restoration/liberation hasn’t been taken up sooner - mainly the high cost of intensification and the limited access to finance. One surprising obstacle was the lack of access to qualified labour. Strassburg believed this was one of the most significant barricades and needed to be rectified with trainings.

Overall it was a fascinating and engaging session, prompting many questions and encouraging audience participation.


Oliver Page rounded off the session saying that with all the information and techniques currently available we have a duty to upscale sustainable action and push forward at all levels. 

Innovative ways of doing agricultural development sustainably

Posted by Ricci Symons Thursday, December 8, 2016 0 comments

So how is the development community responding to the crisis facing smallholder farmers in the developing world relating to climate change while also dealing with the biodiversity crisis?

Among other projects run by The Global Environment Facility (GEF), it has funded the Integrated Approach Pilot programme which commits US$110 million to helping farmers in Africa foster sustainability and resilience for food security, while also promoting programme level biodiversity objectives to conserve ecosystems that are habitats of globally significant biodiversity. This initiative and others involve a number of UN agencies including FAO, UNDP, UNIDO, UNEP plus the World Bank and CI.

IFAD, the leading agency on the Food Security Integrated Programme, targets agro-ecological systems where the need to enhance food security is linked directly to opportunities for generating global environmental benefits. The programme aims to promote the sustainable management and resilience of ecosystems and their different services (land, water, biodiversity, forests) as a means to address food insecurity.

At the same time, it will safeguard the long-term productive potential of critical food systems in response to changing human needs. The Food Security Integrated Programme will be firmly anchored by local, national and regional policy frameworks that will enable more sustainable and more resilient production systems and approaches to be scaled up across the targeted geographies.

IFAD’s Director of Climate and Environment, Margarita Astralaga, moderated the event, giving some opening remarks and introducing the panel.

Matthias Halwart, Senior Programme Officer at the UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) gave a presentation on some good examples of interventions that he believed should be scaled up.

“How do we see sustainable intensification?" said Halwart. "Achieving food security is at the heart of FAOs effort, striving for a world free of hunger.”

He also talked about the huge number of species that live in the waters of rice paddies and how these ecosystems are important.

"Save and grow works well together, zero pesticide use, leads to huge returns.”

He concluded by saying how up-scaling of all ideas, through programmes like IAP, are both possible and necessary.

The GEF's Mohamed Bakarr, Senior Environmental Specialist asked why The GEF considersscaling up is important.

“The forces of change that countries are experiencing are far greater now than ever before," said Bakarr. "There is a clear need to help countries harness what nature offers and still allow them to produce the food their countries need to feed growing populations.”

He talked of the biological heritage in Africa, the unique biodiversity that we cannot allow to be sacrificed. He spoke of experience gleaned from the Asian green revolution - that intensification not done sustainably can lead to water problems 40 years down the line.

Margarita Astralaga spoke to IFAD's role in the new IAP.

“IFAD is leading the IAP on food security," said Astralaga. "Concentrating on how, through management of resources, sub-Saharan Africa will be food secure. Climate change is also a huge threat in these places, which is why we are aligning food security work with climate change. It is a huge task, which is why for the first time, seven large development agencies are working together. We expect to bring 10 million hectares under sustainable management, with an increase of 15 per cent in genetic diversity while at the same time sequestering 10 million tons of greenhouse gasses.”

”57 countries have been involved in UNEP-GEF supported projects on mainstreaming agro-biodiversity in the agriculture sector. We want to tailor this knowledge into the IAP, mainstreaming biodiversity practices along the way,” said UNEP's Marieta Sakalian.

“We need a new integrated approach to achieve resilience and sustainability in food production - we need to incorporate the value of ecosystems into value chains,” said
UNDP's Midori Paxton.

The panel were asked a range of questions, one of which was; how they are building on indigenous knowledge?

It was noted that most agroecological practices are derived, and there is a loss of indigenous knowledge worldwide.

"We need to ensure that traditional knowledge is preserved, and the GEF Food Security Integrated programme includes a focus on preserving genetic diversity and traditional knowledge,” said Bakarr.

“Indigenous knowledge has to be fully taken into account - it is all about working with the people," said Halwart. "We are trying to achieve this with our Farmer Field Schools where we don’t go to impose our knowledge but we go to learn with them.”

Another audience question was about the panels opinions on biotechnology, a divisive issue at CBD.

“Participatory breeding is what farmers want - and it is what they have practiced for hundreds of years; it should not be confused with a foreign technology being imposed on them," said Bakarr. "GMOs are driven by the private sector, not by smallholder farmers."

"Farmers are doing amazing transformations on their farms through participatory breeding. We need to reconcile smallholder knowledge and practices with conventional approaches for increasing food production. We can’t sacrifice biodiversity in striving for more food.”

“There are a large range, and many can be useful," Halwart added. "Plants with resistances and animal vaccines - these are good. Obviously there are many applications."

"But by simply mixing rice paddies with fisheries we have seen yields increase by three tonnes per hectare. That’s amazing. Biotech doesn’t achieve these levels, so we have better options I feel."

IFAD's Astralaga closed the session by saying, “access to finance is obviously a key element for smallholders. However, there is also an issue with the way they are approached with help. We aim to empower. We find it is better bringing farmers to teach farmers. This is the best way, as they can relate to each other better, and also they have knowledge we could never have without being in their shoes.”



Biomovies – IFADs prize for family farming

Posted by Ricci Symons Tuesday, December 6, 2016 0 comments


IFAD's Director for Environment and Climate Margarita Astralaga spoke at the biomovies award screening at the UN's Biodiversity Conference in Cancun (CBD COP13), where the finalists in the IFAD-sponsored Family Farmers category were announced.

For six years TVE has been connecting with YouTube users around the world through. Its a global competition that engages with young (and sometimes not so young) filmakers worldwide on key environment and development challenges and then it showcases the best film entries to a global online audience.

Since the competition was first launched, biomovies films have received more than 3.6 million views on You Tube with films covering a range of issues including climate change, sustainable energy, biodiversity, food waste and marine pollution.

There were entries from 17 countries for the Family Farmers category, with four films being commissioned: South Africa, Kenya, Kosovo and China. Three of these are short documentaries giving a first-hand account of life as a small family farmer in the developing world.

The quality of entrants was impressive considering that they were tacking what can be seen as one of the less glamourous areas of environmental communications– i.e. sustainable farming.

The guidelines for films in the family farming category had to address these or similar questions for smallholder farmers in developing countries:

  • Protecting biodiversity and feeding your family 
  • Climate change and family farmers 
  • Water scarcity and family farmers 
  • The fight for fuel and family farmers 
  • The role of women in family farming 

“This is the first-time IFAD has taken such a proactive role in CBD's COP," said Astralaga. "And with that in mind we wanted to make sure you noticed that we were here in Cancun – so we partnered TVE sponsoring The IFAD Prize for Family Farmers."

IFAD’s investments, including the Adaptation for Smallholder Agriculture Programme (ASAP), help farmers in a variety of ways, from installing weather forecast systems, to introducing new drought resistant crop varieties, as well as setting up farmer field schools where knowledge and new climate smart agriculture techniques can be demonstrated and disseminated.

The Biodiversity Advantage: Global benefits from smallholder actions shows how IFAD-supported projects are working with smallholder farmers to protect biodiversity contributing to the well-being of communities as well as to the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals by helping to eradicate poverty, improve nutrition and promote sustainable agricultural practices.

“Necessity is the mother of invention and creativity. And we have seen some incredible entries in this section of the awards,” added Astralaga

Linking Zero Hunger and Biodiversity

Posted by Ricci Symons 0 comments

On the first day of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CDB) IFAD held a side event to discuss the linkages between biodiversity conservation, smallholder farmers and achieving the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 2- Zero Hunger.



The moderator, Terry Sunderland – Team Leader and Principal Scientist, Sustainable Landscapes and Food Systems, at the Centre for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) opened the event.

He discussed the role of smallholder farmers in creating resilient agriculture systems and how the world needs to recognise the value smallholder farmers bring to the world's economy.

He asked the panel how smallholder farmers can incorporate biodiversity conservation into the challenges they already face? 

Alejandro Argumedo, Director of Programmes at Asociacion ANDES spoke of his personal experiences in the mountainous regions of Peru and the need to move towards a more integrated landscape management approach.

“We should be creating innovations for food systems, we don’t need to be inventing new systems as there is already lots of knowledge," said Argumendo. "We need to harness traditional knowledge.”

Chikelu Mba, Team Leader, Seeds and Plant Genetic Resources, Plant Production and Protection Division of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) told the packed auditorium that he came from Nigeria where they maintain close ties to ancestral homes and villages.

"Despite the best efforts of small family farmers, they are barely scraping by," said Mba. "They want to send their children to school, they want cell phones, and they don’t see farming as a way of achieving that.”

“We also know we will need to produce more food with a growing population. The additional food can only be produced with a knowledge intensive ‘green-green’ revolution.”

IFAD's Director of Environment and Climate, Margarita Astralaga, explained that for smallholders their assets are part of their ecosystems. They depend on plants for medicine, seeds and hunting.
“What helps them and us is to see the full potential of these ecosystems,” said Astralaga, “Different crops and indigenous crops are important - we have lost nearly all genetic variations of corn and wheat,  50 per cent of the world is eating the same species."

"We must diversify - when small farmers do that, they can protect themselves against climate shocks. When farmers grow nuts, cocoa, coffee, cassava as well as corn, when a drought strikes and the corn yield is low or non-existent they have other crops to fall back on."

Terry Sunderland went on to ask the panel about how we can create more equitable systems, and get governments to realise the full value of smallholder agriculture?

“We have seen demonization of smallholders,” said Sunderland.

Tómas Eusebio, Forest Dialogue Facilitator, Alianza Mesoamericana de Pueblos Y Bosques (AMPB), clarified that smallholders and indigenous peoples are agents of conservation and don’t destroy biodiversity necessarily.

"I believe the problem lies with global policies," said Eusebio. "Matching ancestral knowledge to proposed policies is oftentimes difficult  - so we would like to see ancestral knowledge put into policies at CBD.”

Sunderland then asked the panel how agricultural institutions at the country level are integrating environmental concerns into their rural development programmes?

 “At IFAD we are mainstreaming this across the portfolio of investments," said IFAD's Astralaga. " If we didn’t take into account climate change and natural resource management, we would lose our money in the long term.

"As an organisation, we lend money. But we want our borrower countries to be able to pay it back. This can only happen if the crops do well. We have many examples of how it makes economic sense to invest in sustainable agriculture, you see a much higher return. It’s all about the long-term investment.”

All panellists then gave examples of the problem of youth migration to urban areas – taking with them traditional knowledge that has been in families for generations.

“By 2030 only 20 per cent  of people will live in rural areas. What will we do?” said Argumedo, Director of Programmes at Asociacion ANDES.

FAO's Mba agreed saying that if current urbanisation trends continue  in the developing world three per cent of the population would provide all the food and there is not the technology nor the knowledge for this to be a reality in most developing countries.

“We need to have able bodied people who find agriculture attractive. Not simply seeing it as working like slaves. We need a change in behaviour and outlook,” concluded Mba.

IFAD's Astralaga added that youth in developing countries want internet, phones, entertainment and easy access to the city.


"At the moment, they spend six hours or so on a bus to get into a city. If they can make a life that is seen as decent, they would stay in rural areas, but carrying on like their great grandparents is not going to happen.”

CIFOR's Sunderland summed up by saying that this was an extremely interactive event.

“There is clearly no one size fits all answer here," said Sunderland.  “All of us intuitively know there is no conflict between agriculture and biodiversity, why then are they constantly separate, whether in ministries or in declarations?"

CBD COP13 – A warm welcome and agriculture firmly on the table

Posted by Ricci Symons Monday, December 5, 2016 0 comments

More than 190 government decision makers have gathered in Cancun, Mexico for the Conference on Biological Diversity (CBD). With just four years remaining to achieve the Aichi targets, the worry is high that the world has not done enough to stop and reverse the massive loss in biodiversity.

Achievements of the Aichi targets will be critical for achieving the three-other historic global agendas agreed last year, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the Sendai Framework on Disaster Risk Reduction and the Paris Agreement on Climate Change.

Rafael Pacchiano Alamán, Minister of Environment and Natural Resources of Mexico, opened the conference highlighting how this was the first time that government representatives from all sectors were involved in CBD.

“Agriculture, forestry, fisheries and tourism - all these sectors are represented here today. The presence of these people in such an important meeting and the reason we invited them is because we are all involved in biodiversity. It is important for all human beings and is at the foundation of all of our livelihoods,” said Alaman.

Chun Kyoo Park, Director-General of the Nature Conservation Bureau, Ministry of Environment of the Republic of Korea noted that the global community has made noticeable achievements in conserving biodiversity, and it remains high on the agenda, named in 15 out of 17 SDGs.

Miguel Ruíz Cabañas, Vice Minister of Multilateral Affairs and Human Rights, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Mexico, talked of the incredible advances in technology the human race has made, but warned that the further advanced we become the more hard truths we must face.

“With major advances, such as the Hubble Telescope, we conclude we are working on the only planet we can inhabit. This is the only planet that can support life. We must look after it. Biodiversity is life. Currently around 17,000 plants and animals are in danger of extinction, and we know we will not survive if we carry on like this. We are the only species conscious of our ability to destroy, and we must ensure we reverse the damage we have done,” said Cabanas.

Helen Clark of the United Nations Development Programme said: “We are in Cancun to reflect on the progress made and the outlook for achieving the Aichi targets by 2020. In the past 30 years, the world has witnessed huge development, but biodiversity has paid a heavy price.”

Naoko Ishii, Chief Executive Officer, The Global Environment Facility closed the opening ceremony.

“There has been a huge effort in the last 25 years from countries in CBD to expand protected areas both on land and in oceans," said Ishii. "We would be in much worse shape today in CBD’s absence. However, we must recognise our efforts have not been sufficient.”

 “There is an argument that we have entered the 6th great extinction. We now have no option but to transform food production and agricultural production systems.”


Despite the negativity and doubts surrounding our ability to reach the Aichi targets, there was a sense of optimism in the air. For the first time, all sectors are coming together for a common purpose. People are united in their goal to protect biodiversity, recognising that tourism, agriculture, fisheries and forestry all have a major role to play in the effort.

Mainstreaming Biodiversity in Fisheries at CBD

Posted by Ricci Symons 0 comments

By Brian Thomson

 Fisheries and aquaculture are important contributors to food security and livelihoods at household, local, national and global levels. Today's roundtable on fisheries at the CBD Biodiversity Conference (COP13) in Cancun highlighted that fish already provide essential nutrition for 3 billion people and 50 per cent of protein and essential minerals for 400 million people, mainly in poor countries.

Maria Helena Semedo, Deputy Director General of FAO, addressing the ministerial roundtable, said that biodiversity conservation is strongly linked to food security and poverty reduction.


"Aquatic systems are enormously biodiverse and a key challenge is increasing production while preserving our natural resources and dealing with climate change impacts," said Semedo. "We need an integrated approach to restore productive capacity and ecosystems services of our blue world. Mainstreaming biodiversity means a more participatory approach where biodiversity conservation is seen as an incentive. Sustainable management of fisheries should be our common goal and aspiration." 



Fisheries are under high pressure due to human activities including overexploitation, pollution and habitat change. Climate change is compounding these pressures, posing very serious challenges and limiting livelihood opportunities.

For millennia, small-scale fisheries and fish farmers have drawn on their indigenous knowledge and historical observations to manage seasonal and climate variability but today the speed and intensity of environmental change is accelerating, outpacing the ability of human and aquatic systems to adapt.

"Oceans and other water bodies are becoming warmer and may affect nutrient recycling and productivity of fisheries," said Margarita Astralaga, Director of IFAD's Environment and Climate Division. "Localized extinctions may occur if fish cannot migrate to cooler waters, for example, in lake fisheries. Fish migration paths could change, affecting small-scale fishers without suitable vessels to pursue migratory species. Increased spread of disease, reduced oxygen and increased risk of toxic algae blooms and fish kills will impact on aquaculture production."


Sea level rise combined with extreme weather events, like stronger storms, severely threatens coastal communities and ecosystems. Higher water tables and drainage problems may affect brackish-water aquaculture and destruction of fishing and aquaculture assets. There may also be fish escapes, increasing the risk of disease and parasitic infestation of world stock as well as impacting biodiversity.

Some lakes, rivers and water bodies are at risk of drying up. Changes in rainfall patterns and evaporation rates lead to changes in run-off, water levels, water availability and quality, and sedimentation patterns in inland and coastal water bodies, affecting the production of both fresh-water fisheries and aquaculture systems.

"In many cases, it is the poorest communities in the poorest countries that are most vulnerable to these changes," added Astralaga.

Fisheries more than any other modern food production system, depend on the health and natural productivity of the ecosystems on which they are based. Aquaculture, practised on a small-scale in rural areas in developing countries, is also dependent on ecosystem services for feed, seed and adequate supplies of clean water.

"The need to increase resilience to climate change is required for smallholder agriculture as well as for small-scale fisheries and aquaculture," said Astralaga, "IFAD continues to focus on country-led development, community-based natural resources management, gender equality and women's empowerment, access to financial services and markets, environmental sustainability and institutional capacity in the design of its fisheries and aquaculture interventions."

IFAD is integrating climate adaptation and mitigation in its fisheries and aquaculture operations through two multiple-benefit approaches namely; the ecosystem approach and co-management.

Fisheries and aquaculture are of particular concern to IFAD due to their importance to food and nutrition security; their close relationship with the environment and natural resources; their contribution to poverty reduction and employment, often in rural areas of developing countries where alternative economic opportunities are limited, and for gender equity as women dominate the post-harvest aspects of fisheries; and small-scale fishers (including processors) and fish farmers will be among the first to be significantly impacted by climate change.

Case studies – IFAD in action

IFAD supported projects include the Haor Infrastructure and Livelihoods Improvement Programme (HILIP) started in 2013 to support vulnerable communities in the Haor Basin in north eastern Bangladesh, an area faced with extreme climate events including heavy monsoon rains, cyclones, floods, storms and strong winds.

The basin is effectively flooded for six months annually, which seriously interrupt economic activities and their capacity to produce food. The aim of the project is to improve road infrastructure (i.e. bridges, culverts, canals), build local capacity and expand access to natural resources, technology and markets. Other interventions for climate resilience include an early warning system against adverse climate events, a community-based resource management model in priority water bodies ensuring communities have fishing rights, excavation of silted water bodies and establishment of fish sanctuaries and planting swamp trees. The project will also secure employment for poor rural women under infrastructure improvement contracts and it will support women's income-generating activities. Additional financial support has been provided to enhance climate adaptation and resilience through a complementary project, Climate Adaptation and Livelihood Improvement Programme (CALIP).

The Fisheries Resources Management Programme (FRMP) in Eritrea was designed in 2016 and seriously takes environment and climate change vulnerability analysis and risk mitigation measures into account. There is one component addressing coastal ecosystem management through an integrated approach, which includes mangrove planting and management and inter-sectorial  development planning. It will establish a fisheries monitoring, surveillance and management system to ensure effective measures such as gear restrictions, closed areas and seasons and adaptation to eventual changes in the migratory movement patterns of the pelagic fish species. Solar technologies will be promoted for fish preservation and processing. Another component will support inland aquaculture through water reservoirs to increase productive use of the scares water resources in the country (only reservoirs with low risk of water depletion will be used). Fish species with high resistance to local climate related stress will be selected.

Finding and applying management approaches that avoid unsustainable fishing practices and that enable stocks to recover are essential elements in a strategy to conserve and sustainably use biodiversity. A number of key strategic actions for accomplishing this, are being explored during COP13.

The overarching principles of sustainable fisheries have been agreed to, and are stipulated in, a number of international instruments at COP13. These represent a comprehensive global framework for fisheries policy and management and support mainstreaming of biodiversity in fisheries and aquaculture. However, there is a need for the strengthening of fisheries management agencies, particularly with regard to governance and assessment so that biodiversity considerations are explicitly part of their work and accountability, as well as constructive interagency collaboration, and meaningful participation of biodiversity experts and relevant stakeholders in the fisheries management process.

Engaging the fishing sector is critical to the successful implementation of sustainable marine conservation and management measures. The governance of marine fisheries and the conservation of marine biodiversity continue to evolve; coherence between them remains critical if each is to achieve its goals.

Approaches for enhancing the integration of biodiversity and sustainability of fisheries include:

·       Making greater use of rights-based and innovative fisheries management systems, such as community co-management, that provide fishers and local communities with a greater stake in the long-term health of fish stocks;
·       Eliminating, reforming or phasing out those subsidies which are contributing to overfishing;
·       Enhancing, in each country, monitoring and enforcement of regulations to prevent illegal, unregulated and unreported fishing by flag-vessels;
·       Phasing out fishing practices and gear which cause serious adverse impacts to the seafloor or to non-target species; and
·       Developing marine protected area networks and other effective area based conservation measures, including the protection of areas particularly important for fisheries, such as spawning grounds, and vulnerable areas;

Appropriate approaches for addressing biodiversity considerations in fisheries management will be situation-specific and depend greatly on the capacities and information available. The political will and resources to enable fisheries management agencies to fully deliver on a mandate to address fisheries and biodiversity issues is also needed as is enhanced regional cooperation between fisheries and environmental agencies.

You cannot protect biodiversity without considering agriculture

Posted by Ricci Symons 0 comments

The ministerial round-table on agriculture at the UN's Biodiversity Conference highlighted the immense importance placed on agriculture when discussing protecting biodiversity.

After an opening from Mexico, each country was given an opportunity to share examples of how protecting biodiversity in their respective countries had gone, successes, lessons learned, the next steps and also any issues they wanted aired.
In their opening the Mexican ministry said, “all countries, producers and stakeholders need to take more responsibility.”

They talked about how agriculture consumes a massive percentage of fresh water, and leads to soil degradation, through over-use of fertilisers and deforestation. They highlighted that despite these issues agriculture by necessity was set to expand.

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation says that by 2050 we will need to be producing 60 per cent more food. This is not good news for biodiversity because despite significant gains in sustainability agriculture still has an overall negative effect on biodiversity.
Every day though, countries around the world are protecting and regaining biodiversity and it is currently being ‘mainstreamed’ into agriculture.

The Brazilian ministry showcased the incredible advances they have made in the last 16 years. They built on the philosophy that the loss of biodiversity is everyone’s concern, but most especially small producers. They asked themselves how the world will be able to feed nine billion people by 2030 without sacrificing biodiversity? They answered it by protecting water reserves, limiting hunting, integrating native wildlife onto farms and ranches, legally protecting 20 per cent of all farmland and designating it for the protection of native species, investing in innovative technology, research and upscaling.

Brazil has leapfrogged many countries this century to become the first ranked country for protected areas. They have prioritised the protection of biodiversity, implementing biodiversity protection into every aspect of agriculture and are now ‘’encouraging everyone to do the same’’.

“We think that our efforts are commendable and should be replicated. We also believe that international trade needs to be addressed to reward countries who can prove that they are making great strides in protecting the environment.”

The Danish delegation stressed, as many others have, that, “Aichi will expire in 2020, with only four years left we don’t have much time left and must act accordingly.”
Biodiversity is the basis of agriculture. Without biodiversity, there is no agriculture, however agriculture has the ability to completely destroy biodiversity if not managed well.

Denmark finished by highlighting that they believe a major area for concern lies with pollinators being forced towards extinction. There is a win-win here, but in order to achieve it we must “protect bees, butterflies and birds”.

IFAD had a statement for this round-table, delivered by Margarita Astralaga, Director of IFAD's Environment and Climate Division’s. Astralaga highlighted how in agriculture we have lost nearly 75 per cent of crop diversity between 1900 and 2000. Today, only about 15 plants produce 90 percent of the world's food intake.

“Today, IFAD recognizes that loss of biodiversity is a major threat to small farmers and their communities, without biodiversity livelihoods are not sustainable and food security and nutrition for the entire planet is weakening.

"The full IFAD portfolio over the years has contributed to the achievement of most of the Aichi goals, and since 2004 has integrated biodiversity management into its investments in agriculture, livestock and aquaculture. Supporting good water management and soil management, promoting agroforestry and conservation agriculture, and promoting green value chains.”


Economic benefits of investing in adaptation and agriculture

Posted by Ricci Symons Friday, November 11, 2016 0 comments

Farmers' Day at COP22 Marrakech saw IFAD and CGIAR's research programme on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) host a side event on the “Economic advantage of agriculture in Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs)” to complement the release of a new IFAD funded publication “The Economic Advantage”.

Laurie Goering from the Thomson-Reuters Foundation asked how do you show donors, who have a lot of people knocking on their doors for funding, that what you are doing is actually going to work and is it worthwhile?

We are seeing lots of new research which says putting money into agriculture is worth it and IFAD commissioned The Economic Advantage report to prove just that. It found that farmers could earn a return of between US$1.40 and $2.60 for each dollar invested over a 20-year period by applying climate change adaptation practices.


Sonja Vermeulen from CCAFS explained that agriculture has taken ages to get on the negotiating table.

"Almost every country now includes agriculture in their NDCs,” Vermeulen said. “This gives us a whole new platform for action.”

"So far the information is patchy and this report is not the definitive answer," according to Vermeulen. "But it does contain a lot of guiding information which will help development agencies and governments if they implement it into their own work."

Linking agriculture and climate change to a monetary value is extremely difficult. For example, El Niño hit the wine industry in South America, but in New Zealand it actually benefitted it.

“Agriculture is the life of the Ugandan people, hence its prioritisation,” said Chebet Maikut, Commissioner of the Climate Change Department of the Ugandan ministry of Water and Environment. He explained that in Uganda in the next five years US$476 million will be spent on climate smart agriculture.

From a climate change perspective, agriculture has a number of co-benefits in contributing to emission reductions. The Ugandan government found that the cost of not addressing climate change impacts would be in the region of US$406 million by 2025, and if still no action was taken that number would rise exponentially into the billions over the coming years.

“As such 30 per cent of our budget in the next 15 years will be mobilised to fight this,” concluded Maikut.

Alongside farm-level actions are a further set of non-technical mitigation and adaptation interventions, which are just as important but more difficult to quantify and value, says the report. These include capacity building, institutional strengthening, access to value chains and research. These climate resilient practices also have a demonstrated effect on food security both locally and globally.

IFAD's Ilaria Firmian discussed IFAD’s Adaptation for Smallholder Agriculture Programme (ASAP) which currently has over 40 projects. She talked about how IFAD embeds indicators into the project monitoring and evaluation system. Depending on the type of interve

ntion, they can track certain outcomes more specifically. For instance, they may monitor outcomes of farm income.

“We can identify real opportunities with real payback, which a few years ago couldn’t have happened!” continued Firmian.

“It is very tricky to put a value on certain adaptation techniques, such as investing in a women’s groups or cooperatives. However, this study shows that these investments are still very important though," added Firmian.

IFAD is committed to working with farmer’s organisations - when cooperatives become successful, a whole country can be transformed.

At the farm level, positive economic returns can be demonstrated for several practices that build adaptive capacity and reduce emissions intensity such as innovative rice cropping in Vietnam, or switching from growing coffee to cocoa in Nicaragua.

Laurie Goring closed the session saying, “I think we have to keep in mind when discussing this, the cost of not investing. The numbers are so much higher; it has to contribute to the case for making this happen.”

Welcome to the Red City #COP22

Posted by Ricci Symons Monday, November 7, 2016 0 comments

Nearly one year after the watershed COP21 Climate Summit in Paris, governments have once again convened in Marrakech, Morocco for COP22 to move forward with the Paris Agreement and take stock of their collective efforts to curb dangerous climate change.

IFAD is here at COP22, making the case for investing in smallholder farmers, both to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly reaching zero hunger by 2030 (SDG2) and ensuring that smallholders are adequately supported so they can afford to adapt to changing climate patterns that will continue to impact on global food production. 


 At a packed-out opening ceremony, there were remarks by COP22 President Salaheddine Mezouar, COP21 President Segolene Royal, UNFCCC Executive Secretary Patricia Espinosa, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Chair, Hoesung Lee and the Mayor of Marrakech, Mohammed Larbi Belcadi, followed by a performance by a group of local drummers to set the beat for climate action over the next 11 days of the conference.

 "The rapid entry into force of the Paris Agreement is unprecedented and sends a powerful signal of the world’s commitment to combatting climate change,” said COP21 President Segolene Royal as she opened COP22.

COP22 President Salaheddine welcomed everyone to the Red City, commenting how his country has spared no effort to provide the best possible conditions for this global event to ensure its success.
He said that holding the COP on African soil shows the continents commitment to reinforcing resilient ecosystems. He stressed that this effort would involve everyone and all countries, as, "the sun does not ignore a village just because it is small"" and all are affected by the blight of climate change.

"Let us make no mistake as to what is at stake here,’’ continued Salaheddine,"I call on you to be more ambitious during this conference on our commitments, working together to finalise the support mechanisms and expertise at every level from local to transboundary projects. This must be done through win-win partnerships. At stake now is not only climate change but civilisation and economic development. We must now promote sustainable development models which are innovatory and can transform the world, including the south."

UNFCCC Executive Secretary Patricia Espinosa said that this is the second COP in the shadow of the mighty Atlas Mountains. The city where the Marrakech accords were founded, and that just days ago, the Paris Agreement came into action here  uniting parties and stakeholders.

"We have embarked to change the course of two centuries of carbon emissions,’’ Espinosasaid. , "Marrakech is our moment to take forward climate action at both the international and national levels. Our work is far from done.  Together we can deliver the promise of Paris to billions of people on this planet, both today and for tomorrow.’’

Hoesung Lee talked of how COP22 is to be the COP of action.

There was an upbeat atmosphere as the Mayor of Marrakech closed the opening ceremony, again welcoming everyone and calling for ambitious negotiations and for everyone to build on last year’s successful talks. The ceremony closed with a special performance by a local traditional Moroccan drumming group, “Ostina Tono,”, which drew great applause and cheers as the COP22 officially kicked off.

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Life as a young farmer in Fiji

Posted by Beate Stalsett Friday, September 2, 2016 0 comments

By Tevita Ravumaidama, PHVA-Partners in Community Development Fiji (PCDF) and Monica Romano

Young people living in rural areas have the potential, as the farmers and producers of tomorrow, to help feed the world's growing population. But young people are increasingly abandoning agriculture and rural areas in search of better livelihoods in cities or abroad. In The Pacific island of Fiji, Joji Naikau returned to his rural hometown to invest in his farm and is showing great success.

Joji Naikau, 30, is a young man 30 living in Nadala village, Savaty district, in Ba province of Fiji. He is married with two children, and one of the beneficiaries of the Partnership in High Value Agriculture (PHVA) programme, an IFAD-supported grant targeting 13 villages and 7 settlements located in an impoverished district of Nadarivatu in the interior of Fiji’s main island of Viti Levu.

The USD 500,000 grant implemented during 2012-2015 aimed at increasing the income of the 200 farmers who participated by 20 per cent from the production of high value products, through enhanced market linkages and community empowerment.

Before joining the programme, Joji was not farming to earn his livelihoods. Despite owning 1.5 hectares of land, he had no knowledge and skills on how to use it for income generation. Therefore, he moved to Fiji’s capital of Suva and started to undertake mechanical work for an engineering company.

A few years ago while he was spending Christmas time in his village, he was approached by staff working for the IFAD-supported programme, and encouraged to participate in some training activities to learn how to put his land under production and to invest in farming as a business.
Joji presented his experience at the 1st stakeholder workshop of the IFAD-funded Fiji Agricultural Partnerships Project. Credit: M. Romano

He decided to try this opportunity because he was not happy with his job in the city. With the money earned through his urban job, he was barely able to buy food and rather wanted to make some more long-term investments to improve the life and prospects of his family. 

Therefore, Joji attended various technical and business-oriented trainings offered by the programme, including on farm management (e.g. growing vegetables and fruit such as tomatoes, capsicum, English and Chinese cabbage, watermelon and zucchini); adoption of best husbandry practices; financial literacy and management; entrepreneurship and negotiating skills. 

Joji is very satisfied with his new activity and he was able to achieve amazing results which has benefitted  his whole family. Sales of vegetables and fruits enabled him to earn about USD 6,300-7,200 annually in the first two years as opposed to intermittent earnings from previous work in the city due to an unsecure job, which ranged from about USD 1,400-2,400 annually. Over the first two years of farming work, he was also able to save some USD 3,400-4,800. In contrast, while working in Suva he was unable to save, faced with considerable expenses due to high living costs in the city. 

Through his farming activities, he managed to move from a small and simple house to a new and bigger one. He is also able to meet family commitments like health fees/charges, while contributing to community water projects, school infrastructures, church activities and extended family obligations. His next plan is to save more money to pay for his children’s education.