fao's work on agroecology

28 Pages·2017·1.57 MB·English

FAO'S
WORK ON
AGROECOLOGY
A pathway to
achieving the SDGs
FAO'S WORK ON AGROECOLOGY
CONTENTS
PAGES 4-5
INTRODUCTION
PAGES 6-7
KEY MESSAGES
PAGES 8-9
AGROECOLOGY
AND THE 2030 AGENDA
PAGES 10-11
A GLOBAL DIALOGUE
PAGES 12-19
AGROECOLOGY IN ACTION
PAGES 20-21
FACTS AND FIGURES
PAGES 22-23
AGROECOLOGY IN POLICY
PAGES 24-26
WAY FORWARD
PAGE 27
PUBLICATIONS
Cover photo: CHINA Landscape approach in action. © FAO/T.V. Hieu
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© IFPRI/ Milo Mitchell
"THE FUTURE OF
AGRICULTURE IS
NOT INPUT-
INTENSIVE BUT
KNOWLEDGE-
INTENSIVE.
WE NEED THE
INTEGRATED
APPROACH THAT
AGROECOLOGY
CAN OFFER."
FAO Director-General
José Graziano da Silva
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FAO'S WORK ON AGROECOLOGY
INTRODUCTION
People-centred,
knowledge-intensive
and rooted to
sustainability,
agroecology matches
the transformative
approach called for
by the 2030 Agenda
To overcome the world’s greatest social and economic equity, and
challenges, the ambitious conserve biodiversity and the
2030 Agenda for Sustainable ecosystem services on which
AGROECOLOGY
Development recognises the agriculture depends.
urgent need to take action
OFFERS A UNIQUE
and pursue policies directed Today’s food and agricultural
APPROACH TO at transformational change. systems have succeeded in
Ending poverty and achieving zero supplying large volumes of food
MEETING THE hunger, while ensuring inclusive to global markets, yet they cannot
growth and sustainably managing deliver sustainable development
NEEDS OF FUTURE the planet’s natural resources, all in for all. High-external input,
the context of climate change, will resource-intensive agricultural
GENERATIONS
only be possible by committing to systems have contributed to
the sustainable world of tomorrow. deforestation, water scarcity,
WHILE ENSURING
biodiversity loss, soil depletion
This calls for a transition to and high levels of greenhouse gas
NO ONE IS
sustainable food and agriculture emissions. Despite progress in
LEFT BEHIND systems that ensure food security reducing hunger, malnutrition –
and nutrition for all, provide including stunting and wasting,
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CHAD
Women from the village of Boula-Ngara
making a wind-breaking fence which allows
them to cultivate a market garden.
©FAO/Sia Kambou
micronutrient deficiencies and including the combination of support of public policies, networks
overweight and obesity – affects a local, traditional, indigenous of knowledge exchange, and by
third of the world. and practical knowledge with strengthening rural institutions
multi-disciplinary science. and improving access to markets.
Agroecology offers a unique
approach to meeting the needs Although not a new concept, By bringing together the valuable
of future generations while agroecology is today gaining knowledge, capacities and
ensuring no one is left behind. interest worldwide among a wide experience of diverse actors
With family farmers, including range of actors as an effective including governments, research,
smallholder farmers, indigenous answer to climate change and civil society and producer
peoples, fisher folks, mountain the interrelated challenges facing organizations, international
farmers and pastoralists at its heart, food systems, finding expression institutions and the private
agroecology seeks to transform in the practices of food producers, sector, FAO’s engagement is
food and agriculture systems, in grassroots social processes adding strength to agroecology.
addressing the root causes of for sustainability and the public Through coordinated action
problems and providing holistic policies of many countries around and collaboration, each partner
and long-term solutions based the world. Many successful has a key role to play in further
on co-creation of knowledge, agroecological approaches are promoting agroecology, and
sharing and innovation, today being scaled up through the contributing to a better world.
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FAO'S WORK ON AGROECOLOGY
KEY
MESSAGES
Agroecology can Agroecology –
contribute to supported by an
accelerating the enabling policy
achievement of the environment - can help
2030 Agenda. transition to sustainable
Agroecological approaches food systems.
address root causes of hunger,
poverty and inequality, helping With an enabling institutional
to transform food systems framework featuring integrated
and build resilient livelihoods policies, partnerships and
through a holistic, integrated investments across sectors,
way that balances the three agroecology can contribute to
dimensions of sustainability national development objectives.
– social, economic and FAO continues to work with
environmental – ensuring no one countries, playing a key role to
is left behind bring stakeholders together to
develop policies and learn from
Agroecology: win- experiences in promoting and
win-win for people, scaling up agroecology.
planet and livelihoods.
Agroecology is a living
Three-quarters of the world’s concept – together,
815 million hungry people are
we can help realise its
family farmers who produce
most of the planet’s food. full potential.
Agroecological approaches focus
on the critical agents of change Investing in knowledge and
– family farmers, indigenous innovation is key. Farmers need
peoples, fishers, rural women to be placed in the centre of co-
and youth. By marrying innovation systems, allowing a
scientific evidence with local process that combines both scientific
wisdom, and by shortening and traditional knowledge that
the market chain and bringing complement and reinforce each
producer and consumer closer other. It is important to foster
together, agroecology can knowledge exchange and share
contribute to satisfying our practices, and to create opportunities
present and future food needs. for collaboration and innovation.
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HAITI
Local farmers at Les Cayes sorting
Cajanus Cajan beans, a fast-growing,
disease-resistant bean seed for a
post-disaster seed reserve.
© FAO/G. Bizzarri
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FAO'S WORK ON AGROECOLOGY
AGROECOLOGY
AND THE
2030 AGENDA
From tackling hunger, poverty
and inequality to responding to
climate change to safeguarding
biodiversity and expanding
nutritional choice, agroecology
echoes the goals of the
2030 Agenda.
The agroecology approach is
holistic, balancing focus on
people and the planet, the
three dimensions of sustainable
development – social, economic
and environmental, while
strengthening, the livelihoods
of smallholder food producers,
indigenous peoples, women
and youth
Agroecology contributes directly
to multiple SDGs through
integrated practices that cut
across many areas. Along with
the SDGs, agroecology can also
contribute to realising the aims of
the Paris Climate Agreement, the
Convention on Biological Diversity
and the United Nations Convention
AGROECOLOGY
to Combat Desertification.
CONTRIBUTES
DIRECTLY TO
PERU
MULTIPLE SDGs Forest nursery.
© FAO/A. Odoul
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FAO'S WORK ON AGROECOLOGY
A GLOBAL
DIALOGUE
In September 2014, FAO hosted
10 ELEMENTS
the 1st International Symposium on
OF AGROECOLOGY
Agroecology for Food Security and
Presented as a means to guide
Nutrition. The Symposium, which
involved representatives of FAO Member the transition to sustainable food
Countries, researchers, civil society, and agricultural systems, these
the private sector and the UN system, 10 Elements of Agroecology are
provided an opportunity to share based on seminal scientific literature
experiences and discuss the contribution on agroecology1, and complemented
of agroecology to sustainable food by discussions during FAO’s
and agriculture systems. Building on its
multi-actor regional meetings on
outcomes, FAO convened a series of
agroecology from 2015 to 2017, civil
regional meetings to better understand
society values on agroecology, and
the different contexts and specific local
the review of international and
needs of agroecology. From 2015 to
FAO experts.
2017, multi-actor regional seminars were
held in five regions (sub-Saharan Africa,
Latin America and the Caribbean, Asia Each of the 10 Elements of
and the Pacific, Europe and Central Agroecology are interlinked systems. Through the co-creation
Asia, and the Near East and North and interdependent: process, agroecology blends the
Africa), involving 1 400 participants traditional, indigenous, practical and
from 170 FAO Member Countries. Diversity local knowledge of producers with
Through a series of exchanges,
Highly diverse, global scientific knowledge.
the regional seminars revealed a
agroecological
diversity of perspectives, experiences,
production systems Synergies
geographies, cultures, and approaches
such as agroforestry, silvopastoDIVrEaRlS ITY Agroecological systems
to agroecology. At the same time, they
systems, crop–livestock–aquaculture selectively combine the
identified a number of commonalities
between regions and across different integration and polycultures diverse components of
approaches to agroecology – including contribute to a range of production, farms and agricultural landscaSYpNeERsG ItEoS
shared challenges, opportunities socio-economic, nutrition and build and enhance synergies.
and objectives, as well as common environmental benefits.
characteristics of agroecological systems, Efficiency
practices and approaches. Co-creation and sharing Increased resource-use
of knowledge efficiency is an emergent
"With the 2014 symposium,
Agroecology depends property of agroecological
FAO opened a window introducing
on context-specific systems. By optimising the usEeF FoICfIE NCY
agroecology in the cathedral of the
Green Revolution. Now it is time to knowledge. Knowledge pSHlaACRyOINs-GC ROEFA KTINOONW ALNEDDGE natural resources such as soil, air,
a central role in the process of solar energy, water, agroecology
consolidate and scale up policies,
partnerships and investments." developing and implementing uses fewer external resources,
FAO Director-General agroecological innovations to reducing costs and negative
José Graziano da Silva address challenges across food environmental impacts.
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