Recent approaches to agricultural production and food security have failed to reduce the number of hungry people or to ensure environmental sustainability. The underlying problem is that food is unjustly produced, distributed and accessed by people.
According to the Hesperian Community Guide to Environmental Health, “Sustainable farming means farming for the long-term health of people and the land.” Sustainable farming methods do not only provide food but they also build fertile soils, protect water, preserve valuable seeds, conserve biodiversity and ensure conservation for the benefit of present and future generations. This method of farming allows farmers to grow more food in less space using less chemicals, fertilizers and pesticides.
According to the 2008 report of the IAASTD (Independent Assessment of Agricultural Knowledge, Science and Technology for Development), there is urgent need to move away from destructive and chemical-dependent industrial agriculture and to adopt environmental modern farming methods that champion biodiversity and benefit local communities. More and better food can be produced without destroying rural livelihoods or natural resources. Local, socially and environmentally responsible methods are the solution.
In Agenda 21, the main objective of sustainable agriculture and rural development (SARD) is "to increase food production in a sustainable way and enhance food security." In 1997, the UN General Assembly announced that "the greatest challenge for humanity is to protect and sustainably manage the natural resource base on which food and fibre production depend, while feeding and housing a population that is still growing" (United Nations, Programme for the Further Implementation of Agenda 21, June 1997, para 62).
Advocacy ideas:
Promote understanding among your churches of just food production, trade and distribution systems.
Generate awareness and debate the ethical and environmental implications of current agricultural practices which are unsustainable (e.g. soil degradation, overuse of chemical inputs, land expropriation, water pollution)
Raise public awareness of key findings of the IAASTD(Independent Assessment of Agricultural Knowledge, Science and Technology for Development) and call on governments to adopt the findings.
Support women producers’ groups at all levels and to facilitate their engagement with decision makers, including on land rights issues.
Advocate for the regulation of transnational agribusiness and food companies in order to limit their control of food production systems
Stand Up for the protection and respect of the right to food in all trade agreements
Collect and share case studies and other resources on just food production, trade and distribution systems
Resources
Left in the cold by the WTO, APRODEV Policy Brief on the Special Safeguard Mechanism in the WTO, November 2009
Independent Assessment of Agricultural Knowledge, Science and Technology for Development (IAASTD) Report, 2008
Low Greenhouse Gas Agriculture, Mitigation and adaptation potential of sustainable farming systems, FAO, 2009
Benefits of Organic Agriculture as a Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation Strategy for Developing Countries, EfD, 2009
Who feeds the world? The future is in small scale agriculture, Church Development Service, 2008
Agriculture in the Context of Global Food Security: Synopsis of Seven Recent International Documents on Rural Development Strategies, APRODEV/EED/Bread for the World/German Watch, 2009
