Archive for the "Agriculture" Category

Declaration for Rio+20: A change of course is needed in the agricultural sector

Category: Landwirtschaft, Medienmitteilungen | By: Ania Biasio

To successfully feed the growing world population, agriculture must be more sparing in its use of natural resources. The UN Rio+20 Conference on Sustainable Development to be held in June 2012 should point the way towards a radical change of course in global agriculture and food policy. This is the key demand posed in the Declaration “Nourishing our people – nurturing our planet” by high-ranking representatives of government, international organizations, and the scientific community at a roundtable organized on 15 and 16 March 2012 in New York. The event took place upon the invitation of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), the Swiss Biovision Foundation and the Millennium Institute, with the support of the Mercator Schweiz Foundation and other organizations.

Twenty years after the Rio Earth Summit in 1992, discussions on how to shape a sustainable future for our planet will be held this coming June at the UN Rio+20 Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD). Measures for sustainable agriculture and food security are also to be decided, as was called for in New York by participants in the “Roundtable on Food, Food Security, and sustainable Agriculture” organized in the run-up to the UN’s Third Intersessional Meeting in preparation for the Rio+20 Conference.

The Declaration for Rio+20 states that a change in agricultural policy is a necessity. Efforts are to be made in the domain of food security for all, rural development with improved conditions for small farmers and especially for women, and sustainable utilization of natural resources. The Declaration calls upon the international community to use the Rio+20 Conference as an occasion to task the UN with an action programme for a change of course in agricultural and food policy. In the future, agriculture must rely more strongly on plants and genetic varieties that are adapted to local conditions and that preserve natural resources for the coming generations to use as well.

Switzerland backs the appeal for sustainable cultivation of food crops grown in harmony with nature. The event took place in New York on Thursday and Friday (15 and 16 March) upon the invitation of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), the Swiss Biovision Foundation and the Millennium Institute, with the support of the Mercator Schweiz Foundation and other organizations. Guest speakers included David Nabarro, Special Representative of the UN Secretary General on Food and Nutrition Security, Terezya Huvisa, Tanzanian Minister for Environment and Sally Kosgei, Agriculture Minister of Kenya.


Relevant results in Rio+20

At this discussion event, the organizers were seeking to reach a common understanding of possible results that could emerge from the Rio+20 Conference to enable food security to be strengthened and sustainable agriculture to be implemented on the basis of the insights and reports compiled to date, e.g., the World Agriculture Report of the IAASTD (International Assessment of Agricultural Knowledge, Science and Technology for Development) and the Green Economy Report of the UNEP (UN Environment Programme). The recommendations in the Declaration are to be introduced into the preparatory process for the Rio+20 Conference, the objective being that the Conference enable the international community of States to take a decisive step forward in the direction of global food security and worldwide sustainable agriculture.

The need for action is enormous. Nearly 40% of agricultural soil is degraded, the supply of water is dwindling in many areas, and genetic diversity – the basis for plant breeding – is declining. Ultimately, these problems are consequences of the negative outcomes of an agricultural policy that has been ignoring the needs of small farmers. Indeed, it is precisely they who account for 50% of food production worldwide.

The results are disastrous. One out of five children born today grows up hungry. Since the mid-1990s, the number of undernourished human beings has risen to more than 100 million individuals, despite the fact that today’s level of food production already corresponds to an average of 4600 kcal per person and day, i.e., approximately double what is necessary. By 2050, the world’s population will have risen from today’s nearly 7 billion to over 9 billion. Against this backdrop, the UN has designated food and nutrition as one of the seven focal themes of the Rio+20 Conference. The Summit will take place from 20 to 22 June 2012 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Ban Ki-moon: Statement on High-Level Roundtable (PDF)

Available for Interviews:

Hans R. Herren, Winner of the World Food Prize, Founder and President of the Biovision Foundation, and President of the Millennium Institute

Peter Bieler, Head of the SDC’s Global Programme Food Security

Media Relations Biovision: a.biasio@biovision.ch (Ania Biasio, Communication & Campaigns)


Biovision – Kurswechsel Landwirtschaft: www.kurswechsel-landwirtschaft.ch

Time to act: www.timetoactrio20.org

Food security: Strengthening sustainable smallholder agriculture: http://www.deza.admin.ch/en/Dossiers/Rio_20/Securite_alimentaire

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Food Security and Sustainable Agriculture in Rio+20

Category: IAASTD, Landwirtschaft | By: Redaktion

The UNCSD Rio+20 Conference’s declared goal of Sustainable Development through a “balanced consideration of social, economic and environmental goals and objectives in both public and private decision-making” cannot be achieved without including food security and sustainable agriculture as one of its most critical topics.

Current agricultural policy and governance fall short of contributing to sustained food security, the eradication of poverty and sustainable rural development. The reasons are numerous: diverging views on the future of agriculture and consequently a lack of financial and political commitment; the lack of a well-coordinated initiative no global level to implement sustainable agriculture; economic, social and ecological benefits of sustainable agriculture have not been duly considered in policy making.

A paradigm shift in agricultural policies and practices towards sustainable agriculture is necessary. It is in fact the only viable solution, if agricultural produce is to be increased to feed a growing world population in the long run, under the given circumstances of degraded soils, dwindling water reserves, loss of biodiversity, climate change and high dependence on finite natural resources.

The timing for change is excellent: The UNCSD Rio+20 Conference presents the opportunity for the international community to acknowledge the critical role Sustainable Agriculture for Sustainable Development and the Conference theme Green Economy, and to finally take action for its implementation, especially within the Conference theme of the Institutional Framework. The necessary knowledge and know-how for a change exists and was put forth for example in the 2009 IAASTD Assessment or UNEP’s Green Economy Report 2011.

What would be a meanigful outcome to deliver the urgent change we need?

1. Mandate an International Organization to propose actions to implement sustainable agriculture and food security based on the findings of relevant reports such as the International Assessment of Agricultural Knowledge, Science and Technology for Development (IAASTD).

2. Strengthen the scientific basis for political action on sustainable agriculture and food and security by inviting an existing body to conduct a regular, intergovernmental, participatory, and multi-stakeholder assessment of agricultural knowledge, science, and technology, while taking into account pre-existing processes.

Please refer to our Position Paper [PDF] or Michael Brander, Project Coordinator “Changing Course in Global Agriculture” [PDF], for more information.

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From the life of Lucy Wanjiru

Category: Allgemeines, Landwirtschaft | By: Redaktion

“Before, we had enough rain and good harvests here”, remembers Lucy Wanjiru, a sixty year old farmer from Kigio in central Kenya. “I could sell the surplus at our local market or even in Thika, the city nearby. It was enough to live on and to send our three children to school.”

Then her husband died of liver cancer. That was in 1982. From then on her life became steadily harder. She had to take her children out of school because she could no longer afford the fees. She also had repeatedly bad harvests as the rains became increasingly unpredictable. “In extreme years the yields were so bad that the state gave out food aid to the elderly and orphans.” Mrs Wanjiru was not considered for aid and so instead of three meals a day, her family ate only in the evening. “The children cried. They were hunger and had stomach ache and they lost weight”, she says bitterly.

Today her daughter and two sons are grown up and married. But in 2004 one of her daughters in law contracted meningitis and left six children behind. Lucy brought the children to her, since her son seeks his income as a casual labourer and is away most of the time. Since then she has done everything for her grandchildren. But she is worried about the future. “I am getting older and my strength is failing” she confesses. “I don’t know how I am going to manage.” But Mrs Wanjiru has no choice and seizes her fate. Since 2010 she has attended courses in sustainable farming. In these practice-oriented trainings, financed by Biovision and supervised by the Kenyan Agricultural Research Institute (KARI), she learns how to make compost and how to combat maize pests organically. Lucy Wanjiru is very interested in organic farming – not least because artificial fertiliser and agrochemicals are unaffordable for her now. In addition, she has experienced that sufficient harvests are possible even with a lack of rain, if the soil has been ploughed deeply enough and enriched with compost. Mrs Wanjiru is satisfied with the project: “It is very helpful”, she says. “I was able to increase the maize yield and milk production considerably. With this, my six grandchildren and I will get by”.

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Interview of the Week 48: Hudson Shiraku, Programme Officer for Biovision in Nairobi

Category: Landwirtschaft | By: Alexandra Pellanda

photo.axdHudson Shiraku works for Biovision’s Farmer Communication Programme (FCP) in Nairobi. As part of his job he keeps an eye on technological aspects of the programme activities. In our interview he explains the importance of the mobile phone in general and particularily M-Pesa, an SMS-based payment system with more than 17 million users in Kenya.


Why is M-Pesa so popular in Kenya?
Banks are seen by many as expensive to operate in terms of fees: They charge their customers for the storage and withdrawal services. Their services can only be accessed in major towns or even only in Nairobi. M-Pesa is cheap, convenient and you only need to go to one of these M-Pesa kiosks and agents.

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(Photo: Simon Kihiko Kimani)

For many Kenyans it is uneconomical to save 500 shillings in a bank when the bank’s minimum balance is 200 shillings and it costs 50 shillings to withdraw it. A phone can cost from as little as 999 to over 50,000 shillings depending on the type of phone and the person who is buying it. So the affordability of phones and the fact that they all have the same M-Pesa features have contributed to the popularity of M-Pesa.


Do Kenyans think that it’s expensive or complicated to use a mobile phone?
It is a yes and a no depending on the type of phone and the person who is using it. Some illiterate and old people who are not technologically savvy have just mustered the art of calling and receiving calls – the green and red buttons and they don’t bother about other applications. In this context, it’s not complicated but when they think of other applications it is. Expensive or not? It depends on the person who is buying it and the type of phone also.


What might happen if more and more people have mobile phones with internet connection?
I can do emailing and even search for information from the internet anytime and from anywhere. This is the kind of empowerment that people will get by this and I’m sure that they will accrue all benefits that come with it. It is usually said here that information is power.

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Interview of the Week 46: Janet Maro, Agronomist and expert for organic agriculture from Tanzania

Category: Landwirtschaft | By: Alexandra Pellanda

Bild 23Janet Maro runs Sustainable Agriculture Tanzania (SAT) and Bustani ya Tushikamane (Garden of Solidarity). Both projets are supported by Biovision and teach farmers in organic and sustainable agriculture. She was our guest during the Symposium which took place in Zurich last Saturday, so we could meet her for this interview.


How widespread is organic farming in Tanzania?
Tanzania has about 85,000 hectares for large scale and small scale certified organic farms. About 100,000 farmers are contracted by companies to produce organic products for export. There are about 36 companies and cooperatives which are certified to export organic products. Research on benefits of organic agriculture ecologically, socially and economically is still on-going. In Tanzania organic farming is mostly confused by traditional farming in which no inputs are used and therefore on this basis one can say that many small scale farms are organic by default. When it comes to certified organic farming, there are very few certified large scale organic farms which mostly produce coffee, cotton, cocoa, spices like lemongrass and paprika, tea and fruits. Tanzania is still behind as compared to neighbors Kenya and Uganda, the few organic products here are mostly for export.


What does the situation look like with regard to consumption?
There are very few certified organic products in the local market and they fetch more or less the same price as conventional products. This is because there are no organic shops and consumers are not aware about the existence of organic products in the local market. Experience with the few products in our demonstration garden has shown that there is a high demand for organic products. The research which we conducted on willingness to pay for organic products show that people highly appreciate safe (organic products) and are even willing to pay more. Since we are aware about this fact, we are focusing with our project activities to enhance awareness about organic products among all stakeholders (producers, buyers, consumers). For the local market, there are no standards specifically for Tanzania but the East Africa Organic Products Standards (EAOPS) can be used. These standards are existing since 2007, at the moment in Tanzania there are no small scale farmers certified.


What is the mission of Sustainable Agriculture Tanzania (SAT) and Bustani ya Tushikamane (Garden of Solidarity)?
In Tanzania many farmers are small scale and therefore different technics can be used so as to enable these farmers to have assurance of food security and income generation. My mission with the organization Sustainable Agriculture Tanzania (SAT) as a partner in development and the project Bustani ya Tushikamane (ByT) is to see that small scale farmers are able to increase their yields in an environmentally friendly way so as to be able to attain food security and improve their incomes. This is achieved through training and facilitation on sustainable agriculture. We work at the grass root level where we build up on farmers’ knowledge and get feedback.


What is your personal role?
I work in the field closely with farmers and together with the ByT team. We identify and practice simple technologies that are affordable and readily available for use in production of healthy crops and animals. We involve students from Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA), who I work closely with, to conduct research on questions that need more detailed answers. Working in the field of sustainable agriculture and closely with farmers is a lifetime experience, there are always new plants and methods coming up, this makes my work very interesting. Being the director of SAT means that I am responsible for the smooth running of the organization, I am grateful to my colleagues who are working tirelessly towards realizing the goal of the organization. I am also very grateful to the Biovision foundation for supporting SAT and ByT.


What message would you like to get across to the audience of our Symposium?
The only way to survive and feed 9 billion people like the IAASTD report has shown is sustainable agriculture. In tropical parts of the world, specifically Tanzania, a production system which reduces costs is the most appropriate. Other production systems are expensive and not affordable by farmers and moreover they negatively influence the environment and health.

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