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	UN expert makes case for ecological farming practices to boost food production by Olivier De Schutter UN Special Rapporteur on the right to food   March 2011   Small-scale farmers can double food production in a decade by using simple ecological methods, according to the findings of a new United Nations study released today, which calls for a fundamental shift towards agroecology as a poverty alleviation measure.   “To feed 9 billion people in 2050, we urgently need to adopt the most efficient farming techniques available,” says Olivier De Schutter, the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to food and author of the report, entitled “Agro-ecology and the right to food.”   “Today’s scientific evidence demonstrates that agroecological methods outperform the use of chemical fertilizers in boosting food production where the hungry live – especially in unfavourable environments,” he added.   Agroecology applies ecological science to the design of agricultural systems that can help put an end to food crises and address climate-change and poverty.   It enhances soils productivity and protects the crops against pests by relying on the natural environment such as beneficial trees, plants, animals and insects, according to the study.   “To date, agroecological projects have shown an average crop yield increase of 80 per cent in 57 developing countries, with an average increase of 116 per cent for all African projects,” Mr. De Schutter says. “Recent projects conducted in 20 African countries demonstrated a doubling of crop yields over a period of 3 to 10 years.”   Conventional farming relies on expensive inputs, fuels climate change and is not resilient to climatic shocks, notes the study, which is based on extensive review of existing scientific data.   “It simply is not the best choice anymore today,” Mr. De Schutter stresses. “A large segment of the scientific community now acknowledges the positive impacts of agroecology on food production, poverty alleviation and climate change mitigation – and this is what is needed in a world of limited resources.   “Malawi, a country that launched a massive chemical fertilizer subsidy programme a few years ago, is now implementing agroecology, benefiting more than 1.3 million of the poorest people, with maize yields increasing from 1 ton per hectare to 2-3 tons/ha,” Mr. De Schutter writes.   The report also points out that projects in Indonesia, Viet Nam and Bangladesh recorded up to 92 per cent reduction in insecticide use for rice, leading to important savings for poor farmers.   “Knowledge came to replace pesticides and fertilizers. This was a winning bet, and comparable results abound in other African, Asian and Latin American countries,” the independent expert notes in the report presented to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.   He adds that the approach is also gaining ground in developed countries such as the United States, Germany and France. “However, despite its impressive potential in realizing the right to food for all, agroecology is still insufficiently backed by ambitious public policies and consequently hardly goes beyond the experimental stage,” he points out.   The report also identifies measures that States should implement to scale up agroecological practices. “Agroecology is a knowledge-intensive approach. It requires public policies supporting agricultural research and participative extension services,” Mr. De Schutter says.   “States and donors have a key role to play here. Private companies will not invest time and money in practices that cannot be rewarded by patents and which don’t open markets for chemical products or improved seeds,” he adds. Visit the related web page
	Current crises call for concerted global action to advance development by Lazarous Kapambwe United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC)   March 2011   With the financial crisis having reversed many development gains and the world once again facing rising food and energy prices, top United Nations officials have underscored the need for concerted action to advance development, equity and prosperity for all.   “The financial and economic crisis has reversed many development gains and interrupted progress in economic and social development. Accelerating progress in building a global partnership for development is crucial to overcoming these setbacks and achieving the MDGs by 2015,” said Lazarous Kapambwe, President of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).   The eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) range from halving extreme poverty to halting the spread of HIV/AIDS and providing universal primary education, all by the target date of 2015.   Mr. Kapambwe told the annual high-level meeting of ECOSOC with the Bretton Woods institutions, the World Trade Organization and the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) that the international community is now facing a tremendous challenge of promoting an agreed action agenda to accelerate progress towards achieving the MDGs by 2015.   In addition to a global partnership for development, the meeting is looking at the role of the UN in global economic governance, as well as financial support for the development efforts of the least developed countries and middle-income countries.   “In the absence of effective policy coordination and cooperation among governments around the world, there is a real risk of a new global recession,” said Mr. Kapambwe. “This would add to the already immense human cost of the crisis, which has seriously set back the development efforts of many developing countries.”   Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon also highlighted the fact that recent spikes in food and energy prices are also putting at risk the progress achieved over the past decade in lifting millions of people out of poverty.   It is also important to recognize the political and economic implications of the recent developments in North Africa and the Middle East, he noted.   “While these are still unfolding, the events have already highlighted once again the nexus between poverty, unemployment, inequality and stability. Inclusive, democratic, honest governance is a crucial part of our quest for social justice and human dignity,” he stated.   “We must respond to these challenges,” he added, “by charting a course for truly sustainable and equitable development.”   Luis Manuel Piantini Munnigh, President of UNCTAD’s Trade and Development Board, also commented on the recent political and economic events, such as the spike in food and fuel prices and the revolts sweeping across the Middle East and North Africa.   All of these “underscore the inescapable reality that fundamental change is upon us,” he said.   “These events have highlighted that the old ways of doing business no longer work, and that old assumptions which at one time may have seemed unassailable were, at the end of the day, flawed.” Visit the related web page
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