The way the world grows its food will have to change radically to better serve the poor and hungry if the world is to cope with a growing population and climate change while avoiding social breakdown and environmental collapse. That is the message from the report of the International Assessment of Agricultural Science and Technology for Development, a major new report by over 400 scientists launched on 15 April.
The way the world grows its food will have to change radically to better serve the poor and hungry if the world is to cope with a growing population and climate change while avoiding social breakdown and environmental collapse. That is the message from the report of the International Assessment of Agricultural Science and Technology for Development, a major new report by over 400 scientists launched on 15 April.
The assessment was considered by 64 governments at an intergovernmental plenary in Johannesburg last week and endorsed by 60 (the exceptions were Australia, the US and Canada and one other - unlisted).
The authors' brief was to examine hunger, poverty, the environment and equity together. It concludes that modern agriculture has brought significant increases in food production. But the benefits have been spread unevenly and have come at an increasingly intolerable price, paid by small-scale farmers, workers, rural communities and the environment. It says the willingness of many people to tackle the basics of combining production, social and environmental goals is marred by "contentious political and economic stances" It asrgues that the way to meet the challenges lies in putting in place institutional, economic and legal frameworks that combine productivity with the protection and conservation of natural resources including soils, water, forests, and biodiversity, while meeting production needs.
You can read the press release here or the full report here.
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