High Level Panel on Food Security and Climate Change
Milano, 25.06.2015 - Federal Councillor Johann N. Schneider-Ammann, Head of the Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research EAER Expo Milano | Milano, Swiss Pavillon, Expo 2015, 25 June 2015
Ladies and Gentlemen,
We are all aware of the fact that food security is a crucial issue and that it is going to become even more so over the next years and decades. 2015 is the year when the Millennium Development Goal targets have to be met. The share of undernourished people in developing regions decreased from 23.3% in 1990-92 to 12.9% today. While more than half of the developing countries have reached the Millennium Development Goals targets there are still about 795 million people undernourished and going to bed hungry every night.
According to FAO´s report on the State of World Food Security, there are many reasons why too many people are still suffering from hunger.Lack of economic growth is one of them. Economic growth is necessary for creating jobs and thus alleviating poverty. But growth needs to be inclusive - growth that provides opportunities for all. Improving the productivity of resources held by family farmers and smallholders is equally important.
It has broad implications for the livelihoods of the rural poor and for the rural economy in general. Improved productivity of agricultural resources through sustainable intensification plays a key role in increasing food availability and in improving food security and nutrition. Public policies can provide incentives for the adoption of sustainable agricultural intensification practices and techniques like sustainable land management, soil conservation and improved water management to name a few.
Switzerland has adopted such policies in its latest policy reforms. A first policy review has shown that the agricultural sector has become more productive while adopting preservation measures at the same time. Climate Change makes the task of ending hunger even more challenging. It is a man-made process which is affecting agriculture and food security in a significant way.
It affects not only yields but also food quality and safety as well as the reliability of its delivery to consumers. Climate change multiplies the risk of natural hazards through altered rainfall and temperature patterns as well as increased frequency and intensity of extreme events such as drought and flooding.
The Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, released in 2014, noted that climate change is already having a negative impact on agriculture, affecting major crops, livestock production and fisheries. Agriculture is not only a victim of climate change but it contributes also significantly to global greenhouse gas emissions.
Agriculture, Forestry and other land use combined contribute 20-24% of total Greenhouse Gas Emissions! Major sources are crop and livestock production as well as the conversion of forests into arable lands.
In a nutshell, we will have more mouths to feed with the same or less resources available under changing climatic conditions. We need to shape innovation for agricultures future. Business as usual will not do: We will only be successful if we are able to find answers to the many challenges while respecting the needs of future generations. We will only move towards more resilience in agriculture and society if we give innovation sufficient priority in policy and society, in the lab and on the field.
What is innovation in agriculture and the food system? Generally, innovation is described as a new idea, a more effective advice or process that "breaks into" the market or society, resulting from an interaction of research and farmers. It is true, when thinking about innovation in agriculture we most often think of scientific or technological innovation.
Technological innovation has a lot of characteristics: high-tech solutions like precision farming with GPS support or the use of robots, low-tech solutions like crop rotation or incremental improvements of traditional ways of doing things like new plant varieties or animal breeds. Some innovations are capital intensive while others are cheap. But most importantly, such innovations need to be accepted and adapted by farmers. It has to be the right innovation for the right place and the farmer knows usually best what is good for his (or her) business.
While technological innovation is important to ensure food security there is other innovation equally crucial to make the agricultural system more resilient and apt to meet the challenges the future will bring: Entrepreneurial innovation, such new business models that strengthen local production for local consumption. Those innovations need to put the focus on the consumer and his needs.
Financial innovation, such as the Benefit Sharing Fund under the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture or things like access to affordable credits. Let me remind you: Economic and social progress goes together: enabling farmers to invest in their farms is a key factor for poverty alleviation in rural areas.
Organisational innovation, such as the way we have organised the policy debate in the Committee on World Food Security or the way governments cooperate with farmers and the research sector.
Dear Friends, As I said: Business as usual will not do! It needs new paths, a diversity of innovations. If we want to make sure that the food systems will meet the expectations of tomorrow, we need to apply the right innovations at the right place, where they work best.
Dogmatic thinking will not help solve the problems. We need to be able to combine and recombine approaches that today are seen as opposites. We need to think out of the box. We also must make sure that innovation finds its way to the field and to the plate. For this to happen, we need to be able to upscale innovative approaches that exist today at a pilot or smaller scale.
Switzerland is convinced that we need to work with all actors interested and involved, civil society and the private sector alike. Multi-stakeholder initiatives, such as the Global Alliance on Climate Smart Agriculture or the Global Agenda on Sustainable Livestock, which Switzerland is supporting, are good starting points for such new partnerships.
I am now looking forward to an interesting panel discussion which hopefully brings us a step forward in the zero-hunger challenge.
Thank you for your attention.
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Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research
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