General Statement by The Minister of Agriculture and Food of Norway

Chairperson and colleagues,

Hunger is on the rise. We are far from reaching the Millennium Development Goal of halving the proportion of people suffering from hunger and malnutrition by 2015. This is not acceptable.

The present crisis is not a new crisis. It is a structural crisis, recently aggravated in the context of climate and financial crisis. There is now an urgent need to address the root causes of hunger. The main instrument for food security is the national food production. Every country has an obligation and a right to provide food for its own population. This entails preserving and sustaining agro -biodiversity, land, forest and fisheries resources. To this end, increased investments are needed.  

However, if we are to fulfil the right to adequate food for every child, woman and man in the world, more than investments are needed.  We need a rights-based approach to ensure access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food.  

The world’s food production is dependent on a nature in balance. Industrialized high input agriculture can increase production, but it can also contribute to global warming, loss of biodiversity, loss of soil fertility and over-consumption of water. Strategies must therefore be based on sustainable production methods, and recognize the role of small-scale agriculture.  Women are responsible for most food production in developing countries. Thus, they are the key to success and should be at the core of all new efforts.

Agriculture suffers the impact of climate change, but is also responsible for 14 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. Realizing synergies between solutions to climate change and food security is therefore of paramount importance. We are now in the run-up to the UN Climate Summit in Copenhagen. Let us look forward and ensure that food security and agriculture will be integral parts of the follow-up of the Summit in Copenhagen. An ambitious climate change solution is needed. Agriculture is a crucial part of this solution.  

The food and climate crisis have shed new light on the need to secure the worlds crop variations. International cooperation is needed to halt the loss of biodiversity to ensure world food security and to adapt to the effects of climate change. In this, a special focus on farmers and pastoralists in developing countries is crucial.

Such cooperation is exemplified by the Svalbard Global Seed Vault which safely stores seeds form countries around the world for the future. Furthermore, the International Plant Treaty with it’s until now 122 parties, is an important instrument to protect food crops and assist farmers by pooling the genetic resources and sharing the benefits from their use. As a logical next step, worldwide support is needed to support its special Fund to help accelerate crop diversity efforts, and to share its benefits. 

It is possible to increase the production of food. The potential in Africa, for instance, is great as long as African countries themselves take the lead. A true partnership between developing countries, donors and multilateral and bilateral partners is necessary. The Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) is a successful model, as it is built on country-led processes, and supported by global partners.

I welcome the international attention and good intentions and commitments expressed in the G8 declaration from L’Aquila. This is an important step forward, and demonstrates a genuine political will in the international community to fight hunger. What we still need, however, is a well-functioning global architecture for food and agriculture.  We need a strong UN, a UN that “Delivers as One” in the field, drawing on the comparative advantage of each organisation. In this way, UN can serve as the multilateral arena for forging alliances to combat hunger and poverty.

Finally, let me get back to the fundamental need for investments in agriculture.  Norway increases development aid equivalent to 1, 09 percent of GNI in 2010. Increasing agricultural aid is a part of this strategy. Our joint efforts are now needed to change focus and priorities.

Mr. /Madam Chair,
Let us all now put the words of the declaration of this summit into action. As the Secretary- General Mr. Ban Ki- Moon stated earlier today, the hungry must be empowered to feed themselves. Let us make sure that the fundamental right to food is guaranteed for all. 

Thank you for your attention