Crises as opportunity- challenges to agricultural policies

Ladies and gentlemen, dear friends

It is my great pleasure to attend this conference. I would like to join Director of Norad, Mr. Poul Engberg-Pedersen, and Mr. Asbjørn Eide in welcoming you all. And for those who have travelled far: welcome to Norway! I am honored to see such a broad range of experts gathered here, including scientists, representatives of NGOs and farmers organizations.

Especially, it is a great privilege that the UN special rapporteur on the right to food, Mr. Olivier de Schutter, is here to share his analysis on the global food situation, and human rights as a basis for response to the crisis. We had the opportunity to meet at the World Summit on Food Security in November last year, and I think your analysis is central as means to address the root causes of hunger. All in all, I think today`s program guarantees for a broad and comprehensive discussion throughout the day, and we have a lot to look forward to!

This seminar is held at a crucial point in time. The World Summit on Food Security in November 2009 demonstrated a sense of urgency to address the world food situation. The food crisis in 2008 pushed the prices of basic foods staples beyond the reach of millions of people. Poor households were forced to eat fewer meals and less-nutritious food.

Prices on the world market are still unstable and unpredictable.  Only these last months, we have again seen surging prices. A sudden sharp rise in international wheat prices followed drought in Russia and the country's restrictions on wheat sales. The flood in Pakistan is yet another reminder of the vulnerability of the food systems and the threat to food security.  

The UN Secreatry-General, Mr. Ban Ki- moon, said at the world summit on Food Security that ”The food crisis of today is a wake-up call for tomorrow”.  I think this is a good way to describe the situation we are facing.

The new estimate of the number of people who will suffer chronic hunger this year is 925 million - a decrease from over one billion in 2009. This tells us that the numbers remain unacceptably high. The continuing high global hunger level makes it extremely difficult to reach the Millennium Development Goal of halving the proportion of people suffering from hunger and malnutrition by 2015.

Climate change is threatening the living conditions of farmers, fishers and forest- dependent people who are already vulnerable and food insecure. More extreme and unpredictable weather, drought and flood changes the conditions for food production. Rural communities, particularly those living in already fragile environments, face an immediate and growing risk of crop failure and loss of livestock. Because of poverty and lack of investment in agriculture, their ability to cope with climate change is limited. 

In addition, the ecosystem services upon which agricultural production depend, are being eroded at an alarming rate. Environmental degradation and rising competition for land and water are both huge challenges for food security.  

The challenge to grow the food we need will only increase, as the demand for food is rising and the world population rapidly growing. To feed a world population expected to surpass 9 billion in 2050, it is estimated that food production will have to increase by 70 percent between now and then. This increase will have to take place in the context of climate change and growing competition for the use of natural resources.

The question is therefore -How will we feed a dramatically increased world population in 2050?  The title of this seminar suggests that the global food crises may have brought forward new opportunities.  I think there is much truth in this, and I will highlight what I see as the most important challenges and steps forward. 

First of all, the declaration of the World Summit reaffirmed that food security is a national responsibility. It is of crucial importance that countries commit to this responsibility. The main instrument for global food security is the national food production. Every country has an obligation to provide food for its own population. This requires national strategies to protect productive areas, and strategies for sustainable management of soil, water, and land resources. Moreover, there must be room for manoeuvre within the trade regime to formulate and implement our national policy goals for food production.

The international community has also come a long way in identifying what needs to happen for agriculture to deliver on increased food production and improved food security. 

Global plans for food security, such as The Comprehensive Framework for Action by the UN High Level Task Force, points to the need to boost smallholder farmer food production.  Access to food is for many people in developing countries closely tied to local food production. Women are responsible for most food production in developing countries. They are the key to success and should be at the core of all new efforts.

The World Development Report 2008 by the World Bank also draws attention to the longstanding underinvestment in food security, agriculture and rural development. The report states that agriculture must be at the centre of the development agenda if we are to meet the Millenium Development Goals to halve the proportion of people suffering from hunger and malnutrition.

There is now a new commitment internationally to undertake all necessary actions required at national, regional and global level to fight hunger and malnutrition.  One example is the commitments expressed in the G8 declaration from L’Aquila in 2009. This gives reasons to be optimistic.

A message that was clearly voiced at the Food Summit, is also that the multiple challenges the world is facing in terms of food insecurity, climate change and degradation of ecosystems require an integrated response. 

As the Minister of Agriculture and Food in Norway, I am responsible for both agricultural and forest policies. It is crucial that we see these sectors as closely linked when facing the challenges of climate change and food insecurity. The major direct cause of deforestation is the need for agricultural land. The demand for agricultural land comes from industrial agriculture, but also from subsistence agriculture. For subsistence farmers food insecurity is real, and must be dealt with. This underlines the importance of improving agricultural practices on agricultural land that is already in use.

Many people in developing countries rely on food from forests for their daily livelihoods. Wood is the most important energy resource in many developing countries, and often the only option to prepare a warm meal. A strategy for increasing food security in developing countries must therefore also focus on sustainable use of forest resources.

Food security is also increasingly integrated in important processes such as the climate negotiations. These are important steps forward. This also underlines the important timing of this conference:  We need to keep up the momentum, discuss and encourage the processes that are already taking place, and the opportunities ahead.

 
The food and climate crisis have shed new light on the need to secure the worlds genetic crop diversity. Agriculture is founded on the diversity of plant and animal genetic resources, and on their ability to adapt to change. The development of crops that can cope with heat, drought, flood and other extremes will likely be the single most important action we can take to adapt to climate change. Norway has taken a pro-active role through The Svalbard Global Seed Vault, which provides backup safety storage for seeds from genebanks from around the world.

Global interdependence in the area of genetic resources is total. The International Plant Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture is a compelling example of what can be achieved through collaborative action. The Treaty has now been signed by 123 nations. It establishes common rules to make crop diversity freely accessible to plant breeders, and to ensure that that any benefits derived from that access are shared. The Treaty recognizes farmer’s rights, and the conservation and development of crop diversity that takes place in the fields of farmers, using local crops in traditional agricultural systems. 

Agriculture not only suffers the impact of climate change, it is also responsible for 14 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. All sectors must cut emissions, and agriculture will take its share of the responsibility.
The Norwegian Government has recently presented a White Paper on Climate change and the linkage to Agriculture and Food production.  The title of the paper is precisely “Agriculture- part of the solution”.

The paper explores potential to reduce the emissions from the agricultural sector, and increase the uptake of CO2 in agriculture through targeted measures. It identifies climate- related measures in agriculture that will help reduce Norway’s greenhouse gas emissions by more than 1.1 million tonnes Co2 equivalents. We need cost-efficient measures, and technology that enables such reduced costs.

The White Paper also identified significant knowledge gaps. We need a better foundation for example for emission mitigation measures.  To this end, it is necessary to strengthen research and knowledge development, including international research cooperation. Such cooperation is now established through a global research alliance initiated by New Zealand. 29 countries have agreed to join efforts to reduce emissions from agriculture. This initiative is yet another example of how the international community now strives to find solutions to the related challenges of climate change and food security.

To meet the challenge of feeding a growing population, reductions in the amount of food wasted after production are also needed. Tremendous quantities of food are wasted in processing, transport, and in people’s kitchens. We need to reduce our wasteful habits! 

The food crisis also calls for reinforcing the global governance on food security. We need a well-functioning global architecture for food and agriculture.  FAO is a cornerstone in this architecture.  FAO has a unique mandate and expertise, and should exploit the synergies between forest, cropland and pasture policy and management strategies. 

FAO is in the middle of a comprehensive reform process.  This reform is vital.  FAO must put a strong emphasis on partnerships with other UN organizations dealing with food security, as well with other development partners.

The Committee of Food Security – CFS, can be the hub we need. It is our ambition that the reform of CFS will enable the UN organizations related to food security to speak with one voice in the international community. We need a strong UN, a UN that “Delivers as One” in the field, drawing on the comparative advantage of each organization.  In this way, UN can serve as the multilateral arena for forging alliances to combat hunger and poverty.

Finally, let me give an example from the last Ministerial meeting I attended in OECD, which I think illustrates a new way of thinking after the food crisis of 2008.  The agenda in OECD is traditionally dominated by “an economics perspective”. This time it was different. My colleagues were now much more concerned with food security as a central goal for agricultural policies. I think we can say for certain that the crisis has brought about a real change in the way food security and agricultural development is conceived. Let us therefore leave out the question mark in the title of this conference: The crisis is an opportunity !

Thank you!