Ladies and Gentlemen: Thank you for joining the press conference on the Agricultural and Rural Development Day 2012.
I want to start by putting agriculture firmly on the agenda here in Rio. Agriculture is the world’s single largest employer, providing a living for 40 per cent of today’s global population. It is especially critical in developing countries where smallholder farms provide up to 80 per cent of the food supply and according to ILO, some 97% of worldwide agricultural workers are located in developing countries.
Also, agriculture uses more land that any other sector. Faced with environmental degradation, climate change, scarcity of land and water, loss of agricultural biodiversity and ecosystem services, and a world population that is continuing to climb; CGIAR firmly believes a solution to these challenges can only be found through sustainable agriculture.
To increase food production by 70% to feed nine billion people in 2050, and see the most disadvantaged raised out of poverty without wrecking the planet, dramatically increased investments in sustainable agriculture are critical.
Agriculture and environment no longer sit on opposite sides of the fence, they now have to be best friends.
I am here in Rio on behalf of CGIAR, the world’s largest publicly-funded global research partnership that advances science to reduce global poverty and hunger by addressing issues related to climate change, farming, forestry, environment and natural resources management. CGIAR has reorganized its 15 Member Centres into a single Consortium, with a single, focused portfolio of CGIAR Research Programs. This R&D portfolio worth $1 billion per annum has now been organised, so as to ensure integrated thinking across sub-sectors, in support of sustainable intensification of farming systems. For example the climate change program works in an integrated manner with all 15 centres. The water management institute used to operate largely independently, it now brings the water focus into these new programs.
In line with CGIAR’s Call-to-Action which was published on 23 May and to achieve the objectives at Rio+20 and beyond, a seven-point plan is also recommended specifically showing how agricultural research for development can contribute to a more sustainable, food-secure future.
In our new R&D portfolio, we are focusing on gender sensitivity capacity strengthening and open partnerships across all CGIAR research programs to ensure that research results empower women and poor smallholder farmers and are adopted at scale. For example, we are championing marginalized smallholders, who are mainly women, who should be empowered to increase the production and marketing of a wide diversity of adapted and nutritious crops.
Ask Jean Damascene, one of the many thousands of farmers in Rwanda, who switched from more traditional bush beans to improved climbing beans developed by CIAT, one of the 15 CGIAR Consortium members and its partners. The new climbing beans produce up to three times more food on the same area than bush beans, are crucial source of protein and
Or farmers like Mary Sikirwayi for whom maize is life. With the new drought tolerant maize developed by CIMMYT, another CGIAR Consortium member and its partners Mary’s farm yielded 5.5 tons more than she had harvested the previous year. Which meant she had enough to feed her family for the entire year. Nevis and Nogate Morombo feed their 12 children with the new variety and they could sell the surplus to invest in poultry and cattle… families can now thrive not only survive.
The International Potato Center, a member of CGIAR Consortium joined forces with Peruvian partners to develop two new potato varieties which resist diseases such as late blight and yield 15 tons per hectare compared to the 5 tons of the traditional native potatoes
These are just few of the countless stories of change, stories of change in the lives of farmers we at CGIAR are committed to continue making through our research
We are happy to be here, joining forces with other actors at ARDD. Together we call for a more central role for agriculture and rural development in shaping the broader development and environmental agendas. We need to focus on the entire agricultural landscape as an integrated system so that we can sustainably improve productivity for the poor’s livelihoods and food security, while not wrecking the planet; specifically we believe Rio+20 must establish a process to produce an SDG for sustainable food systems. This is essential if we want to achieve a food secure future for all.
Thank you again, Ladies and Gentlemen for joining us at the ARDD 2012 press conference.