Global agriculture will face multiple challenges over the coming decades. It must produce more food to feed a growing world population. It must also contribute to overall development and poverty alleviation in many developing countries.
And in case that was not enough to contend with, global agriculture must also confront the issues connected to competition for finite land and water resources, adapt to climate change, and contribute to preserving biodiversity and restoring fragile ecosystems.
Early in 2012 Mexico (as G20 President) invited international organizations to examine practical actions that could be undertaken to sustainably improve agricultural productivity growth, in particular on small family farms.
The preparation of this report, coordinated by the FAO and the OECD, is a collaborative undertaking by Bioversity International, CGIAR Consortium, FAO, IFAD, IFPRI, IICA, OECD, UNCTAD, UN High Level Task Force on the Food Security Crisis, WFP, World Bank, and WTO.
The report invites G20 countries to engage in a medium- to long-term review of policies fostering sustainable productivity growth, beginning with their own food and agriculture sectors.
The above report is flawed and has a distinct bias that impede sustainability driven agriculture growth. The starting premise itself is based on conjectures about the small farms and their production landscape. Hence the issue of various factors of production to be considered for productivity enhancement in a majority of small farm dominated highly livelihood and therefore food insecure countries is burdened with esoteric suggestions about exploiting the natural resources and bio diverse hot spots.
Here the exhortations of the Indian Prime Minister to the Agricultural scientists on 16th July 2011 at the 83rd ICAR Foundation Day lecture must be recalled: “As the country’s apex organization for coordinating, guiding and managing research and education in agriculture including horticulture, fisheries and animal sciences, the ICAR carries an enormous responsibility on its shoulders. Unfortunately there is an impression among many that the National Agricultural Research System has become somewhat insular over time and responds less well to specific demands from those in the field. You must never lose sight of the fact that your main client is the Indian farmer. Unless you engage with farmers and their problems, you will not succeed in transforming new knowledge into higher productivity and better incomes for our farmers. You must get your research questions primarily from the farmers. This is perhaps the most difficult of the challenges that you must overcome in the years ahead and which can test your commitment and ability.”
The report against this backdrop is highly flawed and completely discounts any possibilities of research agenda emanating from the bottom, i.e., grass roots realities
Thank you very much for your comments.
The report is an inter-agency report, coordinated by more than one organization. Your remarks have been forwarded to those involved for their attention.