Chapter 14 of Agenda 21, on sustainable agriculture and rural
development (SARD), notes that, by the year 2025, 83 per cent of the
expected global population of 8.5 billion will be living in developing
countries. Yet the capacity of available resources and technologies to
satisfy the demands of this growing population for food and other
agricultural commodities remains uncertain. Agriculture has to meet this
challenge, mainly by increasing production on land already in use and by
avoiding further encroachment on land that is only marginally suitable
for cultivation.
CSD and Agriculture Major adjustments are needed in
agricultural, environmental and macroeconomic policy, at both national
and international levels, in developed as well as developing countries,
to create the conditions for sustainable agriculture.and rural
development (SARD). The Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD)
first reviewed these issues at its third session in 1995, when it noted
with concern that, even though some progress had been reported,
disappointment is widely expressed at the slow progress in moving
towards sustainable agriculture and rural development in many countries・
Sustainable agriculture was also considered at the five-year review of
implementation of Agenda 21 in 1997, at which time Governments were
urged to attach high priority to implementing the commitments agreed at
the 1996 World Food Summit, especially the call for at least halving the
number of undernourished people in the world by the year 2015. This goal
was reinforced by the Millennium Declaration adopted by Heads of State
and Government in September 2000, which resolved to halve by 2015 the
proportion of the world's people who suffer from hunger.
In accordance with its multi-year programme of work, agriculture as an
economic sector was a major focus of CSD-8 in 2000, along with
integrated planning and management of land resources as the sectoral
theme. The supporting documentation and the discussions highlighted the
linkages between the economic, social and environmental objectives of
sustainable agriculture. The Commission adopted decision 8/4 which
identified 12 priorities for action. It reaffirmed that the major
objectives of SARD are to increase food production and enhance food
security in an environmentally sound way so as to contribute to
sustainable natural resource management. It noted that food
security-although a policy priority for all countries-remains an
unfulfilled goal. It also noted that agriculture has a special and
important place in society and helps to sustain rural life and land.
Agriculture is included as one of the thematic areas along with rural
development, land, drought, desertification and Africa in the CSD's 3rd
implementation cycle (CSD-16/17) in 2008-2009.
See also website information under
Rural development,
Land,
Drought and desertification and
Freshwater.
Coordination and Cooperation
Another recommendation of the WSSD is to strengthen and improve
coordination of existing initiatives to enhance sustainable agricultural
production and food security. This was a follow-up to
CSD-8's
decision to invite the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United
Nations (FAO) and the CSD secretariat to continue the stakeholder
dialogue on SARD in preparation for the 10-year review of Agenda 21 in
2002. FAO has continued to serve as lead agency in the UN system for
Chapter 14 of Agenda 21, as well as other relevant chapters, in
particular,
Chapter 10 on land issues. To further international coordination,
FAO has initiated and provides the secretariat for the UN System Network
on Rural Development and Food Security. In addition, FAO helped launch,
at the WSSD, a Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Development (SARD)
partnership between Governments and civil society. FAO, with IFAD, WFP
and other partners, also developed and supports the International
Alliance Against Hunger to accelerate action to reduce world hunger.
For more information on these initiatives, see
http://www.fao.org/wssd/sard
and http://www.iaahp.net/.
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