Shared Vision Statement (Chair’s Summary)

During the High Level Segment of the Seventeenth Session of the Commission onSustainable Development, Ministers, other heads of delegations, representatives of MajorGroups, representatives of United Nations bodies, shared their vision on the topics offundamental importance to our economies, societies and to the future of sustainabledevelopment: agriculture, rural development, land, drought, desertification and Africa.We have come to understand the deep interconnections among these topics, and theirclose relationship to many other important topics, starting with the eradication of hungerand extreme poverty and continuing through climate change.Secretary General of the United Nations, Mr. Ban Ki Moon stated that “the UnitedNations advances the idea of sustainable development as a way of escaping from a cycleof poverty degradation and despair. This idea of an integrated and comprehensiveapproach to development remains as valid today as ever. It shows how to address theclimate crisis, the food crisis and the energy crisis. It provides durable solutions to thefinancial crisis and global recession. We must follow the wisdom of the Brundtlandreport. We must pursue development that meets the needs of the present generationwithout comprising the ability of future generations to meet their needs”.The multiple challenges the world is facing in terms of climate change, degradation ofecosystems, the food insecurity, the financial meltdown and economic recession requirean integrated response that ensures that short term emergencies are addressed whiledeveloping long term strategies within the framework of sustainable development. Withthe economic crisis, many countries, especially developing countries, are hard hit bycollapsing exports, capital flight and rising unemployment.Still, to feed a growing population adequately and to allow for improved nutrition underconditions of growing water scarcity, climate change, soil depletion and ecosystemdegradation, business as usual will not suffice. Ministers highlighted the urgency ofappropriate national and international action and greater cooperation to bring about aparadigm shift and to realize a truly sustainable green revolution that reverses thewidespread trends of declining agricultural productivity and incomes. Nothing less isneeded than a revolution in ideas and a revolution in technologies, supported by arevolution in trade policies and market access and the financial means to implement it.With sharing our vision we underlined our deeper appreciation of the centrality ofagriculture to sustainable development: agriculture in the broad sense, including livestockraising, agro-forestry and mixed systems. Farmers, particularly women farmers and smallrural farmers are at the heart of sustainable agriculture. Farmers are central to theenterprise of building and sustaining a productive, resilient agricultural sector – hereagain, farmers in the broad sense, including pastoralists, farmer workers and others whomake a living from the land. This includes women and men, and the important place ofwomen in farming needs to be recognized. Farmers feed the world, yet far too many ofthem put their children to bed underfed. This injustice must cease.1

We must commit ourselves to working to create the conditions and provide theopportunities and resources so that farmers everywhere can increase their foodproduction, send their children to school, and enjoy rising living standards and fulfillinglives. This applies specifically to small farmers.A paradigm shift is needed. Agriculture should no longer be seen as part of the problem,but part of the solution. Agriculture is at the heart of poverty eradication. It is at the heartof sustainable development. It is also increasingly at the heart of climate change.The hard work which farmers do has great value, but it is too often undervalued bysociety. We tend to forget that, before the food crisis which struck a year ago, for decadesfarmers faced declining real prices for their products. To some extent that reflected risingproductivity, but to a large extent it translated into stagnant or even declining incomes.It is heartening that, in some rapidly growing economies, many farmers and ruralhouseholds have lifted themselves out of abject poverty over the past few decades. Yet,there are many millions of farmers who are still desperately poor and many more forwhom poverty is just a drought or pest infestation away.We know that the vast majority of the world’s poor are farmers and rural people. Weknow that, if we are to eradicate extreme poverty, we must start by working with and forfarmers, supporting rural development. We need to give higher priority to agriculture andfood security than in the past, including in national plans of governments.Farmers and rural people through their farming practices, including organic farming, arecustodians of the land and water on which our existence depends. They are alsocustodians of the forests, of biodiversity, and of other natural resources which helpsustain agriculture and much else. Yet, until now, that custodianship has gone largelyunrecognized and unrewarded. Their traditional knowledge has been underappreciatedand undervalued.We have to focus on putting the sustainable development of agriculture on theinternational agenda again. This aspiration is starting to become a reality. It is likely tocontinue to do so in the years ahead. We may well be on the cusp of an agricultural andrural revival, laying the foundations for the bio-based economies of the future. Weurgently need such a revival to feed the world’s growing population, to improve thenutritional levels of the millions of people currently suffering from malnutrition andhunger, all while nurturing the land and keeping it fertile and conserving scarce waterresources. Elements of such a revival are increasing our investments in sustainableagriculture; creating an enabling environment; developing sustainable production andfood chains; improving market access especially for developing countries; and, socialsafety nets and access to finance, for example micro-credit.Developing countries, with their growing populations and rising living standards, shouldbe at the centre of this agricultural and rural revival. For many, halting and reversing landdegradation and desertification is a high priority. Many need urgently to boost2

agricultural productivity and to do so sustainably. Intensifying agriculture for foodsecurity must include a vigorous response to major environmental change such asdesertification, land degradation and drought.Africa above all could benefit from a sustainable green revolution, that is, an agriculturalproductivity revolution that is economically viable, socially equitable andenvironmentally sustainable. A green revolution, especially in Africa, would have to benot a single but many revolutions, each tailored to diverse local agro-ecologicalconditions and cropping systems.Such a revolution needs to wed traditional and indigenous knowledge with moderntechnologies and the latest scientific knowledge about agriculture and the roots ofsustainability. It is critical that countries share experiences and innovative technologiesand cooperate in training and developing human capacities. Technologies and knowledgeare available, but their wider diffusion and uptake by farmers are a key challenge andneed to be addressed.The political will of national governments and the support of the international communityare both needed to make a sustainable green revolution happen. There is a need forincreased and well-targeted investments, both public and private, in agriculture:investments in rural infrastructure to boost productivity and link farmers to markets, andin agricultural research and teaching, making full use of indigenous knowledge andresponding to farmers’ needs and local conditions; in enhanced extension services whichcan bring to farmers the latest productive and sustainable practices and involve them inturn as extension agents; in post-harvest technologies to reduce losses and raise farmers’incomes; in sustainable value-added food chains, market infrastructure and supportinstitutions.Governments have to make many of these investments, but it was recognized that theprivate sector must play a central role in expanding agriculture production, buildingagricultural value chains and assessing the potential of new technologies, includinggenetically modified organisms. Investments in revitalizing developing countryagriculture and promoting sustainable rural development will need to be supported bynew and additional resources from all sources, such as from private, public, domestic andinternational sources.Investments in agriculture will only pay off if there is a supportive enabling environment– domestic, regional and international, including regional partnerships, North-South andSouth-South partnerships and public-private partnerships between all relevantstakeholders. Government policies and strong institutions are needed to supportagriculture. Timely information is also essential for farmers – on the weather, on marketand input prices, on new market opportunities and new farming methods. This requires astrengthening of traditional information providers, like extension services. At the sametime, new information technologies are already being used by farmers all over the worldas a tool of their trade, but their full potential is only beginning to be tapped and needs tobe strengthened.3

Farmers also need to be able to negotiate fair prices for their produce and, whileinformation can help, organization can too. Farmers’ organizations, such as marketingcooperatives, need to be strengthened to enable them to play a stronger role in themarketplace and to participate in agro-processing and other parts of the value chain. Suchorganizations can also play an important role in shaping government policies towardsagriculture.Regionally, fuller integration of markets can open up new opportunities for farmers,providing an incentive to boost productivity and also in many cases to diversify into new,higher value crops and agro-products. Making urban market facilities accessible toregional and local producers will create urban-rural linkages that could slow rural-to-urban migration, stimulate local economic development, and strengthen food security.Greater international market access is also critical. There is still a long way to go toachieve the sort of pro-development trade policies which are meant to be the outcome ofthe Doha Development Round. Further progress is urgently needed in openingagricultural markets, notably the markets of developed countries to the agriculturalexports of developing ones, and reducing trade-distorting subsidies. All countries need tobe cognizant of and seek to address the particular market access needs and concerns ofthe least-developed countries, landlocked countries and small-island developing States(SIDS).Agriculture can and must adapt to climate change if we are to survive. Climate changealso poses an important challenge for future food security. Beginning now, we mustincrease our investments in adaptation, including in drought- and flood-resilient as wellas salt-resilient crop varieties. New ways must be found and instruments developed tohelp farmers manage their increased exposure to climate risk. International efforts toenhance adaptation of agriculture need to be scaled up, as developing country farmerswill be seriously affected.Agriculture, we know, also has an important role to play in climate change mitigation.Wise management of soil carbon is a win-win, increasing soil fertility while storingcarbon which would otherwise be released into the atmosphere. Good soil managementpractices yield benefits to the world, and again the world has not yet properly valuedthose benefits. Sound land use practices have strong potential and can generate financialbenefits in the future to poor farmers as part of global efforts to tackle climate change.The door should be open to include agriculture and soil carbon in a new climate changedeal.It is essential to address the challenges and opportunities posed by biofuels, in view of theworld’s food security, energy and sustainable development needs, noting the ongoingefforts in this regard at the international, regional and national levels. We should continueto promote research and development with a view to continuously enhance thesustainability of biofuels and other bioenergy sources, including through South-South,North-South, and triangular cooperation, and through the exchange of information andtechnological cooperation. The already existing initiatives and roundtables, for example4

the Global Bioenergy Partnership and the Round Table on responsible soy, may offerpromising examples.Agriculture and water are closely linked. There are many competing claims on water.Worldwide agriculture consumes 70 percent of all fresh water withdrawals. Agriculturalwater productivity has to be increased significantly. We should tap into the unexploredpotential that lies in more adequate and efficient water management throughunprecedented changes in policy and production techniques.The integrated management of land and water resources (ILWM) is crucial forsustainable rural development and for ensuring food security for a growing population.Sustainable land and water management plays a crucial role for achieving povertyeradication, food security and sustainable development. It provides multiple benefits,such as sustaining agricultural productivity and food security, enhancing living conditionfor local populations, generating ecosystem services and sequestering carbon. Promotingsustainable land and water management will require effective land administration,equitable land access, integrated planning, broad participation and improveddissemination of knowledge and good practices. Small-island developing States arefacing specific challenges in addressing sustainable land and water management in theface of climate change.In response to the decreasing availability of water in many regions, there is a need forbetter water management, protecting ground and surface waters from pollution,enhancing availability of scarce water resources including through conservation andefficiency gains, and considering the ecological impacts of water use and pollution.Achieving water productivity gains in rain-fed agriculture is especially urgent. Access tosafe drinking water and sanitation services in rural areas, where coverage remains low, iscrucial for preventing disease, promoting rural development and ensuring the attainmentof the Millennium Development Goals.We stand at a crossroads, a watershed. At this time, we find ourselves in the midst ofmultiple crises. Not just a food crisis, but a climate crisis and a financial crisis, all ofwhich are worsening the underlying poverty crisis. Agriculture is an important part of thesolution of these crises. This provides the proper lens with which to see and understandthe interconnections among these different crises, and to find our way out.A green economy is the way out of the current food crisis -- a green economy at whoseheart is a green revolution. A green stimulus, with significant investments in agriculture,can also be a way out of the current financial crisis. And sustainable agricultural andlivestock practices as well as sustainable biofuels production can also help us out of theclimate crisis. Developing countries should be able to participate fully in theseopportunities.Sustainable farms, food, feed, fuel, funds – all are needed to put us on a sustainable pathto the future. But the most important ingredients in the recipe are farmers, especially