Currently, over 1 billion people – about 15 percent of the world – are hungry. Smallholder farmers are unable to produce enough food to feed their families and lack the support to work themselves out of poverty. In his letter, Gates highlights the responsibility developed countries have to not only invest in agricultural aid, but in agricultural research. Between 1987 and 2006, agricultural aid fell from rich countries from 17 percent to just 4 percent.

At the same time, demand for food is increasing because of population growth and economic development, with the world’s population set to hit 9 billion in 2050. Supply growth has not kept up, leading to higher food prices and climate change threatens farmers’ ability to produce enough food to meet the growing demand.

Agricultural innovation, Gates argues, is a vital way forward. During the ‘Green Revolution’ of the 1960s and 1970s, new seed varieties for rice, wheat, and maize were developed that helped many farmers greatly improve their yields. In some places, such as East Asia, food intake went up by as much as 50 percent. Globally, the price of wheat dropped by two-thirds. The same process can happen again:

We can be more innovative about delivering solutions that already exist to the farmers who need them. Knowledge about managing soil and tools like drip irrigation can help poor farmers grow more food today. We can also discover new approaches and create new tools to fundamentally transform farmers’ lives. But we won’t advance if we don’t continue to fund agricultural innovation, and I am very worried about where those funds will come from in the current economic and political climate.

He also stated that agricultural research is ‘chronically underfunded’.  Climate change is becoming an increasing threat; studies show that the rise in global temperature alone could reduce the productivity of the main crops by over 25 percent. Climate change will also increase the number of droughts and floods that can wipe out an entire season of crops. Increased investment in agricultural research can unveil new seed varieties that can survive extreme weather conditions, as well as combat plant diseases that destroy crops.

Click here to read Bill Gate’s 2012 Annual Letter letter in full. Follow the debate on Twitter with the hashtag #BillsLetter.

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Our world faces formidable challenges. The global population has now crossed the seven billion mark and is projected to reach nine billion by mid-century, requiring at least a 70 percent increase in agricultural production to meet increased demand.

The world’s resources are under more strain than ever before as global demand for water, energy and food is on the rise. At the same time, climate change threatens farmers’ ability to produce enough to meet growing demand, and poor communities’ ability to access nutritious food.

More frequent and extreme weather events are affecting our food supply, our infrastructure and our livelihoods. Last year, Russia suffered its worst drought in more than 100 years, triggering forest fires and destroying millions of hectares of crops. This year we have seen the Horn of Africa face its worst drought in 60 years as more than 13 million people requiring emergency food aid and pastoralists losing a third of their livestock. Recent flooding in Thailand, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Cambodia has also impacted livelihoods and worsened food insecurity.

The most vulnerable regions of the world – developing countries – are disproportionately affected by climate change, despite contributing little to carbon emissions. People in developing countries depend heavily on agriculture for their livelihoods, yet are increasingly challenged in their ability to produce sufficient food for their families and for markets.

Whilst agriculture is a contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, it has significant potential to be part of the solution to climate change.

Preserving and enhancing food security requires increasing agricultural productivity whilst at the time adapting to and mitigating climate change. It also requires a shift towards building farmers’ and vulnerable communities’ resilience to climate shocks, and related food price volatility.

More productive, sustainable and resilient agriculture requires transformations in how rural people manage natural resources and how efficiently they use these resources as inputs for crop production. For these transformations to occur, it is essential that the world’s farmers, scientists, researchers, the private sector, development practitioners and food consumers come together to achieve climate-smart agriculture.

Yet the agricultural sector remains astonishingly underfunded. As a percentage of total investment, agriculture has dropped from 22 percent in 1980 to approximately 6 percent today. In absolute terms, this constitutes a drop to roughly half of the funding allocated thirty years ago.

At the upcoming climate change negotiations in Durban, we call on negotiators to recognise the important role of agriculture in addressing climate change so that a new era of agricultural innovation and knowledge sharing can be achieved. Specifically, we ask that they approve a Work Programme for agriculture under the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA) so that the sector can take early action to determine the long-term investments needed to transform agriculture to meet future challenges.

You can see the full list of signatories on the Agriculture and Rural Development Day website.

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The summary includes seven key recommendations to policy makers that, if actioned, the authors believe would bring us closer to a global sustainable food system in the face of climate change.

The key message from the summary is that the global food system faces pressure. This is due to a range of factors, including the shift in diets towards higher consumption of calories, fats and animal products and the growing, increasingly urban, population.

Further pressure is added to the food system through inefficiency – an estimated 12 million hectares of agricultural land are lost to land degradation each year, and around a third of food produced for human consumption is lost or wasted across the global food system.

Moreover, although sustainable agriculture can be a powerful mitigating factor in tackling the effects of climate change, many current farming practices – including land clearing and inefficient use of fertilizers and organic residues – mean that agriculture is a significant contributor to greenhouse gasses (accounting for up to 30 percent of global emissions).

This is problematic as the authors argue that ever-higher temperatures are exacerbating the above issues, and that global climate change will have an adverse effect on agricultural production, bringing us toward critical thresholds in many regions.

The authors argue that:

“Business as usual in our globally interconnected food system will not bring us food security and environmental stability.”

In order to make the vital transition to a global sustainable food system, CCAFS have proposed seven evidence-based actions to achieve food security in the face of climate change. These are:

1. Integrate food security and sustainable agriculture into global and national policies.
2. Significantly raise the level of global investment in sustainable agriculture and food systems in the next decade.
3. Sustainably intensify agricultural production while reducing greenhouse gas emissions and other negative environmental impacts of agriculture.
4. Develop specific programmes and policies to assist populations and sectors that are most vulnerable to climate change and food insecurity.
5. Reshape food access and consumption patterns to ensure basic nutritional needs are met and to foster healthy and sustainable eating patterns worldwide.
6. Reduce loss and waste in food systems, targeting infrastructure, farming practices, processing, distribution and household habits.
7. Create comprehensive, shared, integrated information systems that encompass human and ecological dimensions.

Farming First has written a policy paper on climate change, and has a range of resources on the role of agriculture in creating a global green economy.

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The agreed focus is to be on “Growth with Resilience”, and central to this agenda will be the publication of a report, due in late February 2012, which aims to inform discussions related to key policy events. It will look broadly at agriculture’s role in supporting green growth, food and nutrition security, ecosystem services and climate change mitigation and adaptation.

Sir Gordon Conway, Chair of the Montpellier Panel, said:

“Agriculture is back high on the political agenda, as more leaders are recognizing the key role which it can play in addressing many of the world’s most pressing challenges. Policies and funding now need to better reflect African national and regional priorities, and build resilient agricultural programmes that fulfill the strong growth potential of the sector. The Montpellier Panel work will also suggest more and better ways for translating these discussions into meaningful interventions on the ground.”

The Montpellier Panel consists of a group of ten experts from the fields of agriculture, sustainable development, trade, policy, and global development. It first convened at the Global Conference on Agricultural Research for Development (GCARD) in Montpellier in March 2010.

Montpellier Panel members include:

• Sir Gordon Conway, Professor of International Development, Imperial College London (Chair)
• Lindiwe Majele Sibanda, Chief Executive, Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources Policy Analysis Network (FANRPAN)
• Ramadjita Tabo, Deputy Executive Director, Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA)
• David Radcliffe, Senior Policy Advisor, Directorate-General, Development and Cooperation, European Commission
• Prabhu Pingali, Deputy Director, Agricultural Development, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

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Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA) can be defined as:

“…agriculture that sustainably increases productivity, resilience (adaptation), reduces/removes greenhouse gases (mitigation), and enhances achievement of national food security and development goals.” (FAO)

As the world leaders prepare for the  COP17 which will be held in Durban in December – the first time the COP will be held in Africa – there is a need for increased recognition that sustainable agriculture can be a solution to climate change.

What is Climate Smart Agriculture?

As agriculture accounts for 70 percent of water use globally, is a major user of fossil fuels and accounts for 17-30 percent of global greenhouse gases, CSA has tended to be seen as part of the problem of climate change rather than part of the solution. CSA seeks to reverse this pattern and position agriculture as vital in mitigating and adapting to climate change.

New Agriculturalist asked the Farming First coalition how CSA worked. We answered:

“By promoting agricultural best practices, particularly Integrated Crop Management, conservation agriculture, intercropping, improved seeds and fertilizer management practices, as well as supporting increased investment in agricultural research, CSA encourages the use of all available and applicable climate change solutions in a pragmatic and impact-focused manner. Resilience will be key, but ‘climate smart’ is broader and underscores the need for innovation and proactive changes in the way farming is done to not only adapt but also mitigate and increase productivity sustainably.”

Is Climate Smart Agriculture of global importance?

The emphasis on CSA varies according to the level of agricultural development in different countries. For example, developing countries might focus on adapting their agricultural systems to meet the challenges posed by changing climate conditions, whereas developed countries may focus on reducing energy inputs and emissions, or look at carbon trading.

The Farming First coalition said:

“With a predicted 9 billion people by 2050, agricultural production will need to increase by 70 per cent to meet new demands for food, feed, fuel and fibre. As agriculture accounts for up to 30 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions, it’s crucial that Climate Smart Agriculture is developed to achieve future food security and climate change goals.”

Alberto Sandoval from the FAO said:

“CSA is about increasing productivity and income in a changing environment… It’s an opportunity to improve livelihoods while enhancing all types of agriculture in different countries all over the world.”

What is new?

Given the current insecurity around climate change and the need to feed an ever-growing population in a sustainable manner, CSA means having to adapt from ‘traditional’ agricultural practices.

Ademola Braimoh from the World Bank said:

“There is a great value addition in integrating adaptation and mitigation because both share the ultimate goal of reducing the undesirable impacts of climate on human livelihoods.”

Alberto Sandoval from the FAO said:

“CSA practices propose a transformation of agriculture, in the way we grow food and treat the environment in a changing climate. It outlines ways to preserve and enhance food security by changing policy and agricultural production systems.”

Will Climate Smart Agriculture be of interest to farmers?

For CSA practices to work, they need buy in from farmers around the globe.

Sir Gordon Conway from Agriculture for Impact said:

“Climate Smart Agriculture will only be attractive to farmers if its adoption is incentivised either in terms of high-level financial incentives or in terms of significant gains in productivity.”

George Jacob from Self Help Africa said:

“Smallholder farmers cannot invest heavily in their land, but new methods of farming which are low-input, and yet which result in increased outputs, are particularly attractive.”

Climate Smart Agriculture – who pays?

The Farming First coalition said:

“Ultimately climate smart pays for itself. The benefits in terms of food security and sustainability are far greater than the cost of supporting farmers, or the costs of inaction, in terms of human, social and environmental as well as financial costs.”

Bruce Campbell from the CGIAR said:

“In a developing country context, major public investment may be needed to kick start some CSA technologies and practices. If farmers are going to incur costs in putting carbon into the soil, those costs will need to be recouped somehow.”

Scaling up Climate Smart Agriculture

In terms of scaling up CSA, the Farming First coalition believe immediate priorities should include:

-       The realisation of the G8 funding commitments made in L’Aquila;

-       National government commitment to earmark specific funding to re-establish and improve extension services;

-        Strong and global commitment to supporting public-private partnerships as a means to advance research and the adoption of new practices and technologies;

-       Specific commitments to research funding in key crops and on key issues, such as water use.

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To read the full article on New Agriculturalist, please see:

http://www.new-ag.info/en/pov/views.php?a=2297

To read more about how the Farming First principles can be applied to climate change, please visit:

http://www.farmingfirst.org/climate/

To read more about Farming First’s view on building a global green economy and to watch our animated video, please visit:

http://www.farmingfirst.org/green-economy/

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The report argues that although irrigation in Africa has the potential to boost agricultural productivities by at least 50 per cent, food production is almost entirely sustained through rainwater, with only six per cent of the total cultivated area equipped for irrigation.

Over 70 per cent of Africa’s poor live in rural areas, and most of these people depend on agriculture for their livelihoods. Therefore, the report says, agriculture has a key role to play in tackling poverty on the continent.

To help increase agricultural production and decrease poverty, many development agencies have recently proposed to substantially increase investments in irrigation in Africa. But, as the report claims, the potential for irrigation investments in the region is highly dependent on geographic, hydrologic, agronomic and economic factors that must be taken into account when the viability of projects is assessed.

The report analyses irrigation investment potential in Africa, and concludes that there is “significant profitable irrigation potential for both small-scale and large-scale systems”.

Farming First think that water use efficiency is important as water is a precious resource. By 2050, the proportion of the population facing stressed water supplies is expected to increase by 500% and the number facing full water scarcity is expected to increase by 800%.

We believe that research, innovation, and access to improved technologies, seeds, and improved irrigation techniques are essential to increasing the efficiency of water use, and that agriculture needs to be part of watershed management.

Click here to go to our water page, where you can download our position paper and read about our six-point action plan.

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The report identifies girls as key to unlocking the full potential of agricultural development in developing countries, and to secure food supplies.

The report argues that rural adolescent girls face a “triple challenge” of rural location, gender and age which restricts their development into the agents of change they could become.

The report provides a seven-step action plan for investing in rural girls. These steps are:

• Expand opportunities for rural adolescent girls to go to school
• Equip rural adolescent girls to be entrepreneurs, workers, and managers in the rural economy and beyond
• Prepare rural adolescent girls to be major stakeholders in agriculture and natural resource management
• Empower and provide opportunities for rural adolescent girls to have an active voice in household, community and national decision making
• Provide rural adolescent girls with comprehensive health information and services
• Improve rural adolescent girls’ safety and security
• Count girls and measure progress

The report pays special attention to how girls uniquely contribute to agriculture. It argues that if women farmers were given the same access to productive resources such as land and water as men, the results could be significant, with he potential for women’s agricultural yields to increase by 20 to 30 per cent, national agricultural output to increase by 2.5 to 4 per cent and the number of undernourished people to reduce by 12 to 17 per cent.

The report goes on to say:

“Girl’s responsibilities at home and on the farm give them unique knowledge of local crop species and environmental conditions, making them natural players in natural resource management. They can become leaders in agricultural research and extension and as entrepreneurs and workers across the agricultural value chain.”

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We wanted to take some of the existing data on agriculture and food security and create a beautiful and engaging infographic.

The infographic is built up of 17 different graphics, all of which have been designed so they can be tweeted individually, ensuring integration with social media.

We believe that as a sector, agriculture is essential to a green economy. With a predicted 9 billion people by 2050, agricultural production will have to increase to meet new demands, for food, feed, fuel and fibre. Agriculture must not only meet demand – it must also do so while minimising its environmental footprint and creating sustainable livelihoods for farmers and others along the supply chain.

The infographic has already been internationally recognised, winning “Best Infographic” in the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s “Small Farmers are the Answer” global challenge competition.

You can view the infographic and download our policy paper on the Green Economy if you want to learn more.

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Direct payments, or agricultural subsidies, are used as a means of phasing out agricultural market intervention in the form of maintaining high commodity prices and the buying up and disposing of surpluses. They are government subsidies payed to farmers and agribusinesses to supplement their incomes, manage the supply of commodities and influence their cost. Direct payments effectively act as income support to farmers that is not linked to production or price.

In the EU, direct payments account for the largest share of the Common Agricultural Policy budget, spending some €36 billion on them in 2008. The US in turn spends $5 billion dollars a year on direct payments. Over time, the report’s authors argue, these have become a drain on government budgets and have contributed to trade frictions.

The IPC originally welcomed the introduction of direct payments as a move away from market intervention, but with the proviso that these were temporary measures. The paper’s authors emphasise that the linkage of direct payments in the EU to “cross-compliance”, the requirement to meet certain environmental standards, have made direct payments less controversial than in the US.

The paper’s authors provide some key recommendations, which include:

-       The case for continuing payments in the EU needs to be made in a way that is convincing to the public by strengthening the link with the provision of public goods

-       The rationale for continuing payments in the US is weak, and thus should be eliminated on policy reasons

-       In the US, money saved from eliminating payments should go into supporting research and development for productivity enhancement to allow US farmers to compete effectively in world markets.

To read the paper in full, please see: http://www.agritrade.org/Publications/FarmPolicyintheUSandEU.html

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The report explores the need for policy coherence to make sure that policies for development do not contradict one another but rather complement each other, creating synergies. This is importnant, the report says, as:

“In the absence of clear guildelines, policies and programmes proliferate. Some potentially compete, duplicate and overlap one another, leading to waste and loss. This is exacerbated by the tendency for new policies and programmes to emerge while older ones are not always clearly retired.”

Within the report, the authors talk about the particular challenges of ensuring policy coherence for ARD. They highlight three aspects that distinguish ARD:

-       Agriculture and most rural enterprises are carried out by private enterprises, most of which are small and dispersed over large areas, sometimes with little access to ports and cities. This means more technical uncertainly than other sectors, and a higher risk of market failures when interacting with others in the supply chain

-       A wide range of objectives are commonly invested in ARD – economic growth; export earnings; poverty; employment; gender equality; food and nutrition security; conservation; and regional equity

-       Political support for agriculture is often weak and unfocussed. Responsibilities for providing the public goods and services to support agriculture tend to be spread over several ministries and agencies, and may well not be providing the more important and costly public goods such as rural roads, education, and clean water.

As well as the three challenges highlighted above, the authors say that there is the expectation that ARD policy will serve multiple objectives. Factoring in limited administrative capacity in many developing countries leaves us with inconsistent and contradictory policy, which will need sustained interest and effort in order to be aligned and coherent.

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