Food crisis and the International Assessment of Agriculture knowledge, Science and Technology for De

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Food crisis and the International Assessment of
Agriculture knowledge, Science and Technology for
Development (SSA)

• Dr Simplice Davo VODOUHE
• PAN International

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Origins of the IAASTD

• IAASTD International Assessment of Agriculture,
  Science and Technology for Development
• Main sponsors of the IAASTD Food and
  Agricultural Organization of the United Nations
  (FAO), the Global Environment Facility (GEF),
  United Nations Development Programme (UNDP),
  United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP),
  United Nations Educational, Scientific and
  Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the World Bank
  and World Health Organization (WHO)

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Central question addressed by IAASTD

• What must we do differently to overcome
  persistent poverty and hunger, achieve equitable
  and sustainable development and sustain
  productive and resilient environment ?

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How has IAASTD worked?

• Independent the assessment was different from
  the others as it claims its independence from a
  particular institution
• Multistakeholder NGO, Industry, academicians,
  Gouvernments are involved as equal partners
• multidisciplinary process different disciplines
  have been called upon this process
• Respect of divergence
• the scale of the challenge of covering a broad
  range of complex issues

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How has IAASTD worked?

• The concept of an IAASTD was endorsed as a
  multi-thematic, multi-spatial, multi-temporal
  intergovernmental process with a multistakeholder
  Bureau cosponsored by the same organisations

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How has IAASTD worked

• The IAASTDs governance structure is a unique
  hybrid of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
  Change (IPCC) and the nongovernmental Millennium
  Ecosystem Assessment (MA)
• The stakeholder composition of the Bureau was
  agreed at the Intergovernmental Plenary meeting
  in Nairobi it is geographically balanced and
  multistakeholder with 30 government and 30 civil
  society representatives (NGOs, producer and
  consumer groups, private sector entities and
  international organizations) in order to ensure
  ownership of the process and findings by a range
  of stakeholders.

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How has IAASTD worked?

• About 400 of the worlds experts were selected to
  prepare the IAASTD Report
• These experts worked in their own capacity and
  did not represent any particular stakeholder
  group.
• Additional individuals, organizations and
  governments were involved in the peer review
  process.

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Main results

• There are diverse and conflicting interpretations
  of past and current events, which need to be
  acknowledged and respected
• Agriculture involves more than yields it has
  multiple social, political, cultural and
• environmental impacts and benefits

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Main results

• The future of agriculture lies in agroecological
  farming and triple-bottom-line business
  practices that meet social, environmental and
  economic goals.

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Main results 2

• Reliance on resource-extractive industrial
• agriculture is dangerous and unsustainable
• short-term technical fixes do not address
• complex challenges and often exacerbate social
  and environmental harm.

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Main results 3

• Achieving food security and sustainable
• livelihoods for people in chronic poverty
  depends on ensuring access to and control of
  resources by small-scale farmers
• Fair local, regional and global trading regimes
• can build local economies, reduce poverty and
• improve livelihoods.

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Main results 4

• Strengthening the human and ecological
• resilience of agricultural systems improves
  our
• capacity to respond to changing environmental
• and social stresses. Indigenous knowledge and
• community-based innovations are an invaluable
• part of the solution.
• Good decision-making requires building better
• governance mechanisms and ensuring
• democratic participation by the full range of

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Conclusion and options

• The compelling options for confronting the food
  crisis by strengthening farmers organizations,
  creating more equitable transparent trade
  agreements, increasing local participation in
  policy-formation and other decision making
  processes, then we can begin to reverse
  structural inequities within and between
  countries, increase rural communities access to
  and control over resources, and pave the way
  towards local and national food sovereignty

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Conclusion and options

• The IAASTD concludes that ensuring food
  security and recognizing food sovereignty
  necessitates ending the institutional
  marginalization of the worlds small-scale
  producers.

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• IAASTD recognizes the importance of small scale
  farmers and traditional knowledge, therefore Aid
  that is targetting at integrating and improving
  the knowledge systems will be more effective

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• Thank you for your attention.