Agriculture: Decisions of the GA and CSD 

World Summit on Sustainable Development
Johannesburg, 26 April - 4 September 2002

The Plan of Implementation adopted by the World Summit on Sustainable Development (Johannesburg, 26 August - 4 September 2002), in paragraph 40(a), urges action at all levels to achieve the Millennium Declaration and World Food Summit targets to halve global hunger by 2015, in combination with measure which address poverty. Specific recommendations support, inter alia,: integrated land management and water-use plans; the sustainable and efficient use of land and of other natural resources, including through strengthening national research and extension services and farmer organizations; the enhanced participation of women in sustainable agriculture and food security; guaranteeing well-defined and enforceable land and water use rights and promotion of legal security of tenure; increasing public sector finance for sustainable agriculture; enhancing access to existing markets and development of new markets for value-added agricultural products; and support for traditional and indigenous agricultural systems.

Commission on Sustainable Development, 8th Session
New York, 24 April - 5 May 2000

Decision by the Commission on Sustainable Development at its eighth session

United Nations General Assembly, 19th Special Session
New York, 23-27 June 1997

Resolution Adopted By The General Assembly for the Programme for the Further Implementation of Agenda 21

Land and sustainable agriculture

62. Land degradation and soil loss threaten the livelihood of millions of people and future food security, with implications for water resources and the conservation of biodiversity. There is an urgent need to define ways to combat or reverse the worldwide accelerating trend of soil degradation, using an ecosystem approach, taking into account the needs of populations living in mountain ecosystems and recognizing the multiple functions of agriculture. The greatest challenge for humanity is to protect and sustainably manage the natural resource base on which food and fibre production depend, while feeding and housing a population that is still growing. The international community has recognized the need for an integrated approach to the protection and sustainable management of land and soil resources, as stated in decision III/11 of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity, 34/ including identification of land degradation, which involves all interested parties at the local as well as the national level, including farmers, small-scale food producers, indigenous people(s), non-governmental organizations and, in particular, women, who have a vital role in rural communities. This should include action to ensure secure land tenure and access to land, credit and training, as well as the removal of obstacles that inhibit farmers, especially small-scale farmers and peasants, from investing in and improving their lands and farms.

63. It remains essential to continue efforts for the eradication of poverty through, inter alia, capacity-building to reinforce local food systems, improving food security and providing adequate nutrition for the more than 800 million undernourished people in the world, located mainly in developing countries. Governments should formulate policies that promote sustainable agriculture as well as productivity and profitability. Comprehensive rural policies are required to improve access to land, combat poverty, create employment and reduce rural emigration. In accordance with the commitments agreed to in the Rome Declaration on World Food Security and the World Food Summit Plan of Action, adopted by the World Food Summit, 35/ sustainable food security for both the urban and the rural poor should be a policy priority, and developed countries and the international community should provide assistance to developing countries to this end. To meet these objectives, Governments should attach high priority to implementing the commitments of the Rome Declaration and Plan of Action, especially the call for a minimum target of halving the number of undernourished people in the world by the year 2015. Governments and international organizations are encouraged to implement the Global Plan of Action for the Conservation and Sustainable Utilization of Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, adopted by the International Technical Conference on Plant Genetic Resources held at Leipzig, Germany from 17 to 23 June 1996. At the sixth session of the Commission on Sustainable Development, in 1998, the issues of sustainable agriculture and land use should be considered in relation to freshwater. The challenge for agricultural research is to increase yields on all farmlands while protecting and conserving the natural resource base. The international community and Governments must continue or increase investments in agricultural research because it can take years or decades to develop new lines of research and put research findings into sustainable practice on the land. Developing countries, particularly those with high population densities, will need international cooperation to gain access to the results of such research and to technology aimed at improving agricultural productivity in limited spaces. More generally, international cooperation continues to be needed to assist developing countries in many other aspects of basic requirements of agriculture. There is a need to support the continuation of the reform process in conformity with the Uruguay Round agreements, particularly article 20 of the Agreement on Agriculture, and to fully implement the World Trade Organization Decision on Measures Concerning the Possible Negative Effects of the Reform Programme on Least-Developed and Net Food-Importing Developing Countries.

Commission on Sustainable Development, 3rd Session
New York, 11-28 April 1995

Report of the Commission on Sustainable Development on the Third Session (11-28 April 1995)

6. Promoting sustainable agriculture and rural development

205. The Commission notes with concern that, even though some progress has been reported, disappointment is widely expressed at the slow progress in moving towards sustainable agriculture and rural development (SARD) in many countries.

206. The Commission recognizes the need for further practical action to promote and enhance sustainable agriculture and rural development. Such action should aim at balancing the immediate need to increase food production and food security and to combat poverty, and the need to protect physical and biological resources. While the Commission recognizes the potential of sustainable use of lands to enhance food production for local food security, it notes that the approach must also focus on the small farmers in marginal lands. This approach must lead to a productive sustainable agriculture which contributes to the social and economic vitality of rural areas and ensures balanced rural/urban development. In addition, traditional agriculture, which produces a substantial proportion of the world's food supply and which at the same time contributes to the protection of biodiversity, must be maintained and developed in a sustainable way.

207. There is a need for a deeper and wider understanding of various relations between the farmer and his and her environment at the household and community levels and of the biophysical processes that underlie the interactions between farming activities and the ecologies in which they take place. SARD objectives need to be pursued with the full and vigorous participation of rural people and their communities. The capacity of local Governments, with regard to decision-making and the implementation of economically viable, environmentally sound and socially equitable agricultural and rural development programmes and the participation of private sector, non-governmental organizations and farmers' organizations therein, needs to be enhanced.

208. The Commission recommends that FAO, the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) and UNDP, together with national and local government agencies, and in cooperation with non-governmental and people's representative organizations, promote an exchange of experiences with participatory mechanisms, with a view to enhancing their effectiveness.

209. Sustainable agriculture and rural development must take place within the framework of an undistorted sectoral and economy-wide policy framework that fully integrates environmental considerations. In this context, the full implementation of the Final Act Embodying the Results of the Uruguay Round of Multilateral Trade Negotiations 5/ is an important step contributing to liberalizing international trade in agriculture. In particular, the reforms to achieve substantial and progressive reduction in the support and protection of agriculture, in accordance with the Uruguay Round agreement covering internal regimes, market access and export subsidies, are ongoing. With a view to promoting sustainable development, non-trade concerns such as economic, social, food security and environmental impact of trade policies, including trade liberalization, should be monitored and evaluated, especially taking into account their impact on developing countries, in particular the least developed countries and the net food-importing developing countries. Such monitoring and evaluation should be done in consultation with major groups.

210. The Commission requests FAO, within existing resources, in collaboration with UNCTAD, the World Trade Organization, UNDP, UNEP and other relevant organizations, to analyse the implications for SARD of the Final Act Embodying the Results of the Uruguay Round of Multilateral Trade Negotiations at national, regional and international levels.

211. In this context, the Commission notes, taking into account the impact on and the socio-economic conditions in developing countries, in particular least developed countries and net food-importing developing countries, the importance of a comprehensive examination of the environmental consequences of the use of agricultural practices and policies, including agricultural subsidies, in all countries and their impact on sustainable agricultural and rural development.

212. The Commission notes that the absence of sufficiently comprehensive indicators hampers the effective monitoring of progress. In this regard, the Commission stresses the importance of developing appropriate internationally agreed agri-environmental criteria and indicators applicable to developed and developing country situations in order to monitor the status of and progress towards SARD, with the full and effective participation of developing countries, reflecting their specific conditions and priority needs. Such indicators should cover environmental, economic, social and cultural dimensions. In developing such criteria and indicators, account should be taken of ongoing work at the national level.

213. The achievement of the multiple objectives related to sustainable agriculture and rural development requires a whole-system approach that recognizes that it is not possible to focus on agricultural activities alone. There is a need to incorporate other aspects such as land-use planning and community development. In this regard, consideration should be given to increasing farmers' capacity to assume activities such as marketing and processing. This could involve more efficient allocation and use of resources; a move from policy-induced surpluses in developed countries; an international economic environment more supportive of the implementation of policies aimed at the achievement of sustainable agricultural and rural development; more predictable market access and export earnings; making credit available for enhancing production; provision of technical and financial assistance to support developing countries, in particular least developed countries and net food-importing developing countries so as to improve their agricultural productivity and infrastructure; and taking advantage of the trading environment emerging from the Uruguay Round. Such microeconomic development would ensure the revitalization of rural economies and the strengthening of rural communities. There is also a need to change attitudes and take concrete steps towards adopting sustainable agricultural policies and practices in order to enhance that process. The Commission urges Governments, with the support of the international community and non-governmental organizations, to work out their own comprehensive agricultural policies and programmes that take full account of environmental concerns and capacity-building, including strengthening farmers' organizations.

214. The Commission notes the need to promote in all countries sustainable agriculture and ecological farming practices and supportive strategic, problem-solving agricultural research, including the acquisition of technological information. The Commission urges support for research and technology development through strengthening institutional arrangements, such as national research institutions and extension and education systems, developing regional cooperative networks, including those of farmers and other rural producers where locally appropriate, and enhancing support of and from the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) system. This support should encourage and reward the active involvement of farmers and fieldworkers and their innovations so as to recognize their role as developers of technology through informal research. Research priorities should be established in consultation with farmers and their representative organizations, to ensure that the issues related to resources-poor farmers, living in arid and dry sub-humid areas and amid degraded soils, and to women are integrated.

215. Agricultural research programmes should focus on developing location- specific technologies for farming systems so as to encompass not only the whole range of annual crops, including horticulture, but also livestock management and household production and processing systems, appropriate low- cost soil and water conservation practices, and yield optimization strategies combining appropriate low-cost inputs with time-tested local and high-yielding new varieties having biotic and abiotic resistance, as well as on the use of organic and ecological farming methods, and integrated pest management (IPM).

216. The Commission encourages Governments to integrate action on energy into their efforts for sustainable agriculture and rural development, paying particular attention to the use of energy for electrification, heating and other purposes, by means of renewable and other forms of energy.

217. The Commission urges Governments to support and facilitate efforts of interested developing countries in their transition towards the sustainable use of an appropriate mix of fossil and renewable sources of energy for rural communities, taking note of the recommendations made by the Committee on New and Renewable Sources of Energy and on Energy for Development, at its special session in February 1995.

218. The Commission notes with concern that attention to and progress in the area of animal genetic resources have not been commensurate with those related to plant genetic resources. The Commission urges that national and international action be strengthened with the objective of bringing international cooperation and support for the conservation and sustainable use of animal genetic resources to a level similar to that of ongoing initiatives concerning plant genetic resources.

219. The Commission notes with appreciation the efforts of the organizations within and outside the United Nations system in terms of coordination and cooperation concerning activities related to sustainable agriculture and rural development. The Commission urges that such efforts be further strengthened. FAO's Integrated Cooperative Programme Framework for Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Development (ICPF/SARD) and its component Special Action Programmes provide a useful vehicle for bringing together the initiatives of different development partners.

220. The Commission notes the progress that has been made by both developing and developed countries that have adopted policies of pesticide use reduction as a means of moving towards sustainable agriculture. The Commission recommends that all countries take steps to reduce the environmental impact of pesticide use by promoting IPM as an alternative to exclusive reliance on chemical pesticides. The Commission further invites FAO, in collaboration with UNEP, UNDP, the World Bank, the CGIAR centres and other interested organizations, to strengthen and extend to a wider number of countries its ongoing programmes and projects for sustainable land and water management in agriculture, integrated pest management and integrated plant nutrition management, with participation of major groups.

221. The Commission recommends that, under the auspices of FAO as task manager and building on a partnership between Governments, intergovernmental agencies and agricultural research institutions, and non-governmental and farmers organizations, drawing on successful examples of SARD, there should be a synthesis and exchange of information and practical experience with a view to identifying models that could be applied in other situations. Such an exchange could be through the holding of sub-regional or regional workshops, the results of which would be widely disseminated.