1. Agriculture’s
Contribution to the
Green Economy
Proposed Outcomes
from the
Rio +20 Summit
Rio +20 Summit
On the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the first Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in
1992, a high level session will be convened “to secure renewed political commitment for
sustainable development, assessing the progress to date and the remaining gaps in the
implementation of the outcomes of the major summits on sustainable development and
addressing new and emerging challenges.” – General Assembly resolution.
The focus of the Conference includes:
 a green economy in the context of poverty eradication and sustainable
development
 and the institutional framework for sustainable development.
The implementation gap on sustainable development commitments is the primary point
of discussion for the Earth Summit. The green economy should be part of the means to
implement overarching sustainable development commitments made at the original
Earth Summit and in Johannesburg.
We believe the Summit could further policy coherence on food security, drawing
on the CSD-17 findings and the work of the High Level Task Force on Food
Security.
Role of Farmers
Farmers represent one-third of the world‟s population and one-half of its poor. As the
planet‟s primary ecosystem managers, farmers‟ activity depends on a sound
environment. They are best placed to ensure sustainable development thereby
contributing to a green economy. Farmers provide multiple goods and services to

2. society, such as production of food, non-food products such as renewable energies,
delivery of ecosystem services and land stewardship to protect and enhance
biodiversity. They also play a key role for rural development and rural employment.
Thus, the farming sector contributes to economic growth and to reducing poverty and
hunger in developing countries, while still being an important part of the economy in
industrialised countries.
Farmers are at the core of the green economy as there are significant synergies
between poverty alleviation and sustainable farming. Farmers‟ organizations want to be
a key partner in all levels of discussion.
What is the Green Economy
Though it is notoriously difficult to reach an agreed definition of a green economy,
broadly it is aligned with the goals of sustainable development: social, economic, and
environmental sustainability. The green economy recognizes that protecting and
conserving environmental resources can be a significant driver for the economic growth.
What are the primary goals for Agriculture in the Context of the Green Economy?
1) Produce more with less by finding ways to meet global requirements for food
while minimizing the need to encroach forests, jungles, and other eco-systems
and maximising the efficiency of production.
2) To use a knowledge-based approach of best practices that sustains production
and minimizes the negative impacts of farming activities on the environment.
3) Develop new approaches to reward farmers for adopting practices decisions that
protect and/or enhance the provision of goods and services from functioning
ecosystems that also foster sustainability and address poverty by enabling
smallholder farmers to break the subsistence cycle.
4) Reduce poverty since farmers represent one half of the world‟s poor and despite
high profile promises, woefully few resources have truly begun to flow to help
farmers break the poverty cycle.
Key Policy Items for Elaboration
1) Produce more with less by finding ways to meet global requirements for food
while minimizing the need to encroach forests, jungles and other eco-systems
and maximising the efficiency of production.
 foster investments in infrastructures at the national level in order to create food
value chains and to reduce yield losses during storage and transportation
 access to microfinance services, especially to microcredit
 focus on productivity gains and improve the efficiency of agriculture, with the
ultimate goal of reducing the conversion of natural areas to agricultural uses

3.  secure, managed, efficient access to water and responsible use thereof
 manage watersheds and water use more efficiently
 promotion and knowledge-sharing of new farming practices such as for example
conservation agriculture, that can be used to prevent soil erosion and land
degradation
 research into farming systems, to find new ways to improve the sustainable
productivity of agriculture
 plan and manage protected areas together with local farmer, pastoralist and
forest communities
 encourage integration of trees, shrubs, grasses and other landscape elements
into agricultural production systems
 create on-farm refuge areas for pollinators and biodiversity conservation
2) To use a knowledge-based approach of best practices that sustain production
and minimize the negative impacts of farming activities on the environment
 train farmers to adopt sustainable practices
 increase public research on agricultural innovation and nutrition
 promote private agricultural R&D through grants and tax credits, including R&D
supported by farm groups and co-operatives
 build upon the indigenous knowledge on conservation and resource
management that farmers already possess
 include animal welfare as an integral element of best practices
 promote best practices such as manure management, integrated crop
management, integrated pest management, and nutrient management
 provide access to scalable information technologies for farmers, including women
and young farmers, to receive weather, crop, and market information/alerts, as
well as other early warning systems to help them make the right decisions for
sustainability and productivity
 establish open and transparent two-way exchanges that capture the „voice of the
farmer‟ in the process of policy formulation and implementation
 access to technologies and techniques to improve farm productivity and reduce
the footprint of agriculture
3) Develop new approaches to reward farmers for adopting practices that protect
and/or enhance the provision of goods and services from functioning
ecosystems that also foster sustainability and address poverty by enabling
smallholder farmers to break the subsistence cycle
 remunerate farmers for provision of environmental public goods, particularly
improvement on agreed national goals; this could be done at national or regional
level

4.  increase development aid to green growth initiatives in food and agriculture
sectors
 public-private partnerships on sustainable development projects
 develop well functioning markets through transparent information, fair prices,
sound infrastructure, while avoiding excessive speculation
 encourage co-operative and contractual approaches to support marketing for
smallholders, especially for eco-system services
 reduce market distortions to improve opportunities for all strata of agriculture
worldwide
 address the substantial gaps in returns for smallholder farmers and the gender
inequality exemplified by an estimated 80% of poor farmers being women
 incentives for voluntary stewardship programs for livestock, land care, water
conservation, and other improved practices to realize growing market
opportunities for food produced with animal health and welfare, food safety and
quality, human health and the environment in mind
 furthering solutions that increase the access to foods which are varied and
address the nutritional needs of the population, with particular attention to early
childhood nutrition
 assess systems, such as intensive rotation grazing, which may also reduce
production costs for farmers
4) Reduce poverty since farmers represent one half of the world’s poor and
despite high profile promises, woefully few resources have truly and begun to
flow to help farmers break the poverty cycle
 have the promises of funding from the G8 L‟Aquila process materialize
 see assistance focused on agricultural development rise to 20% of ODA
 have African countries live up to their CAADP commitments
 ensure that risk management mechanisms are enabled for farmers at national
level
 have land tenure rights for farmers, especially women farmers, at the national
level
 address the social challenges facing smallholder farmers, especially women
 develop domestic or regional policies supporting agriculture and trade
development particularly in developing countries
Achieving sustainable agriculture requires research as well as improved transfer of
knowledge, prioritising locally relevant crops, stewardship techniques, investments in
infrastructures and adaptation to climate change. This will ensure farmers benefit from
continuously updated and improved tools and knowledge to enable them to successfully
achieve all the other step of process. Every form of agriculture needs continuous
improvement and the different production systems have a role to play. The
ultimate goal should be to minimize the resources used to produce each crop or
kg of protein, and increase the productivity.

5. Farmers are eager to do their part. Society and all relevant stakeholders have a shared
responsibility to help and encourage farmers to face these challenges, to improve
practices to become more sustainable and to ensure a fair income.
Emerging Issues for Discussion at Rio +20
Two new and emerging issues: drought and desertification and disaster risk reduction.
Combating Drought and Desertification
The discussions in The Convention to Combat Desertification and CSD-17 provide
strong examples of concrete actions which can help to address drought and
desertification, including:
 Prepare national drought management plans and/or risk reduction strategies and
invite donors to assist developing countries in their efforts to integrate issues
related to drought and desertification into national, regional and global
sustainable development strategies and plans
 Highlight the importance of integrated water resources management
 Promote and implement effective national, regional and global drought
information, forecasting and early warning systems that disseminate reliable
information for communities living in drought-prone regions to enable them to
take appropriate and proactive measures, with adequate support from their
respective Governments
 Promote sustainable management of soil as one means for mitigating drought
effects
 Invest in research and development, robust data collection, including through
remote sensing, and information to assess and identify risk and to predict, plan
for and manage droughts across time scales from seasonal to multi-year events,
including short-, medium- and long-term events, taking into account traditional
knowledge
 Enhance social and economic resilience in drought-prone communities by
encouraging mixed livestock production and cropping, the implementation of
water management schemes and the expansion of weather insurance schemes
 Continue to mobilize funding for research on and development of drought-
tolerant seed varieties targeted towards national specificities
 Promote sustainable land use and livelihoods, enhanced soil productivity, water
use efficiency and greater tenure security for people living in the affected areas,
including pastoralists, women, indigenous people and other vulnerable groups
 Promote the rehabilitation and improved management of degraded lands,
including increased integration of pastoral and agricultural land uses and the use
of best farming and rangeland management practices
 Promote sustainable water management and efficient irrigation, water
conservation and utilization of alternative water sources, including flood water
and subsurface flows

6.  Expand access to appropriate technologies to assess, analyse and quantify the
nature, severity and impacts of land degradation and desertification and remedial
actions, using remote sensing and Geographical Information Systems;
 Enhance regional cooperation in particular within the framework of the United
Nations Convention to Combat Desertification, including through its five regional
implementation annexes, and support regional initiatives and related national
programmes for combating desertification, including the environment programme
of the New Partnership for Africa‟s Development and the Comprehensive Africa
Agriculture Development Programme, the TerrAfrica Programme and other
regional initiatives
Disaster Risk Reduction
There is an interrelationship between climate change, biodiversity loss, desertification,
and drought. Mechanisms to create early warning systems, adapt rapidly, and
proactively manage risk are needed. They include:
 Integrate policies and strategies for climate change adaptation and disaster risk
reduction, taking into account the Hyogo Framework for Action, 2005-2015:
Building the Resilience of Nations and Communities to Disasters and the
Millennium Development Goals
 Promote innovative technical solutions and practices, combining them with
traditional knowledge, for impact assessment, and early warning systems
 Promote sustainable land-use practices, including sustainable agricultural
practices aimed at mitigating the effects of and adapting to climate change
 Support the establishment of and strengthen existing disaster management
capacities at all levels, including information and early warning systems that
allow effective management of the risks associated with drought, desertification,
land degradation and the adverse impacts of climate change
 Support developing countries in the development, deployment and diffusion of
technologies on mutually agreed terms, including the sharing and scaling up of
best practices and lessons learned in approaches such as sustainable
agricultural practices, and conservation and rehabilitation of vegetation cover