New vision for global agriculture

'IPCC for agriculture' has little teeth, but great timbre

Posted by Maywa Montenegro (Guest Contributor) at 1:49 PM on 07 Apr 2008

Read more about: agriculture | environmental justice | environmental movement | climate science

Some are calling it a project that will transform global agriculture as we know it. Others are calling it a utopian dream. One thing is for sure, however: When the International Assessment of Agricultural Science and Technology for Development (IAAST) releases the final draft of its report on April 15, sparks will still be flying.

Instigated in 2005 by the United Nations and the World Bank, among others, the IAAST was supposed to be an IPCC for agriculture. (Indeed, the project's leader, Robert Watson, was former chair of the IPCC.) Its goals were impressive:

How can we reduce hunger and poverty, improve rural livelihoods, and facilitate equitable, environmentally, socially and economically sustainable development through the generation, access to, and use of agricultural knowledge, science, and technology?

With such lofty aims, the participants necessarily included not only farmers and policy makers, but also academics, industry scientists, social justice NGOs, environmental advocacy groups (Greenpeace, to name one), and agribusiness representatives. As you might imagine, this motley crew had plenty to fight about, and in October, Syngenta and Monsanto walked out of the talks.

The result is that the final product will be heavy on vision but light on mandates. (Many say the process got too bogged down in contentious issues such as GM and trade liberalization. Others -- mostly the scientists and industry reps -- said it suffered from being overly PC, i.e., everyone's opinion is not equally valid.)

Still, the vision is noteworthy for what it represents: a coming sea change in the way we think about modern agriculture. From the IAAST press release: "The report will suggest that modern agriculture will have to change radically if the world is to avoid social breakdown and environmental collapse."

Some of the goals that will be elaborated in the April 15 document:

Focus on "agroecological" strategies to address environmental issues.
Create opportunities for poor farmers and rural laborers.
Do more to involve women to advance toward sustainability and development goals.
Integrate formal, traditional, and community-based knowledge.
Create space for diverse voices and include social scientists in policy.

If these sound generic, well, they are. Critics say that the IAAST is little more than a collection of opinions rather than targeted analyses. Surely this criticism has some merit. But if a bit of vagueness is the price of giving historically disenfranchised groups -- indigenous peoples and women farmers, particularly -- a seat at the table, then I say the particulars can wait.

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Krugman's piece aboug global shortages

called "Grains gone wild" is a good compendium of the problems confronting most of the world's people as grain reserves decline and production does not keep up with demand. This report will hopefully help to get us beyond these problems, which as Krugman shows, includes the greater consumption of meat (and thus more grains), the destructive consequences of biofuels, and the decline of cheap petroleum (although he doesn't discuss the deterioration of soils and water sources worldwide).

by Jon Rynn at 1:55 PM on 07 Apr 2008

From a "me" to a "we" economy

It's good to see Krugman come out against biofuels (following Time). But his framework seems narrow: "But it's not clear how much can be done. Cheap food, like cheap oil, may be a thing of the past"

So it's also good to see a broader approach being formulated by the IAAST. Presumably they'll bring more of a systems-science approach.

But what is remarkable to me is how quickly peak oil is having an effect on the global economic system. The growth economy is dependent on growing supplies of energy (among other things). Now that that is faltering we're seeing just how tightly coupled the economy is to energy.

Unless we are able to shift the economic system from "growth" to "security" we will be endangering the lives of millions of people. The simple dynamic that underlies the growth economy --- create as much money as possible -- will have to be supplanted by new metrics that value human and ecological communities.

A tall order, to be sure. But I do think we are entering a new era which requires a rethink of our intellectual tools. We are reaching the Limits-to-Growth and our resource use will be capped by nature. So unless we can learn to share equitably and organize our creative energies along those lines, we are setting ourselves up for a very ugly century.

by Colin Wright at 3:04 PM on 07 Apr 2008

An Alien Planet or Two?

Presumably, the "International Assessment of Agricultural Science and Technology for Development (IAAST)" has earmarked an alien planet or two for importing (teleporting) topsoil to earth!

Alternatively, they could opt for <sarcasm>harmless GM crops that grow on asphalt pavement!?</sarcasm>

http://edro.wordpress.com/topsoil/

by LGT at 4:57 PM on 07 Apr 2008

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