Kakoli Ghosh, Coordinator of Strategic Program on Sustainable Agriculture Management Team, Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO)

Role of Academia in Sustainable Agriculture to
achieve the Sustainable Development Goals
Dr. Kakoli Ghosh
Coordinator (Partnerships) Sustainable Agriculture Program
FAO, Rome, Italy

UNIMED General Assembly
Rome, 12 - 13 December 2019
Outline
• Integrated approach of SDGs
• Promoting Sustainable Agriculture
• Role of Academia and Research
Organisations
• Opportunities in the Mediterranean
region

STRATEGIC PROGRAMME 2 | Make agriculture, forestry and fisheries more productive and sustainable
The 17 SDGs are informed by a distinctive
set of assumptions and commitments:
• Demands Transformation
• Intertwined Goals to be addressed in an
integrated way
• Requires institutional innovations
• Asks for Partnerships at all levels
• Invites all countries and people to help
achieve the goals
The 2030 Agenda: Architecture for Transformative Change
17 Goals
169 targets
232 indicators
Source: DESA Working Paper 141, March 2015

STRATEGIC PROGRAMME 2 | Make agriculture, forestry and fisheries more productive and sustainableFood and Agriculture are Central to achieving several SDGs

8 TARGETS and 13 indicators
2.1 End hunger and ensure access ..to safe, nutritious and sufficient food all year round
2.2 End all forms of malnutrition…nutritional needs of adolescent girls..
2.3 Double agricultural productivity and incomes of small-scale food producers,
2.4 Ensure sustainable food production systems …maintain ecosystems, capacity for
adaptation to climate change, ..improve land and soil quality
2.5 Maintain genetic diversity.. access to sharing of benefits traditional knowledge
2-A Increase investment---in rural infrastructure, research and extension, technology ..
2-B Correct and prevent trade restrictions and distortions in world agricultural markets..
2-C Adopt measures to ensure the proper functioning of food commodity markets and their
derivatives ..to help limit extreme food price volatility
End hunger, achieve food security, improve nutrition, promote sustainable
agriculture

• IBPES : Global Assessment Report on Biodiversity and
Ecosystem Services finds that around 1 million animal and
plant species are now threatened with extinction, many within
decades, more than ever before in human history
• FAO: The State of the Worlds biodiversity for Food and
Agriculture plant diversity in farmers’ fields is plummeting
rapidly. Nine plant species of roughly 6,000 cultivated for food
globally account for 66 percent of total crop production
• EAT–Lancet Commission on Healthy Diets from Sustainable
food systems Transformation to healthy diets by 2050 will
require substantial dietary shifts, including ….100% increase in
consumption of healthy foods, such as nuts, fruits, vegetables,
and legumes. Changes needed differ greatly by region
New global reports highlight major concerns

STRATEGIC PROGRAMME 2 | Make agriculture, forestry and fisheries more productive and sustainableClimate change adds new and more challenges
Source: Fifth Assessment Report of the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

Today, food and agriculture systems worldwide are facing
unprecedented challenges:
• Growing demand for food, rising hunger and malnutrition
• Persistent poverty, inequality within global population
• Natural resources are increasingly over-exploited, degraded
and their productivity declines
• Unsustainable agricultural production practices
• Rapid climate change as a fundamental threat
• Excessive food loss and food waste
Major changes are needed to achieve sustainability
Food and agriculture under pressure

Construire une vision commune pour une alimentation et une
agriculture durables
I. Increase productivity and resources efficiency
II. Protect and enhance natural resources
III. Improve livelihoods and inclusive economic growth
IV. Enhance resilience of communities and ecosystems
V. Adapt governance to new challenges

STRATEGIC PROGRAMME 2 | Make agriculture, forestry and fisheries more productive and sustainableAdopt an integrated approach, manage trade offs, build synergies
• Strengthen food and agriculture in
national SDG implementation
• Enhance scaling up of sustainable
practices, innovations, technologies
for efficient resource use
• Address climate change impacts on
agriculture, forestry and fisheries
• Mainstream biodiversity through
ecosystems, landscape and seascape
approaches
• Coping with water scarcity

Zimbabwe Livelihoods and Food
Security Programme
Improve agricultural productivity
•Increase consumption of diverse and
nutritious foods
•Improve and diversifying incomes
FAO projects promote an integrated approach
https://lfspzim.com/
Reducing vulnerability and increasing adaptive
capacity to respond to impacts of climate change
and variability for sustainable livelihoods in
agriculture sector in Nepal
 Strengthen capacities and integrating adaptation into
national food and agriculture policies, plans
 Assessment, monitoring and advance early warning
information
 Improving awareness on climate impacts
 Prioritise local investment by promoting Community
Based Adaptation (CBA) to strengthen livelihoods
 Duration 2015 – 2019 GEF : 2689499 USD

Shift from Silos to a Systems Approach- Address Scale

Academia
33%
Research
Institutions…
Private Sector
22%
Civil Society
Organization
s
10%
Producers
Organizations
3% Multi-stakeholder
Partnership
16%
• Over 200 partnerships in support of the
achievement of the goals and objectives of FAO
• Some 80 partnerships have been formalized at
global, regional, and country level to support SO2.
• Partners include: Academia, Research Institutions,
Private Sector, Civil Society Organizations,
Resources partners, Multi-stakeholder partnerships
• Academia and research partnerships are the bulk
with value added by expert guidance, skill- set
training, data-generation, studies and evaluations
Building Strategic Partnerhsips

• Role of Academia and Research
Organisations

http://www.fao.org/agroecology/knowled
ge/10-elements/en/
SDG
Promoting sustainable agriculture approaches
http://www.fao.org/cfs/cfs-
hlpe/reports/en/
Increase Knowledge and Practical Solutions

Design Nature-Based Solutions
Managing natural resource conditions for productive purposes and human consumption, while
simultaneously striving to preserve the integrity and intrinsic value of the ecosystem. NBS
recognizes that soils are an essential and non-renewable natural resource hosting goods and
services vital to ecosystems and human life.

STRATEGIC PROGRAMME 2 | Make agriculture, forestry and fisheries more productive and sustainableT
• Building solutions for concrete, viable paths for
mainstreaming food, agriculture and natural resource
management into strategic agendas to achieve the
common vision shared by the 2030 Agenda.
• Research conducive policies, investment plans,
governance mechanisms, while considering trade-offs
• Adoption of innovations, good practices, technologies
and digital agriculture
• Promote knowledge-exchange, data-generation for
monitoring the SDGs
Building capacities, Research-driven solutions
Training and Innovations

Opportunities in the Mediterranean
region

• Diverse food systems, wide variety of local-food
products, differing cultural dimensions
• Demographic changes, globalization, profound
changes in the food consumption patterns and
lifestyles
• Increasing water scarcity, land and marine
resource degradation, climate change impacts
• Growing urbanization, youth and women
unemployment, vulnerability of rural
livelihoods, conflicts and migration
• Need sustainable development in the whole
Mediterranean region
The Mediterranean Conundrum

• Drive progress through knowledge and solutions
• Invest in SDG-linked research, discovery, technology creation, and adoption
• Assess and analyse policy options and transformation pathways
• Monitor progress on targets and indicators, support local and national processes
• Teach professional skills for SDG implementation
• Provide leadership through cross-sectoral dialogues and partnerships
• Educate public on the SDGs, advocating for SDGs
• Embody SDG principles in social, economic and environmental footprints
• Be an independent voice
NEED active role of universities and research institutions
Adapted from http://ap-unsdsn.org/wp-content/uploads/University-SDG-Guide_web.pdf

Real time water productivity and water accounting
Science , Technology, Data on Mediterranean challenges
https://wapor.apps.fao.org/home/WAPOR_2/1 https://ufmsecretariat.org/restore-land-to-sustain-life/

STRATEGIC PROGRAMME 2 | Make agriculture, forestry and fisheries more productive and sustainableData-based Evidence, Monitoring, Evaluation
Theme Sub-indicators of SDG241
1 Land productivity Farm output value per hectare
2 Profitability Net farm income
3 Resilience Risk mitigation mechanisms
4 Soil health Prevalence of soil degradation
5 Water use Variation in water availability
6 Fertilizer risk Management of fertilizers
7 Pesticide risk Management of pesticides
8 Biodiversity
Use of biodiversity-supportive
practices
9
Decent
employment
Wage rate in agriculture
10 Food security Food insecurity experience scale
11 Land tenure Secure tenure rights to land

Food System components
Production Transformation Marketing Consumption
Agricultural
transformation:
inclusivity,
productivity,
profitability,
resource
sustainability,
biodiversity,
climate resilience
Rural
transformation
Post-farm value
addition:
employment,
productivity,
profitability,
resource
sustainability,
mechanization
Rural-Urban
interlinkages:
Infrastructure,
SME
entrepreneurs,
employment,
productivity,
profitability,
market making,
food industries
Market potential
Demand-side
interventions,
income policies,
safety nets,
school feeding,
Nurition sensitive
agriculture
Procurement,
nutrition education
Modelling scale and inter -sectoral dynamics of urbanisation
NEEDS and DEMANDS
• Connect knowledge with ground
applications directly
• Focus on local problems , local
knowledge of students and
researchers
• Include digital learning as a new
tools for food and agriculture
• Link technical knowledge with
economic and social dimensions
• Engage in systems solutions and
measure sustainability

STRATEGIC PROGRAMME 2 | Make agriculture, forestry and fisheries more productive and sustainableA BIG CHALLENGE NEEDS A BOLD SOLUTION!

Thank you
kakoli.ghosh@fao.org

Kakoli Ghosh, Coordinator of Strategic Program on Sustainable Agriculture Management Team, Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO)

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Kakoli Ghosh, Coordinator of Strategic Program on Sustainable Agriculture Management Team, Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO)