Biovision Foundation and the Millennium Institute are pleased to bring the following comments to your attention.
We strongly support the overall scope and direction for this HLPE report, particularly the subsequent elements:
The critical assessment of projections of relevance for sustainable agricultural development and livestock production with a view to assess the implications for food security, the realization of the right to food, rural livelihoods, access to natural resources, agricultural productivity, economic development, and the health of ecosystems (1, 2);
The explicit attention given to pastoral systems, as well as animal diseases, with diverse farm-sizes being part of the analysis (3);
The consideration of relevant metrics for sustainability in agriculture and food systems (4)
The explicit mentioning of agro-ecological practices as being part of the report (5b);
The analysis of barriers to change and the necessary enabling environments in realizing the shift to sustainable agricultural systems (5c, 5d).
To further enhance the relevance and improve the scope of the report, we make the following recommendations:
The implications of current projections should be analyzed critically and in an integrated manner to further the understanding of the relationship between the implications mentioned, such as the importance of agricultural biodiversity as the basis for resilient agricultural production in the long-term;
The analysis of agricultural production systems should include integrated crop-livestock farming systems and agro-pastoral systems. This will allow making a link between agricultural production and livestock, as stipulated by the HLPE theme, and provide important insights into sustainable agricultural development;
When looking at animal diseases and sustainable livestock production, the issue of animal welfare would also deserve attention;
The analysis of tools to promote and facilitate the transition to sustainable systems (5d) should specifically include the potential of multi-stakeholder, evidence-based assessment and planning tools and processes as a basis for successful pathways taken at country-level.
The report should draw from the International Assessment on Agricultural Knowledge, Science, and Technology for Development (IAASTD), as well as the results from the International Symposium on Agroecology for Food Security and Nutrition held in September 2014 at FAO.
Biovision Foundation supports sustainable agricultural development projects mainly in East Africa with an emphasis on empowering smallholder farmers. Biovision is a global advocate for sustainability, and was awarded, together with its President, the Right Livelihood Award - also known as the Alternative Nobel Prize, in 2013.
The Millennium Institute is a not-for-profit Organization committed to enhancing insights and decision-making that promotes sustainable development.
Michael Brander