Dear HLPE team,
The International Dairy Federation (IDF) welcomes the opportunity to submit comments to the Vo of the HLPE Report on Agroecological approaches and other innovations for sustainable agriculture and food systems that enhance food security and nutrition.
Meeting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) requires locally adapted agricultural approaches that foster productivity, maintain environmental sustainability, promote rural livelihoods, and ensure resilience.
In particular, meeting SDG 2 requires increased focus on the influence of local contexts on what constitutes ‘climate smart’ and sustainable agriculture practices, taking into account fragile farming communities and the specific needs of small holders. Today, many approaches have been developed that offer sustainable solutions while maintaining agricultural productivity and ‘usefulness’ to society over the long run.
However, we do believe that that sustainable agroecological practices are able to be implemented by all types of farms and are not scale dependent. This should be reflected in the report.
In addition, the report should reference the FAO document Agroecology: from advocacy to action (COAG/2018/5). The paper builds on prior work in this area, and includes 10 elements of agroecology as a guide to the transition to sustainable agriculture and food systems. We do feel that an 11th recommendation should be added to include the role of science/technology or innovation.
In conclusion to meet current and future demand for agricultural goods sustainably, we must not preclude any options and instead focus on what is most appropriate and scalable in any given context. All decisions must be grounded on scientific evidence and follow the development framework of the SDGs.
IDF advocates for a mix of practices, tools and technologies tailored to each situation. Many practices, such as precision agriculture, conservation farming (no- or reduced till practices), drip irrigation and integrated pest management, are supportive of and compatible with the goals of sustainable development and food security. Unilateral promotion of certain farming systems or the exclusion of some technologies does not reflect the notion of sustainable development and limits farmers’ choices.
Thanks a lot,
Kind regards,
María
María Sánchez Mainar