全球粮食安全与营养论坛 (FSN论坛)

Dear Sir,

In addition to my previous discussion that included at serial number 59, I would like to discuss on prospects of cotton for Sustainable agricultural development for food security and nutrition, including the role of livestock in Bangladesh.

Cotton (Gossypium sp.) is an important cash crop in Bangladesh that provides fibre, edible oil and oil cake for feeding the livestock. It is the main raw materials of Textile industry. Annual requirement of raw cotton for textile industry of Bangladesh is estimated at 5.1 million bales (1 bale=182 kg). Around 2-3% of the national requirement is fulfilled through the local production from 42 thousand hectares of land. Without impeding the food crop production in main cultivable areas, Bangladesh has the opportunity to grow cotton in non-conventional area. 

CDB was established under the Ministry of Agriculture in 1972. CDB is the only government organization in Bangladesh where research, extension and seed production are done under same management system. As such cotton farmers in Bangladesh can get the latest variety and technology in time. Regular training is arranged for the farmers, staff and officers to disseminate the improved technologies. In addition to that CDB also help in marketing of seed cotton. Every year, before the harvesting of cotton CDB organizes meeting with the participation of farmers, private ginners, ministry representatives to fix the price of seed cotton comparing the international market price. That allows all of the cotton growers across the country to get the same price for cotton. In addition to that CDB provide hassle free loan to the farmers from its own revolving fund. These six activities are performed under the same management system to fulfill the CDB mission. CDB mission is to reduce the import dependency of cotton by increasing domestic production. Over the past few years the local production is in increasing trend though the area is not increasing that is due to the integrated efforts of CDB activities.

Cotton improves food security in many ways. Framers can earn extra money from intercropping one or more crop. It creates employment opportunity particularly for rural women from sowing to harvesting. Usually, women feel comfort to work at cotton field as it is dry land farming. From harvested boll we get 40% lint or fiber that used in spinning mill and 60% seed. Seed contain 25% edible oil and 75% oil cake. Presently oil is extracted and marketed in Bangladesh while the oil cake is used for fish/animal feed.

Additionally, we have the opportunity to promote cotton under changing climate as an adaptation strategy. First of all it is drought tolerant, its tap root can uptake water from deeper layer. Cotton was grown successfully at the Barind tract that is the drought prone area of Bangladesh. Secondly, it is tolerant to salinity. An experiment conducted at Sanor gacha, Jessore a saline area in Bangladesh showed that with  the soil salinity increased to 30 dS/m at 45 days due to lack of rain and cotton performed well in there.

Presently CDB has been implementing an intensive project to expand cotton cultivation in 1 lac ha of land as a part of its vision 2021 in the drought prone, char, hill slope and hill valley saline as well as tobacco growing areas. To make cotton cultivation profitable to the farmers in those areas as well as climate change mitigation strategy CDB has been organizing its research management system through the involvement of different stake holders. One notable experiment conducted by CDB in 2013-2014 was the integrated use of organic and inorganic source of N in cotton cultivation. The results revealed that 30% of N requirement of cotton can be replaced by organic sources.

From the above discussion, it is evident that cotton can contribute in food security, climate change adaptation and as well as livestock production. While the animal manure can also be use at cotton field that will lead to the sustainable development in agricultural sector in Bangladesh. The Gobeshona Conference for Research on Climate Change in Bangladesh was held on 07-11 January 2015 at Dhaka, Bangladesh with the participation of national and international multi-stakeholder including policy makers, donors, researcher, and development worker. I deliberated oral presentation at this conference stating the above discusses issues. The presentation is available at:

http://gobeshona.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Effect-of-Organic-and-Inorganic-Source-of-N-on-Cotton-Yield-.pdf

Thank you.

With best regards,

Dr. Md. Kamrul Islam

Senior Scientific Officer

Cotton Development Board

The HLPE’s assessment of sustainable agriculture and the role of livestock should focus attention on identifying regionally appropriate integrated soil fertility management (ISFM) best practices that can restore and maintain soil nutrients and build soil structures needed for efficient water retention and use.  With the growing significance of animal protein in global diets; HLPE should emphasize that sustainable, intensified cultivation of livestock fodder will require diversified crop rotations that provide biological nitrogen fixation and interrupt pest pressures; and optimal allocation of crop residues for livestock feed, as ground cover and as organic inputs for the beneficial soil biota that are essential for crop productivity and health.

The degree of sustainability that can be achieved will depend upon how effectively farmers leverage agro-ecological practices that replenish soil nutrients and harvest and hold fresh water resources.  The recovery and use of livestock manures as organic fertilizer for farm lands will also be critically important for success.  Given the value of manure as soil nutrient inputs, this assessment must consider the scale of livestock operations that are most conducive to high efficiency nutrient management cycles.   The dichotomy between the impacts and complexity of concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFO’s) relative to smallholder crop and livestock farming requires particular attention.  This assessment should also discuss how innovative farm-to-market value added food processes could improve the economic competitiveness of smallholder livestock operations.

In assessing integrated crop and livestock systems that are most appropriate for smallholder and intermediate scale farmers; HLPE should give special attention to the “Push-Pull” farming practices that are delivering multi-functional benefits of increased crop and fodder yields; biological nitrogen fixation for soil nutrient inputs; and unique pest and weed biological control benefits.   Such agro-ecological methods are indicative of the potentials for harnessing powerful biological processes that can enable increased full farm productivity yields with significantly reduced or eliminated use of synthetic fertilizers and herbicide/pesticide inputs.   

It is important for the HLPE to draw attention to the critical need for increased agricultural research efforts to understand and unlock the enormous potentials of agro-ecological farming techniques and technologies.  The need for research and development is particularly critical in the area of identifying and producing biofertilizers that are sourced from beneficial soil biota that have substantial capabilities to enhance plant growth and resilience to biotic and abiotic stresses.   

The assessment must also include recommendations on how to build the capacities of farmers at all scales and geographies to have access to the knowledge, technologies and financial resources needed to employ agricultural best practices.  In considering the options and time frames for action in building sustainable farming capacities; it will be important to acknowledge the imminent ecological threats of climate change and the long term environmental damage of excessive and inefficient applications of chemical inputs that adversely impact agricultural landscapes and fresh water and marine fisheries. 

Finally, in preparing a comprehensive assessment of our complex global food security challenge; the HLPE should strive to clearly articulate and concisely recommend specific strategies and actions that could be adopted by governmental policy leaders, private sector decision-makers and agricultural sector stakeholders.   While there are many scientific and social-economic factors and disciplines involved in determining the ‘best ways forward,’ the HLPE assessment should provide a report that will catalyze decisive actions by nations, businesses and millions of farmers around the world.  Thank you for the opportunity to provide my comments and recommendations to this critically important project.

With best regards,

Patrick Binns

Westbrook Associates LLC

Seattle, WA    USA

Dear Sir or Madam,

Thank you for your answer.

Please find attached my contribution to the HLPE e-consultation.

Thank you for confirming the proper reception of the attached document.

I wish you a nice week.

Regards,

--

Clara H. Whyte, M.A.

Economist and Policy Analyst

Biodiversity Conservation and International Policies Vancouver, BC, Canada

Soil fertility decline is an important initiator of land degradation leading to, eventually, loss of productive lands. It thereby is one of the major challenges to be addressed in order to meet the demand for agricultural products. Past interventions have focussed on either i) improving the supply of nutrients through (different forms of) fertilizer policies, ii) increasing the demand of nutrients through (local) demonstrations and iii) increasing the efficiency of nutrient use through soil and water conservation measures. All of these approaches can be successful in their context, but none of them has been able to halt or revert the current decline of soil fertility in many smallholder farming systems in (especially) SSA. Innovative approaches are needed that integrate access, demand and efficiency of nutrients. Notably, through globalization and urbanization the polarization of nutrients (i.e. the accumulation of nutrients in one site and the depletion of nutrient in another site) is expected to increase, with detrimental effects on both sites. For more information see the brochure in the attachment.   

The proposed scope and building blocks of the report are well structured and imply comprehensive and consistent approach to the study. It covers multidisciplinary objectives and builds on cross-sectoral analysis. The outputs of this study would lay basis for systemic and set of programs, which would eventually contribute to out-scaling food security and nutrition globally and particularly addressing the needs of poor, vulnerable and undernourished segments of the population, while considering current and emerging challenges.

With given exploring pathways the study seems to review broad avenues of existing knowledge and ongoing studies and undertake interdisciplinary leanings, models and foresight tools. However, the study having ambitious goals does not supposed to start from fundamental conceptualization and rationale. Many works have been done and are ongoing having somehow similar objectives. Individuals and organizations does not live in a parallel worlds, they face the very existing and emerging challenges globally and locally, and therefore whatever and however they endeavor to tackle those challenges, they need to interact and learn from each other.

Indeed, the consequences of climate change have a negative impact on agriculture, which has already been affected by the severe outcomes of the recent global economic crisis. In addition projected population growth, particularly of the urban population, will increase demand for food and prices, which in turn will result in even greater use of limited natural resources. Ultimately, these problems are a particular threat to vulnerable groups, including to people with low incomes. Thus, societies face the challenge of solving these problems, and it is necessary to take action to ensure peaceful, sustainable development and food security.

Considering these challenges, Agricultural Research system globally sets as primary objectives addressing the issues in order to improve agricultural productivity, increase the quality and quantity of food through intensification and diversification of sustainable agriculture and to develop the knowledge for the efficient use of natural resources, mitigating the negative impact of the consequences of climate change. A priority cross-cutting issue is addressing the needs of vulnerable and low income groups minimising projected adverse effects of the above mentioned threats.

In this regard, joint efforts are undertaken by Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) on so called System Level Outcomes:

• reducing rural poverty. Agricultural growth through improved productivity, markets and incomes has shown to be a particularly effective contributor to reducing poverty especially in the initial stages of development;
• improving food security. Access to affordable food is a problem for millions of poor people in urban and rural communities and it requires increasing global and regional supply of key staples and containing potential price increases and price volatility;
• improving nutrition and health. Poor populations suffer particularly from diets which are insufficient in micronutrients affecting health and development, particularly in women and children;
• sustainable management of natural resources. Agriculture demands better management of natural resources to ensure both sustainable food production and provision of ecosystem services to the poor, particularly in light of climate change.

To achieve those SLO, several CGIAR Research Programs CPRs have been launched as the main CGIAR mechanism to address emerging challenges for agricultural development.

CRP on Dryland Systems aims to improve food security for the rural poor, protect the natural resource base, and empower small-scale farmers and pastoralists in dry areas by pursuing new technological, institutional, and policy options.

CRP on Humidtropics seeks to transform the lives of the rural poor in the humid lowlands, moist savannas, and tropical highlands.

CRP on Aquatic Agricultural Systems aims to help low-income smallholders overcome the constraints that prevent them from fully benefiting from diverse aquatic agricultural systems.

CRP on Policies, Institutions and Markets will identify policies and institutions necessary for smallholder producers in rural communities, particularly women, to increase their income through improved access to, and utilization of markets.

CRP on Livestock and Fish This program aims to increase the productivity of livestock and fish farming in selected developing countries to enhance the nutrition and increase the incomes of poor and hungry households.

CRP on Nutrition and Health is designed to fill the existing gap between agricultural development and its unfulfilled health and nutritional benefits among poor farmers and consumers in developing countries.

CRP on Water, Land and Ecosystems examines how we can intensify agriculture while protecting the environment and lifting millions of farm families out of poverty.

CRP on Forests, Trees and Agroforestry seeks to enhance the management and use of forests, agroforestry, and tree genetic resources across the landscape from forests to farms for the benefit or poor people, particularly women and other disadvantaged groups.

CRP on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security offers new options for adapting to the emerging impacts of climate change and mitigating its effects through a “carbon-friendly” agriculture that also strengthens food security and reduces poverty.

Thus, the study on Sustainable agricultural development for food security and nutrition, including the role of livestock and CRPS would mutually be benefited from inter-study consultations.

Agricultural Development Programme Proposed Master Plan(2015-2017) in South Sudan

Executive Summary

The proposed Master Plan for Agricultural Development has been a joint effort of the author. The author reviewed secondary information and addressed areas such as the formulation of a draft vision statement, detailed problem analysis for agricultural production, marketing and community mobilisation and a conflict analysis using the Local Capacities for Peace (LCP) approach. Further results are the formulation of long-term objectives and logical framework until the end of 2017.

Inadequate agricultural production, marketing and income generation continue to be the core problem of the existing situation in the agricultural sector in South Sudan. Root causes for this core problem mainly stem from the long lasting civil war and the neglect of the South Sudan  by regimes in Khartoum before and after independence, including a weak human resource base, low organisational capacity of most organisations involved in agricultural development, a desolate road network posing major obstacles to regional and cross-border marketing of agricultural produce, and communities which have been affected by decades of relief supply (dependency syndrome) and which are to some extent resistant to change processes.

Major potentials - as a basis for long term planning - are the favourable climatic conditions for farming coupled with good soil fertility in most parts of the South Sudan, the traditional knowledge and skills of local farmers and relative peace in the area which increases confidence of the people and which encourages voluntary return of South Sudanese refugee populations in the neighbouring counties, namely the D.R. of Congo, Kenya, Ethiopia and Uganda.

The long term vision for the programme is to develop:

A self-sufficient sustainable and gender sensitive agricultural production and marketing system that enhances economic growth, equity and access to essential social services, a good standard of living and a secure and peaceful environment.

The overall goal for agricultural development remains “increased agricultural production and income generation”. To achieve this goal three core strategies and two supporting strategies have been designed, reviewed and further developed:

Core strategies:

A.   Improve agriculture and production of marketable surplus through promotion of improved agricultural techniques and practices as a continuous process

B.   Developing systems and structures for improved and sustainable marketing of local produce

C.   Strengthening community mobilisation, participation and ownership in the agricultural development programme

Supporting Strategies:

A. Enhancing institutional capacity of National and State Ministries of Agriculture and County Agriculture Departments (CADs) in the ten states and seventy Nine Counties

B. Improving and facilitating essential logistical support for the Agricultural Development Programme

The Core elements of the strategy for agricultural production are a) to facilitate and promote a sustainable supply of essential agricultural inputs (e.g. through the promotion of local production of seeds and tools) or to sell quality inputs to farmers on cost recovery basis, and b) to improve farmers’ knowledge, skills and agricultural techniques by building on local knowledge and introducing appropriate new technologies. CAD will play a central role in the implementation of this strategy as well as the active involvement of communities.

The marketing strategy remains a centre piece of the Agricultural development programme. Goal is to develop systems and structures for improved and sustainable marketing. That involves facilitation and contribution to the creation of favourable market conditions such as advocating for an improvement of the main road network (trunk roads), which is mainly the role of national/ state government Ministries of Agriculture in liaison with the other Ministries. Other sub- strategies include the promotion of marketable agricultural surplus facilitated through the creation of improved storage facilities and profitable agro-processing units, the establishment of appropriate and functioning market information systems throughout South Sudan and the promotion of co-operative societies; self help groups and capable individuals engaged in marketing and marketing related activities.

The implementation of the two previous strategies will be doomed to fail if they are not supported by communities and community-based organisations and structures. This is why Community mobilisation, participation and ownership became a core strategy. Key elements of this strategy are to  strengthen and qualify the community based implementation structures of the programme,  particularly the Community- Based Extension Workers (CBEWs) and contract farmers, to improve the systems and methodologies for community mobilisation, to contribute to the capacity building of community structures (Boa Development Committees) and local implementing organisations (local NGO and CBOs). It is understood that these objectives can only be achieved in close networking with other actors in rural development as well as the civil society organisations.

Women have received a higher priority in the new agricultural development programme. Their active participation in the decision making process as well as in programme implementation is seen as a key not only for improved community mobilisation but also for improved agricultural production as women share more than 50% of the workload in the agricultural sector.

Besides community mobilisation, an enhanced institutional capacity of CAD and improved sustainability of essential logistical support services (mainly transport) are seen as key conditions for a successful programme implementation. Institutional development of National and State Ministries of Agriculture and CADs should  have a Human Resource Development policy in place and implemented that facilitates the provision of quality services, to enhance management capacity at all levels, to improve systems for planning and monitoring and to increase partnerships with collaborating agencies from within and outside South Sudan.

It is expected that the agricultural development programme shall make a significant contribution to a better quality of life for the people in the ten states of South Sudan as well as to contribute to social and economic development in other sectors. This programme cannot be seen in isolation to the other efforts for building the Nation of South Sudan including the building of the educational system (including adult education), capacity building of civil society organisations and grass-root initiatives, enhancing the capacity of administration and governing structures as well as rehabilitating the poor social and economic infrastructure.

The agriculture programme strongly builds on the expectation that only a joint effort of the main stakeholders concerned will pave the way to achieve the set objectives. It is a necessity that the main stakeholders better understand their role in this process and the roles of the other actors. The current approach foresees service delivery on the basis of sustainability, i.e. inputs will be provided on a credit or cost recovery basis. This approach will have to be maintained and strengthened.

The agricultural programme is implemented within a conflict and/or anticipated peace environment. A conflict analysis, carried out as part of this programme, revealed actual and potential fields of violent conflict, the most prominent being the conflict between pastoralists (who are in host states as IDPs) and farmers. This will require awareness building through Local Capacities for Peace approach as well as development of capacities for impact monitoring.

If successful, the agricultural development Programme shall become a model for the implementation of food security pillar in South Sudan vision 2040.

This comment to the HLPE is submitted by the IUF*, the global trade union federation representing workers in agriculture, food processing and in the hotel, restaurant and catering industries.

The IUF welcomes the consultation by the HLPE on the scope of the report it has been asked to prepare for the CFS on sustainable agricultural development for food security and nutrition, including the role of livestock, which will feed into CFS debates at the CFS Plenary session of October 2016.

The IUF’s affiliates represent workers throughout the livestock sector - on livestock farms (animal rearing), in poultry, in dairies and in meat slaughtering and processing. Some affiliates represent workers in more informal livestock sectors.

We call on the HLPE to include working conditions in the livestock sectors as a specific area to be addressed in the report they will prepare for the CFS.

Globally the meat sector alone involves over 3 million workers with many millions more in dairy and pastoral work. Information we have received from our affiliates indicates that the workers often face very poor working conditions. We have noted the following trends in the meat industry:

1. Industry reliance on a casual or precarious workforce, with a predominance of migrant and contract workers. The recent horsemeat scandal highlights the issues around multiple layers of outsourcing and precarious jobs as does  the report of extensive Campylobacter contamination in UK poultry. Our affiliates are fighting to combat both discrimination against migrant workers and precarious work and we can provide concrete examples of good practice on these issues;

2. The hazardous nature of jobs in the meat packing industry (see below for more details);

3. Major retailers placing pressure on industry processors and packers to lower costs and the effect this has on wages and conditions;

4. The lower wages and conditions in the poultry industry compared to the red meat industry.

Occupational health and safety for livestock workers in meat processing

Our affiliates report serious widespread occupational health and safety issues in the meat processing sector. Many of these are related to line speeds. Workers suffer from  crippling repetitive  strain  injuries.  These  type of  injuries  affect  in  particular women workers in the meat sector.

For  many  years  our  affiliates  in  Brazil  have   campaigned  for  better  legislative protection for workers in the meat industry. Recently further  significant  progress was made when our regional organization together with our Brazilian and  Argentinian affiliates won  commitments from the two governments to work together to to promote cooperation and assistance in government labour policies and on the elimination of human trafficking.

The  agreement  also  provides  for  union/government  coordination  in  promoting freedom of association and in strengthening collective bargaining and establishes a steering committee to monitor progress in the bilateral work.

Occupational health and safety issues are by no means confined to the global South. A  new study released in 2014 by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and

Health (NIOSH) confirms what workers in the poultry industry have been saying for decades - it is among the most dangerous places to work in America.

The report concluded that:

• 42 percent of workers had evidence of carpal tunnel syndrome;
• 41 percent of workers performed daily tasks above the threshold recommended by industry experts;
• 57 percent of workers reported at least one musculoskeletal symptom.

We strongly urge you to ensure that working conditions in the livestock sector are addressed in the HLPE report and in particular:

• the situation of vulnerable migrant workers, and
• occupational health and safety issues.

The IUF believes that the right to food/food security of vulnerable migrant workers in the meat sector is undermined by their poor working and living conditions and that poor occupational health and safety for all workers in the sector puts at risk their health, well-being and ability to earn income to feed their families.

The IUF and its affiliates are ready to assist the HLPE project team and to supply information on living and working conditions for livestock workers. To this end we have nominated Dennis Olson to join the livestock project team. He has already submitted the application form and his CV.

Yours sincerely,

Ron Oswald

General secretary

*The International Union of Food, Agricultural, Hotel, Restaurant, Catering, Tobacco and Allied Workers' Associations (IUF) is an international federation of trade unions representing workers employed in agriculture and plantations; the preparation and manufacture of food and beverages; hotels, restaurants and catering services; all stages of tobacco processing.  The IUF is composed of 390 affiliated organizations in 125 countries representing a combined membership of around 2,6 million.

The overall structure of the proposed report seems logical and useful for the aims of the report

I especially liked:

• Critical overview and discussion of the current projections including their underlying assumptions
• Focus on practices and their potential roles in pathways towards sustainable agricultural development – especially the mention of agro-ecological practices. Based on the experience in regards to the International Symposium on Agroecology for Food Security and Nutrition (in Sept. 2014 at FAO), agroecological approaches are seen to hold a very large potential to contribute to sustainable agricultural development
• The incorporation of policies and enabling environments necessary for sustainable agricultural development

We would like to point out that:

• The International Assessment of Agricultural Knowledge, Science and Technology for Development (IAASTD) had a similar focus and should be considered in the writing of the HLPE report
• Regarding the “objectives and elements of sustainable approaches to agriculture” (pg. 2) should also take into account the aspect of resilience.
• That apart from considering the specific sustainability challenges for “various farm sizes”, also other characteristics of the farms should be considered. Especially, with regards to FAO’s on-going work on family farming, the specific sustainability challenges of family farms should be considered.

Mon message clé :

‘‘L’agroforesterie : une piste prometteuse vers des systèmes de production durables et la sécurité alimentaire ’’

Dans l’exploration des pistes vers des systèmes de production durables, je souhaite que l’étude envisagée porte un regard particulier sur la pratique de l’agroforesterie, au vu des multiples bénéfices économiques, écologiques et sociaux qu’elle génère et de son potentiel de développement, notamment dans les régions les plus touchées à la fois par la déforestation, le changement climatique et l’insécurité alimentaire.

Smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) are negatively affected by continued low agricultural productivity, deteriorating soil fertility, dysfunctional input and output markets and the unfavourable macro-economic environment. Per capita food production in SSA lags behind that of any region in the world and with the advent of climate change impacts, SSA will be the worst affected global region in terms of food security in the already risky operating environment. The challenge with smallholder farming is to employ techniques that increase productivity while at the same time increasing the soil fertility i.e. the soil’s ability to supply crop nutrients.). Livestock management has an impact on nutrient recycling and use efficiency on farms. Crop residue and manure use as soil fertility management options; draught power in land preparation and cultivation practices, and financing the purchase of inputs in crop production through livestock sales are other major sources of interactions between crop and livestock subsystems.