Plant Production and Protection

Scaling-up the potential of agroforestry for resilient and productive agrifood systems

12.30-14.00 | Special joint event of the Committee on Forestry (COFO) and Committee on Agriculture (COAG) on Agriculture-Forestry Linkages

Roma (Italy), Hybrid Event, 07/12/2023

FAO is organizing an event on agriculture-forestry linkages jointly with the Committee on Agriculture (COAG) and the Committee on Forestry (COFO) during the 174th Session of the FAO Council (4-8 December 2023).

Agroforestry is gaining renewed attention and importance within global policy processes today, including from FAO Members, as it can provide many solutions to global challenges. Agroforestry can enhance livelihoods in rural communities, increase food security and nutrition, generate income and alleviate poverty, help protect and sustainably manage natural resources and biodiversity, and build resilience to climate change. Despite its longstanding history and recognition of its benefits, there remain barriers in scaling up agroforestry for widespread investment, adoption, and implementation. Broader support for agroforestry, at both the policy and technical levels, is required.

This event will highlight the potential of agroforestry as a cross-cutting solution for sustainably transforming agrifood systems. It will showcase experiences of FAO Members and discuss ways to address, together, the barriers to agroforestry uptake.

Interpretation will be available in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish.

Agenda

Moderator: Maria-Helena Semedo, Deputy Director-General of FAO

12.30-12.40Opening remarks
QU Dongyu, Director-General of FAO 
12.40-12.50Agroforestry's contribution to the COFO - COAG collaboration on agriculture
and forestry linkages and Intersessional Roadmap towards COFO 27 and
COAG 29
Julie Emond, Chairperson of COAG (Canada)  and Guenter Walkner,
Chairperson of COFO (Austria)
12.50-13.00Keynote presentation
Michael Taylor, Award-winning silvopastural farmer (Australia)
13.00-13.10Technical presentation on FAO’s agroforestry work
Elaine Springgay, Forestry Officer - Agroforestry, NFO, and Ivan Landers, Agricultural Officer, NSP
13.10-13.15Short video
Agroforestry GIAHS site, Mount Kilimanjaro 
13.15-13.55

Panel discussion
AustraliaKeiran Andrusko, Director, International Forest Policy, Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry

BrazilDaniel Peter Beniamino, Director of the Department of Rural Environmental Management Policies, Ministry of Environment and Climate Change

Germany / ZambiaLars Weise, Project manager, GFA Consulting Group, Promotion of Agroforestry in Zambia

Lebanon - Chadi H. Mohanna, Director of Rural Development and Natural Resources, Ministry of Agriculture

PhilippinesRay Thomas Kabigting, Supervising Forest Management Specialist of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources

 Floor interventions
 13.55-14.00Closing remarks
Beth Bechdol, Deputy Director-General of FAO