A Sustainability Challenge Food Security for All: Report of Two Workshops (2012) / Chapter Skim
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Degradation of soil, inappropriate management of water, and the use of practices that have negative effects on the climate may increase food security in the short run, but will decrease output over time and threaten the survival of future generations. Sustainable management of natural resources and the environment is fundamental to future food security.1 Action by governments and other agents within and outside the food system may help or hinder sustainability.
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Damage to the productive capacity of natural resources is rarely integrated into the product pricing structures. Lowering of the groundwater level, pesticide pollution, the effects of poorly managed contaminants, and other environmental impacts generated by the system are rarely included in the price the consumer pays for the food.
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The overarching objective of the first workshop was to contribute to global efforts toward sustainable food security through the improvement of indicators used to assess and monitor progress in improving food and nutritional security and to review projections for increasing agricultural productivity while protecting the long term viability of critical natural resources. The specific objectives were: • To help establish the dimensions of the sustainable food security challenge; • To review commonly used indicators from the point of view of the data used (quality, frequency, consistency)
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Many workshop participants suggested that: • The quality of metrics is not as good as it needs to be for accurately understanding, monitoring, or predicting food security and the sustainability of food production processes given natural resource conditions, policies, and market incentives. • Suites of metrics/indicators are needed to understand the phenomena associated with sustainable food security (both availability of food and access of poor populations to it)
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Most workshop participants recognized the potential value of agro-ecological systems in reducing or avoiding continued natural resource degradation. However, adhering to the organic farming practices as defined in the United States and EU cannot provide the needed productivity increases.
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Finally, some of the major factors identified by workshop participants that are likely to constrain the expansion of food supplies include the low priority given to agriculture by many developing country governments; inadequate international financial commitments to agriculture and agricultural research; institutional and infrastructure barriers to action by the private sector, including small holders; continued natural resource degradation; and many location specific challenges. Throughout the report, these themes are expanded upon.
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