Toespraak bij de opening van de internationale conferentie Landbouw, Voedselzekerheid en Klimaatverandering

Toespraak | 31-10-2010

Statement by Henk Bleker, Minister for Agriculture and Foreign Trade at opening of the Global Conference on Agriculture, Food Security and Climate Change in The Hague, the Netherlands, 31 october 2010.

Your Royal Highnesses, distinguished Excellencies, distinguished participants, ladies and gentlemen,

It is a great honour and pleasure for me to open the international conference on agriculture, food security and climate change in the presence of His Royal Highness Prince Willem Alexander, Prince of Orange and Her Royal Highness Princes Maxima here in The Hague.

I am delighted to welcome so many representatives of governments, private sector and NGO’s from all over the world, present to discuss one of the most pressing themes of today: agriculture, food security and climate change.

Our discussions this week and moreover a successful outcome could and should be very important for our future.

We all know the enormous tasks we are facing nowadays with fighting the multiple crises. We all have to face these dilemmas.

As a global society, we cannot accept increasing levels of poverty and hunger.

So we need food and water security. At the same time we need energy security.

Coupled with the urgent need to find effective policies to stop the loss of biodiversity, this means we are faced with one of the toughest challenges of the new millennium.

However, we are facing an even bigger challenge: how to feed 9 billion people in 2050. This challenge is even more complex when we look at the scarcity of our natural resources.

We are consuming four times our planet. And that is clearly not acceptable

So, Ladies and Gentlemen, we can not rest on our laurels, action is urgently needed.

The 17th Session of the Commission on Sustainable Development gave a clear message: agriculture is a crucial part of the solution.

We have neglected agriculture too much in our international policies for sustainable development in the last decade.

Agriculture is not only in the heart of sustainable development, but is the key to achieving food security and dealing with climate change, especially in Africa.

Investing in agriculture we need indeed.

As Mrs Brundtland clearly stated: "We must pursue development that meets the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs".

But, the food insecurity and the daily loss of our forest and biodiversity show that old solutions do not longer fit. "If you do what you did, you get what you got."

We need a paradigm shift. A shift towards a more sustainable and resource efficient and more productive and climate smart agriculture.

A shift towards green growth.

A transition which requires more sustainable production and consumption patterns, using less resources and creating more opportunities and incomes for farmers. And a transition in which agricultural development and involvement of the private sector is the driving force for the economic development of many developing countries.

All together I would call this a “climate smart agriculture”.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Agriculture has a huge potential to mitigate climate change, both in developed and developing countries.

Agricultural soils and peat lands also store significant amounts of carbon.

Better land management practices and more efficient use of resources, like fertilizers and water, can contribute to a significant increase in agricultural production.

At the same time it will safeguard forests and ecosystems which also hold enormous amounts of carbon.

We also have to make a huge effort to in the development adaptation strategies with which the agricultural sector will be able too counter the negative effects of climate change.

We should combine existing traditional knowledge with innovative technologies and strategies to help farmers in the field to adapt to climate change.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Please allow me to elaborate a bit more on the linkage between agriculture, food security and climate change.

The consequences of climate change will have a profound impact on agriculture. Consequences worldwide will vary widely.

With Africa being one of the regions hardest hit,

Sub-Saharan Africa is even likely to surpass Asia as the most food insecure region.

Agriculture worldwide is under threat from climate change, resulting in increased incidence of floods and droughts, increased temperatures, different patterns in the occurrence of weeds, pests, and diseases.

This will all have a serious negative impact on agricultural productivity, and therewith on food security, especially in Africa.

The World Development Report 2010 estimated that climate change may increase the number of undernourished people in 2050 by up to 170 million.

This while we need a 70 % increase in agricultural productivity to feed 9 billion people in 2050!

This increase in production should be realised as much as possible on existing farmlands. And that can be done.

In Ethiopia, for example, we provide assistance on pilot basis to 36 pilots seed producing cooperatives. Over the past two years these cooperatives have been empowered to multiply improved seeds of a number of cereals and pulses. Through this initiative many farmers, often in remote areas, have gotten access to improved seeds with the potential of doubling their production.

Ladies and gentlemen,

We know the problems, we know the answers, what we need now is action.

It is down to earth now.

Green growth can be achieved through a shift in agricultural practise that takes into account environmental capacity of each different region and water system, climate smart agriculture via greenhouse gas reduction and higher absorbing capacity, as well as energy efficiency and saving.

The development of such a transition in agricultural development requires a five track approach:

· increasing our investments, research and innovations in sustainable agriculture;

· creating an enabling environment for entrepreneurship;

· developing sustainable production and food chains;

· improving market access especially for developing countries, and

· access to finance, for example to micro credits.

One can see that concerted action of governments and other partners in society, especially the agribusiness, is needed.

Many private companies are taking the lead in this and I’m glad we have several representatives of the business sector with us this week to share best practices.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Part of the paradigm shift is to make full use of science, research and technology.

They must be linked up with education and extension to be able to disseminate the results of research and to make it applicable on the ground in the field. These are the pillars for sustainable agricultural and rural development.

This so-called Golden Triangle of a strongly interlinked science and technology, education and extension is one of the main factors of the success of the Dutch agricultural sector.

Linking traditional knowledge, science and new research and innovation is very important to generate new ideas and technological breakthroughs.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

To conclude, as you might all know, the climate change conference in Copenhagen ended with an Accord which was noted by Parties.

In one month time negotiations will continue in Cancun.

Adaptation, mitigation, agriculture, land use and deforestation are all elements being discussed in this context. Let us not forget that agriculture is one third of the solution for climate change. Therefore agriculture should have a prominent place in Cancun.

During the 17th session of the Commission on Sustainable Development of the United Nations, the Netherlands, as outgoing Chair, was asked to explore how to further develop the agriculture, food security and climate change agenda.

In response to this, we have taken the initiative to organize this global conference on agriculture, food security and climate change in close cooperation with Ethiopia, New Zealand, Norway, Vietnam and Mexico, and the World Bank, and FAO, Food and Agriculture.

I want to thank my partners already in advance for their support in the preparations.

The aim of this Conference this week is to develop a roadmap with concrete actions linking agriculture-related investments, policies, and measures with the transition to a climate smart agriculture.

The topics under discussion this week will for sure give enough food for an interesting and important outcome. Your participation from governments, stakeholders, science and financial institutions will bring together all experiences and ideas to develop this “climate smart agriculture” approach.

I wish you a very successful and fruitful Conference and I look forward to hear your message and concrete activities at the end of the week in the “The Hague Road Map for Action”.

It is down to earth now, the world hungers for action!

Thank you.