Scientists urged to support 'climate-smart' agriculture
Eco-business.com reports that agricultural experts, frustrated with the slow progress on food security issues in climate talks, have called on scientists to aggressively promote rapid, global action on sustainable agriculture.
In the wake of limited success on international agriculture-related climate policy at December's United Nations climate talks in Durban, scientists writing in the 20 January issue of Science magazine urged their peers to give policy-makers the scientific evidence needed to implement effective policies on agriculture and food security.
"Scientists have a responsibility to show decision makers what we mean by 'climate-smart agriculture' and 'sustainable intensification,' and how these strategies are crucial to the success of any global climate change adaptation and mitigation effort," said Dr Adrián Fernández Bremauntz, sustainability advisor at the Metropolitan University in Mexico and one of the writers of an article entitled "What Next for Agriculture After Durban?" The scientists argued for policies that would not only ensure more efficient and environmentally friendly agricultural methods, but also stop the large-scale food wastage that occurs in both developing and wealthy countries.
Dr Fernández and several other authors of the article presented in Durban a set of seven policy recommendations, including the integration of food security and sustainable agriculture into global and national policies, a substantial increase in global investment in sustainable agriculture and a rapid rise in production levels with reduced negative environmental impacts. According to Eco-business.com, while the article's authors acknowledged some progress at the Durban talks - such as the gathering of evidence for evaluation by UN scientists by March, they note that the pace is not nearly fast enough to cope with the rising threats of food insecurity.
Read the full article on www.eco-business.com.
