Agriculture is under threat—its sustainability is a big challenge for us all. Many options are being tried to make agricultural practices sustainable, and organic agriculture is one among them. The multiple features of organic agriculture that contribute to food security and help in achieving the SDGs were discussed at the side event on “Increasing food security through sustainable agricultural practices: Which role for organic agriculture?”. This is an area I, too, have been wandering around since late 1990s.
I presented a paper at the 11th IFOAM International Scientific Conference on Organic Agriculture at Copenhagen in 1996. Since then, I have been attending the conferences, meetings and closely following the developments on organic agriculture around the world. I have also been part of the various committees including the organic standards committee of IFOAM Organics International. I attended an IFOAM Organic Leadership Course including its Master Class.
Currently I am readying for the much awaited 19th IFOAM Organic World Congress in India scheduled next month. I believe, by now you must have understood my love for the things ‘organic’. So, it was naturally a golden opportunity for me to hear the latest developments in the organic sector at the CFS event. I feel I am blessed to be able to attend this session organized by multiple partners*. You may be wondering, how does organic agriculture contribute to each of the sustainability dimensions when it comes to food security? Believe me, the best thing you could have done is to attend to learn the connection between organic agriculture, SDGs and the food security. But no problem, I will lay it out for you.
Increasing Food Security using innovative and sustainable agricultural practices is one of the challenges in achieving SDG2. Organic agriculture has an extraordinary potential thanks to its unique holistic approach combining ecosystem dimensions, social inclusiveness, and environmental and economic resilience. It also represents a concrete opportunity for farmers to earn a living, thanks to its strong link with consumers looking for healthy and nutritious food. Recognizing the high potential of organic agriculture, the FAO Organic Agriculture Programme has a long-term objective to enhance food security, rural development, sustainable livelihoods and environmental integrity by building capacities of member countries in organic production, processing, certification and marketing. IFAD considers organic agriculture as a means of poverty reduction in countries like India and China. But can it really help developing countries come out of chronic poverty?
Read the full post on the CFS blog here.
This post covers the #CFS44 side event, “Increasing food security through sustainable agricultural practices: Which role for organic agriculture?”
Blogpost and photo by Mahesh Chander – #CFS44 Social Reporter – mchanderivri(at)gmail.com
This post is part of the live coverage during the 44th Session of the Committee on World Food Security, a social media project supported by GFAR. This post is written by one of our social reporters, and represents the author’s views only.
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