Description

Commentary on lessons learnt from the SDGs stresses the need to integrate connected themes and
say more about “how” to achieve the goals. The Zero Hunger Challenge, launched by the UN
Secretary‐General at Rio+20, reinforces this message with its emphasis on five priority areas for
action, including three topics discussed in this issues brief: making food systems sustainable;
reducing food waste and losses; and increasing smallholder productivity and income. With respect to
sustainable agriculture, a first recommendation is to ensure that the SDG framework recognises its
critical role as a driver of poverty eradication and development. A second recommendation is to
connect sustainable agriculture, food systems and agri‐food value chains with the eradication of
hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition – for instance, in a single goal that may also include the
access dimension of food security (e.g. rural poverty, income, social protection). However, there are
many issues connected to food security, nutrition and sustainable food systems (e.g. energy access,
education, health) and it may not be practical to cluster all of these together. Thus a third
recommendation is to ensure that thematic interlinkages are articulated through i) indicators; and ii)
principles, which could form part of a narrative associated with each goal as well as with cross‐
cutting issues. These principles could be used to guide the national development of action plans for
achievement of the SDGs, in which capacity needs assessments and cross‐sectoral, multi‐stakeholder
partnerships would be critical.

A fourth recommendation is the provision of a platform whereby stakeholders with different
aspirations would be in a position to discuss to define common goals in relation to food security.
Sustainable agriculture should be able to contribute to the attainment of not only MDG 1 but also
goals related to reducing child mortality and improving maternal health (MDGs 4 and 5,
respectively), ensuring environmental sustainability (MDG 7) through sustainable food production
and consumption patterns and empowering women (MDG 3) in light of the important role women
have in this sector. Hence all stakeholders concerned with the multiple dimensions of agriculture
should be involved in defining the agriculture of tomorrow. The Committee on World Food Security
(CFS) and its high level panel of experts could play an instrumental role in such a process.
Another major issue to address in the formulation of SDGs is how to ensure that they meet the
criterion agreed by countries in Rio+20 that they be “global in nature and universally applicable to all
countries while taking into account different national realities, capacities and levels of development
and respecting national policies and priorities”. One proposal has been to imagine a set of global
goals complemented by a menu of indicators for selection at the country level, with a common core
definition (in the form of a set of principles and indicators to assess synergies and trade‐offs), to
which countries can add in light of national circumstances. It would be crucial to identify global and
national goals/ targets and indicators through free, active and meaningful participation of all
stakeholders, taking into account existing power imbalances.
In accordance with the above recommendations and considerations, the following options arise:
• How to ensure that inter‐linkages between thematic clusters – or goals – are adequately
articulated and taken into account in implementation of the SDGs
Agricultural sustainability is intimately linked to water and energy security and an integrated
approach to these issues is essential. The food‐energy‐water or climate‐land‐energy‐water‐
development nexus should be acknowledged in the formulation of the SDGs. This can be done
through including in a goal on sustainable agriculture indicators relating to energy and water and
through principles outlining the value of and options for the implementation of integrated
decision‐making processes to achieve synergies and adequately address trade‐offs. Besides
water, energy, land and climate, almost all priority themes identified by Rio+20 are also of
relevance to sustainable agriculture, including employment, education, health, biodiversity and
sustainable consumption and production, gender equality and women’s empowerment, and the
special concerns of Africa, LDCs and SIDS. For each of these topics, Member States may wish to
consider whether to articulate inter‐linkages through indicators and principles or through
explicit targets.
• How to incorporate the principle that the SDGs “should be global in nature and universally
applicable to all countries while taking into account different national realities, capacity and
levels of development and respecting national policies and priorities”
The SDGs could contain global targets, but in order to reflect the different national
circumstances, these targets and timelines for their achievement may need to be established
and monitored at the country or regional level. One way of fulfilling the condition agreed in
Rio+20 with respect to sustainable agriculture might be to have a common target and core set of
indicators, but timelines and additional indicators (chosen from a menu) adaptable to national
circumstances. In addition, as the SDGs will apply to all countries, there will arise choices
regarding the extent to which a country prioritises sustainable development within its borders or
supports sustainable development in other countries. To this end, global minimum thresholds,
such as the eradication of hunger and respect for critical ecological thresholds, need to be
established as a priority and achieved through global partnership.

Project Scope

Agricultural sustainability is intimately linked to water and energy security and an integrated approach to these issues is essential. The food‐energy‐water or climate‐land‐energy‐water‐ development nexus should be acknowledged in the formulation of the SDGs

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