Food Security through Sustainable Growth - Farming with Limited Resources

In the final communiqué, the participating countries, which included China, Brazil, Japan, Indonesia and 15 African countries alongside many European states, state their commitment to an intensified protection of scarce resources and to a farming sector that strictly adheres to the principles of sustainability.

Impetus for Rio+20

Federal Agriculture Minister Ilse Aigner with her colleagues from 65 states, Source: noltepicture - BMELV

At the conclusion of the summit, Aigner handed over the communiqué entitled "Food Security through Sustainable Growth - Farming with Limited Resources" to her Brazilian counterpart Jorge Alberto Mendes Ribeiro. The results of the Berlin Agriculture Ministers' Summit are to be incorporated into ongoing international negotiations and, in particular, to be discussed at the UN Conference on Sustainable Development in Rio de Janeiro in June 2012.

Increasing food production and preserving agricultural land

The summit focused on the central question of how we can preserve agricultural land and increase food production and, at the same time, reduce food losses. While food production must increase, the usable agricultural land is limited. This is due to the need for industrial and settlement areas and the degradation of agricultural land, e.g. through nutrient losses, erosion, climate change or the accumulation of toxic substances. The amount of fresh water available is also limited.

Our options include the optimised use of existing agricultural land, the maintenance and care of natural soil functions as well as the use of locally adapted types of plants, water-saving technologies and soil-preserving agricultural technology. The sustainable production of food is the core task of agriculture and requires efficient production methods.

Secure access to land and water

"We will not be able to win the fight against hunger without sustainable and productive agricultural and food industries," said Federal Agriculture Minister Ilse Aigner. Priority should be given to enabling small-scale farmers, in particular, to make investments and to giving them secure access to land and water in all states. "Throughout the world, farmers need legal certainty and reliability. It is also crucial that we implement international guidelines that establish rules for the responsible management of soil," said Aigner. In this context, particular attention should be paid to the promotion and protection of the rights of women, she added.

Reducing food losses

Increased food production must be accompanied by reduced food losses. The Federal Minister stressed that all states of the world would have to drastically reduce food losses and waste, whether they be developing, emerging countries or industrialised states. "Millions of people are starving because a large proportion of the harvest is lost en route from the farm to the table, either through improper storage or a lack of infrastructure. At the same time, industrialised states are wasting valuable resources because millions of tonnes of food are being thrown away," said Aigner.