World Food Day Q3 2019

Q3 / 2019 AN INDEPENDENT SUPPLEMENT FROM MEDIAPLANET WHO TAKE SOLE RESPONSIBILITY FOR ITS CONTENTS DR ANNA LARTEY We live in a world where 821 million people go to bed hungry every night. » p2

LAUREN LANDIS This is a critical moment for the world in terms of nutrition. » p4

DARÍO SOTO ABRIL West African cocoa farmers earn less than $1 a day. » p6

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Why we need World Food Day more than ever World Food Day is a chance to reflect on how we can achieve a Zero Hunger vision says Dr Anna Lartey from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

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orld Food Day is one of the most important days in the United Nations calendar, organised in more than 150 countries.

When it was established almost 40 years ago — to commemorate the founding of the UN’s Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) — its aims were to promote worldwide awareness and action for those who suffer from hunger, and to ensure food security and nutritious diets for all.

Those aims haven’t changed, because we live in a world where 821 million people go to bed hungry every night. Plainly, we still have more work to do if we are to reach the UN’s second Sustainable Development Goal of Zero Hunger by 2030.

It’s not enough to simply fill people’s stomachs they must be nourished, too. Access to healthy diets for many around the world is still a problem. Diets are changing with foods being more highly processed and high in fat, sugar and salt. The result is that obesity rates are soaring in all regions of the world. More than two billion people are either overweight or obese and at a higher risk of developing non-communicable

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DR ANNA LARTEY Director of Nutrition and Food Systems, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

diseases, such as diabetes, heart disease and some cancers. Our diet is killing us. We need to change our diets to ensure we consume a balanced diet with a variety of foods, containing adequate amounts of fruits, vegetables and legumes.

That’s why the theme of this year’s World Food Day ‘healthy diet for a Zero Hunger world’ is so appropriate.

Making nutritious food affordable It’s incredible to think that, in some countries, growing rates of obesity co-exist with hunger and other forms of undernutrition.

Countries need to study their own food systems, starting with production, to ensure they produce the foods that people need to consume more of, e.g. fruit and vegetables, whole grains and legumes.

The food environment must change, too, because if we are always surrounded by cheap, highly processed foods the likelihood is that we’ll buy them.

Consumers also need to be given the right information through good, easy to understand food labels to help them make the right food choices.

Governments should consider laws that prevent junk food advertising to children and, crucially, put in place policies to ensure that nutritious food is available — and affordable.

We must tackle the problem of malnutrition from an early age, we must teach children about food and introduce them to proper eating habits. This starts in the home. Food and nutrition education should also be part of the school curriculum. But we should not fool ourselves: we have to do more — together.

At the FAO, we’re working with our members to raise awareness of the importance of a healthy diet.

World Food Day is a time to reflect on the ways we can reach that Zero Hunger vision.

WRITTEN BY: TONY GREENWAY The views expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of FAO

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Think of what you ate today. How much of it did you grow, gather or kill yourself? Unless you’re a farmer, an enthusiastic forager or home gardener, the answer is probably none. How you answered, or how you expect most people to answer, should be a wake-up call that, when we’re talking about ending malnutrition, we cannot do it without engaging with the private sector.”

Read the full article from Lauren Landis Director of Nutrition at the World Food Programme on the following page

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Malnutrition is a world health crisis, says WHO expert

To end malnutrition, the private sector needs to be at the table

DR FRANCESCO BRANCA Director of the Department of Nutrition for Health and Development, World Health Organization

Malnutrition is a complex problem to solve but, as levels of undernutrition and obesity rise, something must be done, says leading food health expert, Dr Francesco Branca.

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y s f u nc t ion a l g lo b a l fo o d systems are fuelling soaring levels of malnutrition and causing a world health crisis. Dr Francesco Branca, Director of the Department of Nutrition for Health and Development at the World Health Organization (WHO), says more must be done to ensure people have enough to eat and access to the right foods.

“Malnutrition is a complex issue, but it is the main cause of death and disease in the world,” says Branca.

He has called for a major review into how food is produced and distributed, and the types of food people are eating.

“For example, Africa has a cereal-centred food system and people there are not enjoying a healthy and sustainable diet because they are not consuming enough fruit and vegetables.”

Malnutrition is a global problem According to the WHO, millions of people are suffering from different forms of malnutrition. In fact, 1.9 billion adults are overweight or obese while 462 million are underweight.

The problem among children is also serious with 52 million under-fives suffering from wasting, where they have a low weight for height.

Around one in ten children are born with a low birth weight, an in South Asia one in four, and approximately 45% of deaths among children under five are linked to undernutrition. These deaths often occur in low- and middle-income countries where childhood obesity levels are rising at the same time.

Dr Branca says the developmental, economic, social and medical impacts of malnutrition are serious and lasting.

Events such as World Food Day (October 16) and International Day for the Eradication of Poverty (October 17) will raise awareness of the problem.

He wants governments and suppliers to work together to find sustainable, innovative and technological agricultural solutions to combat food insecurity. “We have to look at priority areas,” he says.

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Malnutrition is a complex issue, but it is the main cause of death and disease in the world.”

“There needs to be more investment to improve productivity and change the culture towards food in some regions.”

Dr Branca believes too much meat is being consumed in western economies, such as the US, which is also having a negative impact on the environment, while too little in Africa. He wants to see food produced to meet human need and not regarded purely as a commodity.

Healthy food needs to be more accessible and more affordable “Cheap food tends not to be healthy food, so we need government policies that make healthy food more available and affordable. For example, we need to see changes in the public sector so that government organisations lead by example and purchase the right food.”

He adds that health education and investment in supplier research will be crucial over the next five years.

“One of the biggest barriers is availability of the right food, which is still dictated by the large producers. We need to find a way of engaging with the food industry to change the content of food products. In some countries, a desire to eat the right food cannot be met because of the choice of food available at the supermarket and its price.”

Awareness of malnutrition is crucial Dr Branca says he will continue to raise awareness of malnutrition through high-profi le campaigns. “We are seeing awareness of climate change rise among politicians thanks to a global movement and we need to see something similar around food,” he says.

WRITTEN BY: STEVE HEMSLEY

LAUREN LANDIS Director of Nutrition, World Food Programme

The private sector should view improving nutrition as a business opportunity, not just a moral duty.

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hink of what you ate today. How much of it did you grow, gather or kill yourself? Unless you’re a farmer, an enthusiastic forager or home gardener, the answer is probably none. How you answered, or how you expect most people to answer, should be a wake up call that, when we’re talking about ending malnutrition, we cannot do it without engaging with the private sector.

Up until now, getting the public and private sectors to align to end malnutrition has been a major challenge.

Historically, the public sector has not tapped into the expertise that the private sector has to offer, and the private sector has not taken public health into account.

Food fortification – when foods are fortified with nutrients using the technical expertise of the private sector and in response to a micronutrient deficiency – is an example of how, when these sectors do align, the result is good for business and good for people.

At t he World Food P rog ra m me (WFP), we have been working with a well-known science-based company for several years to fortify rice, which has massive potential to combat micronutrient deficiencies, particularly in Asia.

One of our most exciting initiatives in this space is the Scaling up Nutrition (SUN) Business Network, a platform operating globally and nationally to engage businesses to invest and innovate in nutrition.

Through t his project we br ing companies with an interest in nutrition together and support them to improve the nutritional impact of their activities. The Good Food Logo in Zambia is an example of this, where nutritious products are given a special label, encouraging sales of healthy products and consumer education.

Good nutrition is good business The p r iv ate s e c t or sho u ld v ie w improving nutrition as a business opportunity, not just a moral duty.

As consumer awareness and demand for healthy diets increase in many countries, business should see this trend

as an opportunity and respond with food options that are both nutritious and affordable.

C omp a n ie s c a n t ap i nto lo c a l networks and associations, such as the SUN Business Network, to explore sustainable opportunities to invest in nutrition and healthy diets.

Without the private sector, there is no food The contribution of the private sector food industry is essential. Most people in the world no longer grow their own food, or only grow a portion of it. Rather, they buy their food from stores or markets, put there by the actions of a range of private sector actors along the food value chain, from production to processing, transport, retail and marketing.

In short, there is no food without the private sector.

This is a critical moment for the world in terms of nutrition. The global community has made some important steps in the right direction over the past few decades, but progress is slow.

Some forms of malnutrition (such as being overweight and obese – in adults) are getting worse, and there are still some vulnerable groups (such as young children and adolescent girls) that risk being left behind.

At the same time, there is much to be positive about. Our knowledge of the causes of malnutrition and how to end it has never been greater, there is strong political will in many countries to end malnutrition, and technology is providing new opportunities.

There is also increased awareness that ending malnutrition is not just the responsibility of governments and the development community but includes a much broader range of players.

Businesses operating at global, regional and national levels must be at the table as partners if we are going to end malnutrition by 2030. And that’s the bottom line.

WRITTEN BY: SIMONE GIE, SENIOR NUTRITION COM MUNICATIONS OFFICER, WORLD FOOD PROGRAMME MEDIAPLANET

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How beer can help to tackle world hunger A casual conversation led to a surprising discovery; beer holds the potential to provide millions of people with nutrition they need. Just not in the way you might think.

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ive years ago, Greg Belt, Vice-President of Value Creation at AB InBev, was having a beer with a colleague after work. They started talking about why the nutritious spent grain from the brewing process was sold to dairy farmers.

This conversation led Greg down an unexpected path that changed the company’s strategy; giving spent grain a second life in the form of ‘saved grain’ by making beer by-products suitable for consumption in order to help deliver nutrition to those with the greatest need.

Barley was one of the earliest grains to be domesticated and remains the primary source of beer’s flavour and colour. In fact, 20% of the world’s annual production of barley is used to brew beer, and it is brewed in virtually every part of the world.

The company is committed to being at the forefront of malting barley research; helping farmers improve yield and reduce the resources they use. Brewers’ spent grains are a by-product of the brewing process.

The saved grain does not require any additional land and barley can grow in challenging environments, providing a real opportunity to maximise on its potential as a human food source. © PROVIDED BY AB INBEV

GREGORY BELT Global Vice-President Value Creation, Anheuser-Busch InBev

Surprising partnerships from start-ups to the public sector Greg remains humble about the genesis of the brewers’ ‘saved’ grain. “We couldn’t have done this on our own.

The development of this protein is an example of how private sector and public sector, big companies and start-ups, could and should work together to solve world problems.”

The University College Cork, led by Professor Dr Elke Arendt, provided analysis of brewers’ spent grain components and determined if – and how – it could be transformed into something that had nutritional value for humans.

The magic then began when they partnered with Ian Mackay, CEO of start-up Zea10 (the “real heroes,” as Greg refers to them), who developed a proprietary process for producing nutritious, high-quality barley protein, with applications far beyond just beverages. Zea10’s primary focus on sustainable nutrition drove their effort to develop protein products from spent grains and that philosophy meshed nicely with Greg’s work driving sustainability goals.

Empowering all employees to affect change In order to tackle some of the planet’s biggest problems, companies must celebrate those individuals working for change. Empowering workers by referring to them as ‘owners’, for example, may sounds strange to some, but means that everyone in the company is uniquely responsible for its success and uniquely empowered to dream big.

To achieve change and drive progress, companies must instil the cornerstone belief that their teams have the ability to address world problems – and an obligation to make a positive impact in the world where they can.

The saved grain is a perfect example of this ‘dream culture’ - Greg and his team, along with Elke and Ian, were not afraid to explore the potential within barley and dream to contribute to meeting the nutritional needs of 10 million people or more by 2030.

The next challenge: getting nutrition to those who need it Greg acknowledges that 10 million people is only a small fraction of the population facing significant under-nutrition and malnutrition, but that barley protein holds potential to reach many more.

“The nutritional value of barley protein is not the

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question. The question remains how to get it in the hands of those who need it the most.”

Bolstered by successful partnerships with UCC and Zea10, Greg is looking to partner with development formulators, nutrient players, and universities for additional R&D… all with one aim in mind: to make barley protein more affordable.

Addressing world hunger one beer at a time Greg had been close to partnering with a globally recognised non-profit organisation to look at producing the barley protein more efficiently to make it cheaper for developing markets, but the partnership was halted over concerns of working with an alcohol company.

Greg does not shy away from the fact that AB InBev is predominantly a beer company. “What makes this product viable is the beer - without beer, there would be no spent grain and without that, no barley protein.

Having a solution to a world problem based on altruism alone may not be sustainable. World problems need sustainable solutions. But a product that has a commercial value and the ability to address a social need… To me, that is the definition of sustainability.”

SmartBarley, AB InBev’s flagship agriculture programme, leverages data, technology and insights to help farmers improve their productivity and environmental performance.

Today, SmartBarley is present in over 12 countries across five continents and is part of AB InBev’s commitment to support the livelihoods of over 35,000 direct farmers with access to tech, skills and finance.

Sponsored by

Read more at ab-inbev.com/sustainability/2025 sustainability-goals zea10.com GLOBALCAUSE.CO.UK 5

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Zero hunger starts with paying farmers a fair price Coffee and chocolate. Many of us struggle to get through a day without one - or both - of our favourite luxuries. Yet, for the millions of smallscale farmers around the world who grow the cocoa and coffee beans we love, the price of an espresso or chocolate bar is a cruel joke.

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hile consumers eat more than US$100 billion worth of chocolate each year and drink two billion cups of coffee every day, many growers around the world struggle to make a decent living.

On the international markets, coffee prices are at their lowest ever in real terms. In May 2019, Arabica beans were trading at 86 cents a pound - the lowest since 2004. The price of cocoa collapsed by 33% at the end of 2016 and has still not fully recovered.

The continuing global slump in prices means many coffee and cocoa farmers can’t pay for the basics like food, housing and education.

West African cocoa farmers earn less than $1 a day The global markets for both commodities are notoriously volatile. Over-production, climate change, currency exchange rates and government policies all influence prices.

But the overall trend is clear: traders, processors, brands and retailers are making fat profits while farmers get paid a pittance. Many cocoa farmers in West Africa - which supplies two-thirds of the world’s cocoa - earn less than a dollar a day.

Meanwhile, Central American coffee growers need between US$1.20 and US$1.50 a pound simply to break even - yet the current global price hovers around US$1.

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Fairtrade believes the best way to eliminate extreme poverty is to pay farmers and workers a fair price for their crops. Our own research last year showed that only 12% of Fairtrade certified cocoa farmers in Côte d’Ivoire were earning enough to afford the basics, and that 58% were still living in extreme poverty.

That’s why we have increased the minimum price by 20% from October 2019 as a first step towards a decent income.

Child labour, forced labour and trafficking occur in coffee and cocoa industries Coffee and cocoa supply chains already suffer from human rights abuses including child labour, forced labour and trafficking.

Focusing on these symptoms of poverty, rather than its root cause (dramatically unbalanced value distribution in the supply chain), distracts from calling out multinational companies and their part in perpetuating extreme poverty. In this context, achieving zero hunger becomes significantly harder.

Paradoxically, low prices are also bad news for consumers. Some Central American coffee farmers, for example, are simply abandoning their plots and migrating north to the United States.

Youngsters are unlikely to opt for coffee or cocoa farming as a career choice that doesn’t pay. Future

DARÍO SOTO ABRIL CEO, Fairtrade International

generations of coffee and chocolate lovers may find their daily fi x is scarcer or more expensive.

Unfair wages may mean coffee and cocoa production will decline The multinational companies who control global coffee and chocolate supply chains must take a long, hard look at how they do business. Questionable sustainability claims - including in-house certification schemes - are undermined by a willingness to buy at below the cost of production.

Many companies that do source Fairtrade certified beans only purchase a fraction of their supplies on Fairtrade terms.

Fairtrade’s minimum price provides a safety net to help protect producers from volatile prices, and the Fairtrade Premium enables them to invest in their farms and communities as they wish. But Fairtrade alone will not achieve zero hunger.

Companies must stop paying lip service to sustainability and start buying coffee and cocoa at a price that enables farmers to enjoy a decent income.

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Healthy plants for a healthy planet

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Investment in agriculture is three times as effective at reducing poverty as other development interventions. Improving plant health knowledge can address many issues facing the world.

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DENNIS RANGI Director General, Development, Centre for Agriculture and Bioscience International

orldwide, over 500 million smallholder farmers provide food for two-thirds of the earth’s growing population, yet these farmers themselves comprise a large proportion of the world’s food insecure.

Achieving a zero hunger world by 2030, while dealing with a growing population and the effects of climate change, is fundamentally dependent on improving farmers’ adaptation and resilience.

One of the biggest challenges leading to crop losses is farmers’ lack of plant health knowledge. Without it, they do not know what action to take to reduce crop losses.

platforms and innovations. Governments, policy makers and legislators therefore need to prioritise policies and funding that improve and scale up existing extension services, agricultural research and digital infrastructure.

This will, in turn, empower the private sector to build upon the digital infrastructure and data currently being piloted by research organisations and agricultural institutions - which will ultimately help farmers become more productive and resilient, as well as providing new job opportunities in SME start-ups providing products and services to the farmers.

Improving farmers’ plant knowledge Arguably the best way to improve farmers’ knowledge is to invest in agricultural advisory or extension ser vices. Extensionists help farmers build the knowledge and skills they need to become better equipped to deal with the challenges facing them.

Currently in Africa, a single extensionist has to serve hundreds, if not thousands, of farmers on average. The only way to reach many more farmers than is currently possible is to leverage digital

2020: International Year of Plant Health The Un ited Nat ions has declared 2 02 0 as t he International Year of Plant Health. With global attention focused on this crucial issue at last, it is an ideal opportunity for all plant health stakeholders to come together, regardless of sector, and commit to improving farmers’ knowledge.

2020 also happens to be the tenth year of CABI’s Plantwise programme, which has reached over 30 million farmers with practical plant health informa-

tion by empowering extensionists to serve their communities as ‘plant doctors’.

We focus on building extensionists’ capacity and empower them by giving them tablets and leveraging digital innovations such as remote sensing. Our digital extension-based approach has been successful in improving farmers’ productivity and incomes - as well as reducing the use of toxic pesticides.

While our approach is innovative and unique, its core is both scalable and replicable: give farmers the knowledge they need to lose less of what they grow, and they will feed more. To achieve the SDGs and feed 8.5 million people by 2030, we must first feed farmers’ minds.

Sponsored by

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Plant science offers sustainable solutions to help beat hunger Progress toward alleviating hunger has been an uphill battle. Innovation is helping but that momentum needs to continue if Zero Hunger is to be realised by 2030. Agricultural innovation, like plant biotechnology and crop protection, must be part of the sustainable solution set to eliminate debilitating hunger and undernourishment for a growing global population.

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unger is a complex problem which must be solved urgently. The number of undernourished people has dropped by almost half in the past two decades, 1 but there are still more than 800 million people around the world without adequate food.

There is not a single solution that will deliver global food security, however, sustainable innovations in plant science – both in plant biotech and crop protection – can make a significant impact.

A recent study 2 looked at the global burden of pests on wheat, rice, maize, potato and soybean – which make up a large proportion of global calorie intake. It found annual losses to be 21.5, 30.0, 22.5, 17.2 and 21.4% per crop respectively.

Solving the devastation of fall armyworm The fall armyworm (FAW) is one such devastating pest.

First detected in Africa in 2016, it has since spread throughout sub-Saharan Africa and into Asia – threatening the food security and livelihoods of millions of small-scale farmers. Without control measures, the

pest can reduce maize yields by as much as 50%.

Our industry is well placed to provide sustainable solutions, as insecticides are one of the few proven and effective tools to manage FAW, but to serve farmers effectively we must work together. For instance, CropLife Africa Middle East recently engaged with USAID’s Feed the Future project in Ethiopia 3 to train farmers in FAW identification and responsible control.

Insect-resistant biotech crops are another tool used successfully across North and South America, and latterly in South Africa, in effectively managing the FAW pest. Though cultivation of biotech crops remains prohibited across most of Africa, denying farmers access to this potentially useful tool.

Innovation needs to reach farmers Agriculture has always been at the cutting edge of innovation and it’s the threat of pests like FAW that drives our industry to invest heavily into sustainable solutions for farmers.

Through innovation, our plant scientists are developing pesticides that are ever safer, more targeted4 and

CRAIG RICKARD, Executive Director, CropLife International have less impact on the environment. They are also developing biotech crops that are tolerant to climate stresses and biofortified foods that translate directly into hunger and nutrition benefits.

But farmers need access to these solutions. We need a regulatory environment to support innovations and collaborations across the public and private sectors to help deliver them to farmers responsibly.

Food must be available to those who need it, and farmers must have available solutions to achieve zero hunger by 2030.

Sponsored by

Read more at croplife.org

1: https://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/sustainable-development-goals/goal-2-zero-hunger.html 2: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-018-0793-y 3: https://www.usaid.gov/ethiopia/agriculture-and-food-security/feed-future 4: https://croplife.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Phillips-McDougall-Evolution-of-the-Crop-Protection-Industry-since-1960-FINAL-REPORT.pdf

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The essential role of dairy in a sustainable food system One of the greatest challenges facing our world is eating within planetary limits while supplying nutrient rich foods that encourage optimal growth and performance.

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s we go forward with important conversations about sustainable food systems, what role does dairy play in tackling malnutrition and creating food security? It takes more than adequate calories to feed humans. Milk products have been an integral part of global dietary recommendations for years, for good reason. Dairy’s natural nutrient-richness provides an abundant supply of high-quality protein, calcium, phosphorus, potassium, iodine and vitamins B2 and B12.

Nutritionists and other scientists have increasingly begun to consider that the beneficial effects of dairy foods on health extend beyond their individual nutrients. Research on this unique combination of nutrients and bioactive factors (the ‘Dairy Matrix’) shows that the collective metabolic effects of dairy components seem to be stronger than that of individual nutrients.

There is evidence that the calcium in milk provides beneficial skeletal benefits because of its calcium-phosphorus ratio, and that calcium and protein in dairy lead to positive results for bone health.1 There is growing scientific evidence that animal source foods, such as dairy, play a key role in both the treatment and prevention of undernutrition. Consumption of

DR JUDITH BRYANS President, International Dairy Federation

dairy is associated with better growth and micronutrient status and cognitive performance; especially important for vulnerable populations including children. In addressing the problem of global nutrition security, focus on whole foods, such as dairy, can lead to sufficiency in several micronutrients and macronutrients, improved growth and overall better health.

Dairy production can benefit whole communities Sustainable production, processing and consumption of milk and dairy products benefit people and the planet. Millions of people worldwide depend on raising dairy animals as a key livelihood strategy.

In parts of the world where malnutrition is still prevalent, increased consumption of livestock products can help improve the wellbeing of the rural poor.

A formal commitment by the dairy sector to help deliver Sustainable Development Goals was made through the Dairy Declaration of Rotterdam in 2016. In it, the sector agrees to promote the sustainability of dairy systems, taking into consideration social, economic, health and environmental dimensions.

Maximising efficiency to reduce impact of dairy production Like all food production, dairy requires land, water and other resources. The sector accounts for 4% of all global GHG emissions2 and is striving to reduce this figure.

Milk production emission intensity decreased by almost 11% during 2005-2015, at a time when dairy production increased by 30%, as stated by the 2019 FAO report.

As we go forward with essential conversations about sustainable food systems, it is important to recognise that dairy foods produced in resilient, sustainable and low-GHG emission systems present major opportunities for human health, welfare and food security.

Sponsored by

Read more at fil-idf.org

1: Bonjour JP. Protein intake and bone health. Int J Vitam Nutr Res. 2011; 81: 134-142. Mangano KM et al. Dietary protein is beneficial to bone health under conditions of adequate calcium intake: an update on clinical research. Curr Opin Clin Nutr Metab Care. 2014; 17: 69-74. 2: www.fao.org/3/k7930e/k7930e00.pdf

Conventional agriculture is destroying forests at the rate of three football pitches a minute In response to the devastating escalation of fires in the Amazon, one of the most frequently asked questions is: “How can we feed a growing human population, while protecting precious natural habitats such as rainforests?”

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his question is especially timely on World Food Day, given that cattle ranching and soy cultivation are the main drivers of the current crisis in the Amazon. The problem is that much of the cleared land, especially more recently in the tropics, is not being used productively. Here lies the opportunity to save our remaining forests and produce enough food for the world’s growing population. There is even the potential to expand forest cover in many of these countries through smart landscape restoration efforts.

Harnessing the power of digital technology to highlight land misuse Brazilian scientists have shown that enormous areas of existing pastureland in the country produce very little beef. Brazilian agronomists have shown that better pasture management could greatly increase productivity and thereby eliminate the need to clear more forest.

The area under palm oil production in Indonesia could be multiplied by three times or more, without clearing any more forest, simply by making better use of already cleared and poorly-used lands.

This is critically important in the long-term, because maintaining the health of natural systems is vital for global food production.

The rainforest that makes up the Amazon, spreading across an area equivalent to the continental United

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States, is also a massive rain machine that pumps water from the soil into the sky. The Congo Basin and Borneo rainforests serve the same function, not to mention the vast boreal forests across Russia and Canada. If we do not change course rapidly, deforestation and fires will disrupt this rainfall – and the agriculture that it supports regionally and as far afield as other continents.

Natural climate solutions must become central to responsible business practice Governments and business leaders must let go of the false dichotomy between environmental protection and feeding the world. Without strong land-use policies and the wise stewardship of forests and other ecosystems, our agricultural enterprises will suffer.

Scientists and agronomists have established concrete pathways that could quickly get us to a more balanced world. This transition depends on the willingness of policy-makers to undertake bold action; evidence-based planning and zoning for land use that benefits the many, rather than an elite few; and effective, well-resourced law enforcement to stop the illegal expansion of farming into forest areas.

Financing the shift to more sustainable farming and agriculture Providing financial incentives to communities who live

NIGEL SIZER, Chief Program Officer, Rainforest Alliance

in and around forests – to compensate them for protecting important ecosystems upon which we all depend – is a powerful, proven solution. Additionally, it is important to reward farmers with higher prices (as well as other incentives) when they invest time and labour to study and adopt more sustainable farming methods.

Who is going to pay for this necessary, urgent, and large-scale global investment? The lowest-hanging fruit are hundreds of billions of dollars in existing agricultural subsidies that could be redirected to support the actions described above.

Redirecting even a fraction of this amount to support sustainable farming and forest protection would be enough to make a huge difference.

Looking to the future requires a collaborate effort Building a viable and stable global food future begins now, by assigning greater value to the work of farmers and to the natural ecosystems that we all depend upon.

Scientists have long recognised that the planet’s natural systems are interdependent. When policy-makers do the same, we will take an important step toward restoring the balance between farming and forests.

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