CA4SH joins expert panel at the Global Forum for Food and Agriculture
The world is facing a food crisis of unprecedented proportions, the largest in modern history.
Millions are at risk of worsening hunger unless action is taken to respond together and at scale to the drivers of this crisis: conflict, climate shocks, and the threat of a global recession.
The World Food Programme (WFP) again scaled up its response to a record level in 2022, aiming to reach 153 million people worldwide, but with spiralling needs, we need to think beyond humanitarian action and invest in long-term change. The current environment has exposed all the weak spots in our food systems, and tackling these systemic challenges is key to breaking the cycle of crises.
During an expert panel at the 2023 Global Forum for Food and Agriculture (GFFA), the WFP brought together speakers representing research institutions, UN agencies, and non-governmental organizations to discuss solutions for creating crisis-proof and climate-friendly food systems with a focus on sustainable land use and the role of soils. The discussion zoomed in on inclusive, non-discriminatory, and localized solutions that highlight the crucial role of women within food systems. A key message was clear: without their equal access to land, we will not be able to reach Zero Hunger by 2030.
Dr. Martin Frick opened the session enthusiastically and energetically, urging us to share and scale food system solutions that build resilience. He reminded us of the path from the UN Food Systems Summit and how the event panelists have all contributed to the Summit through the action tracks and the science committee.
Dr. Rattan Lal began with the message that business as usual is not an option. Using scientific evidence, he informed the audience that we must change our farming practices. “Healing of both nature and people occurs over decadal and generational scale”, he said, so we best start now. He also reminded us of the connection between human health, soil health, and planetary health.
Sandrine Dixson-Decleve discussed the interconnectivity of humans and soil and stressed that understanding this connection is critical to solving the food crisis. In the recent book Earth 4 All, Sandrine and her co-authors explore how policy can create an enabling environment for achieving this.
Joao Campari highlighted that between 20-40% of the Earth’s surface is degraded. Given that a quarter of Earth’s species are estimated to live in soils, Joao expressed that we must act together to restore the soil ecosystem. He highlighted the COP27 Food Systems Pavilion and the Soil Health Resolution as tremendous efforts toward bringing stakeholders together and highlighted the upcoming stock-taking moment for the UN Food Systems Coordination Hub, a follow-up from the 2022 UN Food Systems Summit.
Dr. Leigh Winowiecki, CA4SH co-lead, and CIFOR-ICRAF soil scientist, was asked about monitoring soil health to track changes over time. In her work at CIFOR-ICRAF, her team employs the Land Degradation Surveillance Framework (LDSF) in over 40 countries to track how farming practices and landscape restoration practices are impacting soil health, using soil organic carbon as a key indicator of soil health among others such as erosion and biological diversity. She also underscored that interventions must be tailored to meet the needs of the farmer, rancher, forester, or pastoralist, especially in smallholder, rural contexts.
A vibrant Q&A took place following the expert panel with questions exploring carbon credits, the economics of soil health restoration, policy, financing, the upcoming UNFSS Stock taking moment, and tools for scaling implementation.
By bringing together stakeholders across sectors and organizations, CA4SH is determined to reverse the trend of agriculture being the main driver of land degradation, drawing on the expertise of our partners and soil health advocates around the Globe. This session was an excellent glimpse into the depths of the potential this approach has in transforming food systems for everyone’s benefit.
