Attachments
Executive Summary
The Regional Initiative on Zero Hunger in FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (RI-ZH) has identified the “strengthening of mountain agriculture and food systems” as one of its key programmatic work areas of RI-ZH for countries for 2018-2019. Under the leadership of Dr. Kundhavi Kadiresan, ADG/RR, FAO RAP, and with strategic guidance from Dr. Daniel Gustafson, FAO’s Deputy Director-General, Programme, an “International Workshop and Regional Expert Consultation on Mountain Agriculture Development and Food Security and Nutrition Governance (“The Mountain Consultation”)” was held in Beijing, China on 30 Octoboer-2 November 2018.
The Mountain Consultation was co-organized by FAO and University of International Relations (UIR), in collaboration with the FAO Special Ambassador of the International Year of Pulses 2016, the Mountain Partnership, the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), the University of Western Australia, and Center for International Agriculture Research of Chinese Academy of Agriculture Sciences (CAAS). The objective was to identify challenges, opportunities, entry points and policy mechanisms promoting mountain agriculture development and strengthening food security and nutrition governance for zero hunger and poverty reduction. Leading international experts together with national experts (including national focal points on zero hunger, government officials, academics and research partners) from nine countries where the FAO RAP Zero Hunger Initiative has been implemented (Bhutan, Nepal, Myanmar, Cambodia, Vietnam, Lao PDR, India, Pakistan and Bangladesh) shared their insights into the constraints, gaps and opportunities faced by mountain agriculture in the context of poverty reduction and zero hunger.
Mountain agriculture faces challenges in many dimensions: given the vulnerability, inaccessibility and marginality of most mountain areas, problems abound in biological, physical, technical, socio-economic, policy and institutional spheres. Typical mountain farming constraints throughout the region include: loss of diversity due to an expansion of monocultures in response to demands from national, regional, and global markets; overexploitation of land resources due to population pressure and lack of economic alternatives; outmigration, land abandonment and decay of key centuries-old farming landscapes such as terraces, with negative effects on provision of environmental goods and services.
At the same time, the continuation and development of mountain agriculture is globally important: mountains are hotspots of global biodiversity including agro-biodiversity. In addition, because the mountain topography does not favour industrialized large-scale production, mountain farmers have often developed their own sustainable and environment-friendly farming systems. Owing to remoteness and difficult access, the use of external inputssuch asfossil fuels, mineral fertilizers, and pesticidesistypically lower in mountain agriculture than in lowland farming.
The Mountain Consultation recommended to promote integrated and diversified farming systems that fit the local agro-ecological contexts and provide better prospects for sustainable development. The uniqueness of mountain agriculture products is a key attraction for consumption and should be emphasized, together with awareness raising and developing the links between mountains and cities. At the same time, mountain agriculture needs interventions to improve accessibility, transportation, and social protection for indigenous groups. Good examples can be found in the Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Sites (GIAHS), Ecommerce in China, and regional and national experiences to promote branding, certification, landscaping approaches, etc. Mountain specialty product that are nutritious, resilient to climate change, as well as that can generate economic advantages, such as the Future Smart Food, should be strategically promoted through the value chain from production, processing, to marketing and consumption, in order to maximize the development of mountain agriculture for food security and nutrition.
Compromising five sessions, the first day’s programme was designed for international experts to share advanced experiences/programmes/lessons learned and success stories for sustainable mountain agriculture development from a global policy and technical perspective. International experts led state-of-art presentations on the following topics based on the framework of a sustainable food system: (1) Sustainable Mountain Agriculture Development and its Contribution to Food Security and Nutrition Governance; (2) Mainstreaming Neglected and Underutilized Species (NUS) for Mountain Agricultural Development: The Role of Future Smart Food (FSF); (3) Building Sustainable and Integrated Farming Systems for Mountain Agriculture; and (4) Promoting Integrated Value Chain and Market Access for Mountain Products.
On the second day, experts from nine Asian countries (Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, Lao PDR, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan and Vietnam) that have implemented the RI-ZH shared their experience regarding the constraints, gaps and opportunities on sustainable mountain agriculture development for poverty reduction and Zero Hunger. The reports revealed that despite positive developments for reducing poverty nationwide, each country is suffering from similar problems such as the lack of interest of young people in agriculture, outmigration and the feminization of agriculture, degradation of natural resources as well as the serious implications of climate change on natural resource management and mountain agriculture.
On the final day, the experts and participants convened for three policy dialogue sessions to discuss gaps and challenges in mountain agriculture within national policies and strategies for mountain agriculture, food security and nutrition governance development. Dr. David Molden, Director General of ICIMOD, highlighted the need to stand up collectively for mountain agriculture issues and raise the voice of mountain people, as mountains are hotspots for Zero Hunger, climate change and migration. As an outcome of the workshop, Dr Mahmoud El Solh presented “Recommendations for Policy Makers for Sustainable Development of Mountain Agriculture”, highlighting that it is crucial to raise awareness internationally on opportunities for sustainable mountain agriculture development for diversified and sustainable food systems. Finally, Dr. Daniel Gustafson, FAO’s Deputy Director-General, Programme, raised concerns for the existing imbalance between the recognition of mountains internationally and their importance. He advocated for increased joint efforts to add-value to mountain products and to empower mountain people, particularly women. Prof Hui Wu, Vice President, UIR, also offered a closing remark thanking everyone for taking collective efforts in this important area for Zero Hunger.
Xuan Li
Senior Policy Officer
Delivery Manager
Regional Initiative on Zero Hunger