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The UN Secretary General, Ban Ki Moon, has appointed his advisory panel for the Post 2015 Development Agenda. 2015 is a looming deadline for the UN because that is when the current Millennium Development Goals expire. Unfortunately many of them will go unmet, and the UN wants to regalvanize attention on key means to achieve sustainable development. The current progress report shows that good progress is being made on poverty, access for girls to eduction, , the fight against TB, and internet access. On the other hand, hunger remains an area where there is still a long way to go.
http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/pdf/2012_Progress_E.pdf

I was honoured to moderate an extraordinary panel of leaders from around the world who are delivering key projects to benefit farmer knowledge systems, when USDA hosted a session on “Mobilising knowledge for agriculture” at Rio+20. Extension and rural advisory services (RAS) are key to putting farmers’ needs at the centre of rural development, ensuring sustainable food security and poverty reduction, and dealing with risks and uncertainty. Knowledge sharing mechanisms must focus on critical areas including protecting natural resources, productive farming processes, product development, marketing skills, nutritional needs, and household health. Improving institutional capacity in extension will help us to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and any future Sustainable Development Goals.

Food and emissions make for complex choices. Please see the latest article from Sonja Vermeulen of CCAFS (part of the CGIAR system) that illustrates the challenges and the fact that there is more than one response around the world:

Back in March, Farming First launched its infographic on the female face of farming. Since then it has attracted a lot of attention to the fact that women represent 43% of the agricultural labour force in developing countries and account for an estimated two-thirds of the world’s 600 million poor livestock keepers. Despite this, their access to productive resources is limited. In many societies, laws, tradition and access bar women from owning and inheriting land. Moreover, where women hold land, their plots are generally smaller, of an inferior quality, and with less secure rights than those held by men.

My thoughts on the state of the negotiations concerning agriculture at the UN Conference of…

On the eve of the G8 summit, G8 and African leaders met to discuss new commitments on food security and the opportunity and benefits of private sector investment in African agriculture and food sectors. With the likes of President Barack Obama, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Presidents of Tanzania and Ghana, Prime Minister of Ethiopia, corporate leaders and agricultural organizations all in attendance, the message is abundantly clear. Groups from farmers to development agencies have made it clear: If we don’t act soon, the situation will worsen and not only from climate change and political instability, but from economic factors such as rising food prices and unemployment.