Sustainable Infrastructure for Agriculture towards a Green Economy

1. Sustainable Infrastructure for Agriculture towards a Green Economy Dr. Katinka Weinberger Director, Centre for the Alleviation of Poverty through Sustainable Agriculture (CAPSA)

2. The Concept of “Green Economy” • An economic system compatible with the natural environment while being socially just • Complies with a number of criteria • Environmentally friendly • Use renewable resources within regenerative capacity • Create substitutes for loss of non-renewable resources • Limit pollution to sink function of nature • Maintain ecosystem stability and resilience • Socially just • Not compromise the ability of future generations capability to meet their needs • Recognize the right for development • Ensure equal treatment of women and men • Ensure decent labor conditions

3. Three Pillars of Sustainable Development Society Health & safety Skilled workforce Supporting communities Healthy environment Socialequity SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT ClimateWater Biodiversity Land Forests Jobs Income Assets Sustainable economy Environment Economy

4. Constraint or Opportunity? Modern view implies that new economic opportunities are created Jobs and incomes Green growth “emphasizes environmentally sustainable economic progress to foster low-carbon, socially inclusive development” (ESCAP, 2010)

5. Can Agriculture Contribute to a Green Economy? • Agriculture a major contributor to green-house gases: ~ 30% • High environmental cost of green revolution • High energy crop production • Sharp increases in fertilizer, pesticide and water use • Increased emission of nitrates and pesticides into the environment • Depletion of groundwater aquifers • Population and income growth will drive food demand – to increase by 70% until 2050 • Meat: 80% • Cereals: 60% • Roots and tubers: 30%

6. Can we have a Green Economy Without Agriculture? • Food security is a key global challenge of this century • 900 million people undernourished, 2 billion people suffer from micronutrient malnutrition • 75% of the world’s poor in developing countries live in rural areas • Smallholder farmers depend on natural resources and ecosystem services for livelihoods

7. Threats Faced by the Agricultural Sector • Reduced productivity growth in agriculture • Increased temperatures (estimated 2-4∘C, reduced yields in the tropics, increased yields in temperate climate zones) • Changes in water availability (critical in arid and semi-arid zones) • Extreme weather events (reduced yields) • Soil degradation (water & wind erosion) • Rural poor suffer most from deterioration of natural environment

8. Investment into Agricultural Sector is Urgently Required • A "perfect storm" of food shortages, scarce water and insufficient energy resources threaten to unleash public unrest, cross-border conflicts and mass migration (Beddington, 2009) • Business as usual is not an option (International Assessment of Agricultural Knowledge, Science and Technology for Development, 2008) • Governments should prioritize investments in the small farm sector and alternative food systems that are socially inclusive as well as environmentally sustainable (High Level Panel of Experts on Food Security and Nutrition, 2011)

9. Five Priority Areas to Facilitate Green Growth Refocus from quantity to quality Invest in development of mitigation strategies Allow prices to reflect real cost of production and consumption Promote green products and services Urban areas TransportWater Land Energy Capacity building ESCAP, 2012

10. Message 1: Facilitate (Peri-) Urban Agriculture • Rapid urbanization, urban sprawl and car-centered development put sustainability of cities at risk • Asia-Pacific region: 1.5 billion urban population eat 2.5 million MT of food every day • Integrate peri-urban agriculture and city planning by mixing different land uses and enhancing public and green spaces • Infrastructure needs: • Waste management • Water harvesting

11. Message 2: Focus on Transport Systems • Market access for agricultural production relies on the availability of transport systems • Vast areas suffer from under-investment into transport systems • Land-based transport infrastructure in the region requires development and upgrading

12. Cont’d: Focus on Transport Systems • Region is experiencing rapid motorization based on car-centred transport systems • Hidden costs include chronic congestion, energy consumption, carbon emissions, air pollution and traffic accidents  add up to more than 10 per cent of a country’s GDP • Greater investment in public transport, especially rail connectivity

13. Message 3: Improve Energy Efficiency • In the Asia-Pacific region, 675 million people do not have access to sustainable energy services • Strong reliance of agriculture and food chain on fossil fuels for agrochemicals, machinery, transport and distribution • Increase energy efficiency and develop and use cleaner, sustainable energy sources for agriculture

14. Message 4: Build Infrastructure to Reduce Postharvest Loss • Up to 25% of grains and 50% of horticulture produce lost from farm to fork • Feasible to half current losses, can save the use of 17% of arable land • Accelerate investment into • Markets • Roads • Cold chains • Market informationn

15. Message 5: Enhance Capacity Building and South-South Cooperation • No green economy without sound science, research and access to knowledge • Targeted scientific and technological capacity building required • Development and strengthening of national, regional and international innovation systems • Example: SATNET Asia Network that aims to increase and accelerate the rate of adoption of sustainable and productivity-enhancing agricultural technologies by strengthening South–South dialogue and intraregional learning Source: Beintema and Stads, 2008

16. No “Golden Bullet” • No technological panacea, “no one-size-fits-all” • Trade-offs and local complexities • Diversity of approaches, specific to • Crops • Localities • Cultures • Many countries of Asia-Pacific region have developed own versions of green economic policies and strategies

17. The Potential for Sustainable Agriculture Exists! • Issue is not the WHAT – it is the HOW TO • Policies to incentivize behavior to produce enough food and safeguard the environment • Information required to measure impact of consumption on sustainability • Multisectoralapproaches to coordinate contributions to agriculture with investments in other sectors • Investment priorities • Political tradeoffs in budgetary processes • Intersectoral coordination of implementation • Collaboration is key • Knowledge sharing • Pooling of resources

18. Thank you! Towards a Future without PovertySupporting Sustainable Agriculture in Asia and the Pacific