Why Sustainability will Shape our Future in Agriculture

Article Contributor:
Judy Shaw
Government and Public Affairs Director
Syngenta Canada

“The issue of water scarcity now poses one of the greatest threats to health, safety, economic growth, human rights and national security” United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon

"World faces lasting food crisis and instability, warns G8 report”. Financial Times Europe, 07.04.2009

We read about and hear similar statements to this with increasing frequency. We also hear about sustainability. But what does sustainability mean?

Actually, the term sustainability was used as far back as 1987 when the Brundtland Report defined it as “Meeting the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs”. It was also referred to at the Rio Earth Summit (June 1992) stating that “Sustainable development is not just about the environment, but about the economy and our society as well”. From this, it has been generally accepted that sustainability is achieving a balance of our societal, environmental and economic responsibilities (sometimes called people, planet, prosperity). For any one area to take a greater importance over another would result in jeopardizing the ability of future generations to meet their needs.

The discussion on sustainability or sustainable agriculture belongs to all of us as producers, processors, input companies and consumers.

> What is Framing the Discussion
World population is estimated to be growing by two people per second. By 2050, there will be almost 3 billion people added to the world’s bulging population of 6.5 billion people. According to the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), global food output will have to increase by 70% by 2050 to accommodate the world’s population.

The pressure on land continues to grow. Some new land will come into agricultural production in the coming years, but other areas will be lost to urbanization and erosion. Worldwide, there are now more people living in cities than in the countryside. Outdated farming practices, deforestation and other man-made factors continue to cause erosion in many areas of the world.

Many parts of the world also have to contend with water scarcity. Some $30 billion worth of crops were lost to drought in 2007. Today, around 10% of the world’s land experiences extreme drought, but should climate change increase temperatures three to four degrees Celsius, this could rise as high as 40%.

Agriculture is also part of the climate change solution but, it means that we must grow more on existing farmland rather than expanding into natural habitats, which are vital for carbon storage and biodiversity. Through environmental on-farm stewardship, training and access to technology, we can sustainably intensify agricultural production, enabling farmers to grow enough affordable food without damaging the environment.

Canada possesses the resources to do more with what we’ve have – to produce more food for both domestic use and export. Our arable land base is second largest per capita in the world and our country also holds 25% of the world’s fresh water but we must continue to be good stewards of the land.

> Stewardship
For example, the Environmental Farm Plan represents a Canadian designed and initiated on-farm program for which the Canadian grower can be truly proud. Likewise, the CanadaGap food safety on-farm traceability program is another important initiative initiated by the horticultural industry in Canada and represents another great story behind the production of our horticultural crops.

For Syngenta, the most successful stewardship programs are those that are created and implemented through partnerships at the local level with, farmers, government agencies, and environmental organizations. An environmental partnership program which Syngenta is particularly proud of partnering with in Quebec is the Fondation de la faune and L’Union des producteurs agricole to support biodiversity conservation by restoring agricultural waterways through the establishment of riparian zones. This partnership is particularly encouraging due to its strong farmer driven approach.
Another program is a partnership initiative Syngenta entered in 2004 with Ducks Unlimited Canada to implement an Atlantic (Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island) Small Marsh Restoration Program. This partnership has been very successful in the delivery of wetland enhancement projects on agricultural lands in the Maritime Provinces. To date, 194 projects encompassing approximately 674 hectares of wetland and associated upland habitat have been completed. This work not only provides important habitat for wildlife, but demonstrates the commitment by the agricultural community to carry out its activities in an environmentally friendly manner.

> Your Contribution
We believe there is a competitive advantage for the Canadian agriculture industry in addressing sustainable production issues and environmental stewardship and we all need to tell our sustainability stories. 

Let's get food on people's minds and top priority on political agendas!

What are you supporting when you buy your food?

Learn about your choices and what impacts they have. 

Our country desperately needs a long-term plan for our agriculture and food sectors, and we all need to be involved in developing one.

 Agriculture is an exciting sector to get involved in because it touches on such a broad range of issues. Many don’t know how interconnected agriculture is – to trade, the environment, financial markets, technology and social structures. And how the choices we make at the grocery store have real impacts on all these areas.

Often, when we talk about agriculture, many are picturing men with pitch forks and straw in their mouths and farm animals. Somehow, agriculture has become an outdated sector in people’s minds. Food seems abundant and is accessible for most people. Most people live in cities. Kitchens are getting smaller and convenient packaged food is more common. More focus goes into marketing and packaging than the content of the products. Most people are disconnected with the process that brings their food to their table. Soon it seems, it won’t only be our most gullible friend that believes that chocolate milk comes from brown cows.

This is slowly changing. We can’t help but think of food and agriculture when by 2050, the global population will rise from 6.2 billion to 9 billion. We will have that many more people to feed on less land and with less water due partly to climate change. Urban concentration and retreat from rural areas is an epidemic. Less people are producing food. More than 1 billion people in the world live in absolute poverty. 800 million people do not have enough food in order to sustain life and work. The great majority of these people live in the rural areas, and most of them are farmers. Imagine – the most hungry are those who produce our food. If we need to produce more food, we need our farmers to be able to make a decent living doing so. We need to protect our food source and all those who are involved in the food chain, and consider our international responsibilities.



Today, agricultural policy is developed within five-year budgetary cycles that may or may not address the reality of the issues. In today's global context – population increase, climate change affecting production patterns, fossil fuel reserves being depleted and unmatched economic challenges - this lack of planning is increasingly troublesome. We need to look beyond 5 year timeframes. We need to develop a long-term strategy which will provide citizens with the secure understanding that we will be able to feed ourselves and contribute to the world's food needs in the years to come by managing our food system sustainably.

That is what the National Food Strategy aims to do. The NFS is mandated to develop a mission and long-term strategy for the Canadian food system together with all players along the foodchain – everyone involved in bringing food to your table- and you too – you are the ones defining what’s in demand and buying the products.



Investment in a successful, sustainable agricultural sector will directly lead to a strong economy, healthy population and improved environment conditions. Canada has the capacity to be a stronger leader on this front. We have abundant natural resources and the human capital to pull it off.   

The NFS has started to developed the plan on how to achieve this, beginning with nine objectives. Grassroots consultations are now underway to define what is needed to achieve the objectives.

So, where do you come in? We definitely would like to have you all as part of the consultations. Right now, we are collecting input on our draft key outcomes. You can find these on our website – nationalfoodstrategy.ca - where you can also post comments and link to our Facebook page.

Once consensus is reached and the strategy is produced, it will lay out a sustainable plan that can be effectively rolled out by the private sector and governments, working together. It is meant to provide guidance for policy and programs affecting food. The goal is to have this strategy completed by July 2011 where it will be first presented to the Agricultural Ministers at their Roundtable meeting.

We hope to hear from you soon and to have your help in making this a strong, loud and successful movement!

Visit us online! http://www.nationalfoodstrategy.ca/

Join our Facebook page! Search "Canada's National Food Strategy"

Email the Project Coordinator: nfs@cfafca.ca









Grassroots Consultations - join in!

The National Food Strategy has launched a consultation phase to develop goals and action steps needed to achieve the nine objectives of the strategy. This blog will post draft goals and actions. We rely on your input to move forward in developing a working document. This information, along with information we receive from participants along the foodchain, will be amalgamated by December 2010 and redistributed for comment until a consensus is reached.

Possible goal and action for objective 1:

Goal: Increase the quantity of Canadian-produced content on retail store shelves from 10% to 20% within five years.

Action: Create demand for Canadian products by developing a Canada-branded domestic label supported with a strong promotional campaign. Work with retailers, processors, and farmers to resolve challenges bringing local and domestic content to consumers, and identify opportunities for expanding market share.

Is this a reasonable target? Is this something you would like to see? Do you currently look for Canadian products in your supermarket? Have you ever thought of asking store managers to supply more Canadian products so they know demand is there?

Strategic Objectives:
  

1. Canadian grown, fresh and processed product will be the first choice of Canadian consumers.

2. Canadian grown, fresh and processed product will be the preferred choice of international markets.

3. Consumers will choose foods that lead to a healthy lifestyle.

4. Consumers will always have access to safe and nutritious food.

5. The Canadian food chain will be driven by its diverse, innovative and profitable farm and food supply sectors.

6. Canada’s food chain capacity will meet future demand in a sustainable manner.

7. Canada will have a secure infrastructure to support the production, processing, distribution and sale of food in Canada and abroad.

8. Canada will grow and provide green energy and other renewable products in balance with our food requirements.

9. Canada will be a global leader in ensuring international agreements impacting food are based on science, fairness, consistency and enforceability.