The Agri-Food Task Force on Sustainable Consumption and Production

Tuesday’s side event, “Delivering a Programme on Sustainable Food Systems,” was an update from the Agri-Food Task Force on Sustainable Consumption and Production (SCP). The goal of the Agri-Food Task Force is to set the agenda in CSD for sustainable agriculture as well as focus efforts on promoting concrete programs for agriculture within the 10-year Framework on SCP. Although today we have enough food to “feed everyone easily, we still have a problem with it,” according to Ms. Aida Tunovic of the Netherlands Ministry of Environment and Infrastructure. Ms. Tunovic suggested we need to focus on cross-ministerial cooperation on projects (including ministries of health), make sustainable agriculture a top priority of governments (as have some European countries), and reflect the true cost of food in the price. Mr. Luis Flores, a representative from Consumers International, also pointed out that many parts of the food system are currently not part of regulatory framework, notably street markets, although they play an important role in the food system in terms of employment and consumption.

As mentioned in Friday’s post, agriculture has a minimal presence in the negotiating text on SCP. However, the work of the Agri-Food Task Force prior to this year’s CSD negotiations more or less ensures an agriculture program on SCP regardless of the negotiation outcomes. One potential tangible benefit from agriculture’s inclusion would be the opportunity for linkages between agriculture and other SCP programmes, and, as noted by Ms. Tunovic, linkages and cross-ministerial cooperation provide opportunities for significant progress on sustainable development.

_____

SSC & SSB