Increase and regulate green financing, encourage national agricultural research systems, promote the inclusive digitalization of the field, invest in innovations to meet the growing demand for proteins and cooperate to adapt forms of production to prepare for strong climate impacts, were some of the themes of yesterday's session of the International Tropical Agriculture Week – AgriTrop 202, under the title Institutional challenges and innovations for a new stage in the development of Tropical Agriculture in the World.
Since Monday (22/03, experts from several countries in Europe, Africa and Latin America have come together to share expertise on food systems, the convergence of agricultural and environmental agendas, as well as challenges and innovations related to the future of world food. Organized by and by the Inter-American Institute for Agricultural Cooperation (IICA), the event runs until this Friday (26/03) and also aims to gather contributions for the United Nations World Food Systems Summit, scheduled for September.
Pedro Martel, head of the Economy, Environment and Development division at the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), highlighted two institutional advances that he considers important: improving national research systems and the availability and regulatory frameworks for green financing.
“Brazil, for example, allocates 1,82% of its agricultural GDP while Guatemala allocates 0,14% and in most countries it allocates less than 1%. Investments in human capabilities, in doctors and researchers, are concentrated in Brazil, Argentina and Mexico. The other countries in the region have few researchers”, he compared. “This is the central and most important point in relation to institutional changes.”
According to Martel, green financing volumes are small compared to ordinary financing. “Australia, New Zealand and Canada are positive examples that have more than 50% of their financial assets in this modality. Latin America has little participation from the financial sector and few support instruments, in addition to lacking clear definitions of what green financing funds are,” he said, and highlighted that there is still a concern with funds that pass as green, but not they are. “This is a very important debate and regulatory topic.”
For Gustavo Chianca, FAO deputy representative in Brazil, tropical agriculture is one of the keys to rebalancing food security in the world and, for this, digitalization in the field must be prioritized. He also pointed to the bioeconomy as part of the solution, especially in the use of agricultural crop residues in food. “In this way, in addition to contributing to food security, we add value to agricultural products”, he pointed out.
He stated that, until the beginning of the 2.000s, there was growth in food production, but from 2014 onwards, the world scenario began to worsen especially in the sub-Saharan region, largely due to conflicts and climate change and the Covid pandemic. -19 further aggravated the situation from 2020 onwards.
However, he stated that one of the biggest problems is food waste and losses that occur from harvest to distribution. “The total amount of food lost and wasted in the world today is 220 million tons per year, that is, 330 kg per capita. The economic impact on global GDP is approximately 150 billion dollars,” he revealed.
He assesses that countries in the tropical belt should invest in new agricultural crops and alternative proteins, as global production revolves around five commodities. “We need to diversify this range of products to especially benefit the population on the margins of development. There is a lot of talk about the future, that we will need to increase food production to meet the population increase, which is expected to reach 10 billion people in 2050. But today we have 800 million hungry people in the world. Therefore, the problem is current and pressing”, he stressed.
Raj Vardhan, from the International Food and Agribusiness Management Association (IFAMA), presented some of the strengths and weaknesses of agriculture in India, where 1,3 billion people depend on agriculture, largely from subsistence, with a low level of mechanization.
Among the advantages, he cited cooperatives, which, according to him, are well organized, which helps to increase the purchasing power of producers. He cited the Electronic National Agricultural Market (Enam), a platform started in 2016, which links markets, created with the aim of helping producers decide price and sales strategies. “But we still have problems related to online payment. The government is trying to improve the database so that each producer has a unique identity,” he explained.
Another positive point he highlighted is the fact that young Indians have chosen to stay on the field. “Many studied engineering and in India we have great universities. Agriculture among young people continues to expand and the way of working is evolving. Farmers are increasingly using machines to help with harvesting and planting,” he celebrated.
Among the biggest challenges, he cited infrastructure problems. Although India has the largest railway network and the second largest highway network in the world, according to Vardhan, the country has a small number of warehouses for the amount of grain produced. Furthermore, he said that it is necessary to invest in the maintenance of the railway network to help transport grain and transport food throughout the country. “We are trying to boost waterway traffic as a logistical option,” he explained.
In addition to storage, the country's other major challenge is water availability. At the same time as there are risks and floods in the North, there is a risk of shortages in the South. “Unfortunately, India's water quality is low and this affects the population."
Jason Clay, from WWF, highlighted that extreme events, caused by climate change, will change forms of production. “We need to change the way we look at the world. The 21st century will see more changes in food systems than we have ever had, and this will happen from production to consumption,” he said, and drew attention to displacement. “There are changes from East to West and everything that is in the center and South will move to the North and this is already happening in the United States, but it can be observed in the rest of the world too,” he said.
According to him, extreme events will have global impacts and everyone will be affected by how, where and when they produce food. This projection suggests that from 2030 to 2039, the world will be drier, some parts will be better, such as those located further north, such as Canada and Russia, among other varied parts, in Argentina, Brazil and Indonesia”.
As an example, he cited projections for agriculture in the United States, with data that suggest a drastic reduction in corn production between 2010 and 2100, which will have a huge impact on the world market. “We have to be ready to change our practices and to measure results, as practices are the means and not the end. For this, we need innovation, because what is sustainable today, with the number of people we have and the current climate, will no longer be sustainable in a few years.”
He believes that productivity will increase in the 21st century and agriculture will be very competitive, but that, for this to happen, farmers need to talk and cooperate. As an example, he cited the case of the salmon platform, created between 15 companies that agreed to reduce socio-environmental impact and obtain certification. He highlighted that there are still other problems to be considered, such as the use of science and targets for reducing CO2 emissions.
Receive the latest agriculture news by email
Receive the latest agriculture news by email
