Pursuing Sustainable Agriculture to Feed World

The first global voluntary business principles for the whole food and agriculture sector aiming at sustainable development have been set out by the United Nations.

The UN Global Compact introduced the Food and Agriculture Business (FAB) Principles in Rome.

They aim to help realise the goal of sustainable development as described in the Rio+20 outcome document (The Future We Want), and to empower businesses to make a positive contribution to the post-2015 development agenda.

As the world’s population grows to nine billion by 2050 and demand on global food systems intensifies, business will be a critical partner for Governments and other stakeholders to design and deliver effective, scalable and practical solutions for secure food systems and sustainable agriculture.

With farming and food occupying a pivotal position in sustainable development, the FAB Principles provide a holistic framework for companies to collaborate with the UN, Governments, civil society and other stakeholders to meet this challenge.

The six principles are designed to complement many existing initiatives that advance sustainability in food and agriculture, and serve as an umbrella over voluntary standards and technical compliance platforms.

However, the principles have not been launched without their criticism.

A report from Herman Brouwer and Guan Schellekens from Wagineningen University in the Netherlands, Validating the Food and Agriculture Business Principles, says that while there is broad support for the principles “the high level language of the FAB Principles draws concerns from stakeholders regarding how they might be applied in implementation, and actually translated into partnerships and enabling actions relevant for local situations”.

They call for greater clarity on what signing up to the principles actually means and requires.

“Do the FAB Principles call for endorsement, implementation, or advocacy?” the report’s authors say.

“A view on what adherence to the principles means, or could practically be, would be helpful to have in place when the Principles are adopted.”

The feedback from consultation has called for a number of changes and improvements. One of the main points is to broaden the focus of the principles to include forestry and fisheries.

While the UN was launching the report on sustainable business principles, the FAO was also reporting on the importance of fish and fisheries in providing protein for the world’s growing population.

Fish farming holds tremendous promise in responding to surging demand for food, which is taking place due to global population growth, the report says.

At the same time, the planet's oceans – if sustainably managed – have an important role to play in providing jobs and feeding the world, according to FAO's report.