Sustainable

Agriculture and Food

Systems
Part – 1

Prof.Dr.Nilgün Kıran Cılız

Lecturer Institute of Environmental Sciences
Director, Sustainable Development and Clenaer Production
Center
e-mail: cilizn@boun.edu.tr
*A sustainable food system ‘is a food system
that ensures food security and nutrition for all
in such a way that the economic, social and
environmental bases to generate food security
and nutrition or future generations are not
compromised’.

Source: HLPE, 2014, Food Losses and Waste in the Context of Sustainable Food Systems, Report of the HLPE,
Rome: HLPE
* The transition to more resilient and
sustainable food systems therefore concerns
all of the interrelated and connected
activities that go into producing and
consuming food: producing, processing,
transporting, storing, marketing and
consuming. A systems approach is therefore
rooted in an understanding of these linkages,
the interactions among them, and the policy
levers and options available for all actors in
the sector.
 * The transition to more resilient and
sustainable food systems therefore concerns
all of the interrelated and connected
activities that go into producing and
consuming food:

Producing Processing Transporting Storing Marketing Consuming

 Sustainable
agriculture

Economical
Environmental Social equity
viability
soundness
- Food quality &
- Farm
- Biodiversity safety
profitability
- Energy - Labor rights
- Thriving local
- Soil - Community
economies
- Water health
- Entire value
chain
Major elements of a sustainable development path for
agriculture and food systems proposed by FAO are:

• Shifting towards healthier diets;

• Reducing food losses and waste;
• Increasing agricultural production
on existing crop and
pasture land and make it more resilient to climatic
extremes;
• Preserving the environment through lowering resource use
intensity and improving stewardship of natural resources;
• Makingrural areas attractive places to live and creating
new economic opportunities for smallholder farmers and
entrepreneurs along the value chain, especially women and
youth.
Among the sustainable development goals, the ones
strictly related to agriculture are:

• Ending extreme poverty including hunger,

• Achieving health and wellbeing at all ages,
• Improving agriculture systems and raise rural prosperity,
• Curbing human-induced climate change and ensure
sustainable energy,
• Securing ecosystem services and biodiversity, and
ensuring good management of water and other natural
resources
Goal 2: End hunger, achieve food
security and improved nutrition,
and promote sustainable
agriculture.
 Table 1: Suggested SDG Indicators for Goal 2 by UN

Potential lead
Indicator
Potential and Indicative Indicator agency or
Number
agencies
Proportion of population below minimum
8 level of dietary energy consumption (MDG FAO, WHO
Indicator)
Percentage of women of reproductive age
9 FAO, WHO
(15-49) with anemia
Prevalence of stunting and wasting in
10 WHO, UNICEF
children under 5 years of age
Percentage of infants under 6 months who
11 WHO, UNICEF
are exclusively breast fed
Percentage of women, 15-49 years of age,
12 who consume at least 5 out of 10 defined FAO, WHO
food groups
Source: Indicators and a Monitoring Framework for the Sustainable Development Goals; A report by the Leadership
Council of the Sustainable Development Solutions Network; March 20, 2015
Table 1 cont’d

Potential lead
Indicator
Potential and Indicative Indicator agency or
Number
agencies
Crop yield gap (actual yield as % of
13 FAO
attainable yield)
Number of agricultural extension workers
per 1000 farmers [or share of farmers
14 FAO
covered by agricultural extension
programs and services]
15 Nitrogen use efficiency in food systems FAO, IFA
[Crop water productivity (tons of
16 harvested product per unit irrigation FAO
water)] – to be developed

Source: Indicators and a Monitoring Framework for the Sustainable Development Goals; A report by the Leadership
Council of the Sustainable Development Solutions Network; March 20, 2015
 Table 2: Complementary National Indicators for Goal 2

Indicator
Complementary National Indicators
Number
Percentage of population with shortfalls of: iron, zinc,
2.1
iodine, vitamin A, folate, vitamin B12, [and vitamin D]
Proportion of infants 6–23 months of age who receive a
2.2
minimum acceptable diet
2.3 Percentage children born with low birth weight
2.4 Cereal yield growth rate (% p.a.)
2.5 Livestock yield gap (actual yield as % of attainable yield)
[Phosphorus use efficiency in food systems] – to be
2.6
developed
2.7 Share of calories from non-staple crops

Source: Indicators and a Monitoring Framework for the Sustainable Development Goals; A report by the Leadership
Council of the Sustainable Development Solutions Network; March 20, 2015
Table 2 cont’d

Indicator
Complementary National Indicators
Number
Percentage of total daily energy intake from protein in
2.8
adults
[Access to drying, storage and processing facilities] – to be
2.9
developed
[Indicator on genetic diversity in agriculture] – to be
2.10
developed
2.11 [Indicator on irrigation access gap] – to be developed
[Farmers with nationally appropriate crop insurance (%)] –
2.12
to be developed
Public and private R&D expenditure on agriculture and
2.13
rural development (% of GNI)
2.14 [Indicator on food price volatility] – to be developed

Source: Indicators and a Monitoring Framework for the Sustainable Development Goals; A report by the Leadership
Council of the Sustainable Development Solutions Network; March 20, 2015
* Increasing food demand
* ½ habitable land used for farming
* Pollution & social problems
✓ Agriculture is responsible for 70% of freshwater withdrawals.
✓ Large scale production systems are significant driver of
deforestation, biodiversity loss, land degradation and
conversion of natural habitat.
✓ Food losses and waste account for at least 30 percent of total
global food production.
✓ Unsustainable fishery practices often result in devastating
impacts on the aquatic environment and its resources. Today,
almost 30 percent of global fish stocks are overexploited, and
about 57 percent fully exploited.
✓ The dependence of the global food system on fossil fuels
contributes to GHG emissions and may also increase input costs
to the extent that they become unaffordable.
* Water scarcity
* Soil
* Biodiversity
* Economic impacts
* Social impacts
 *
• 70 % of the world’s surface water
• Excess nutrients (phosphorus),
pesticides
• 47% population: sever water stress in
2050

✓ Better water treatment

✓ Efficient irrigation
Figure 1: Agricultural water use

% change in total agriculture water use, 1990-92 to 2002-2004

An example: Nestle’s “Water Scarcity” Project Results:
 *
• Fertile soil essential for healthy crops
and livestock, promotes biodiversity and
is carbon sink
• 40 % of all cultivable land degraded
• Degraded land → decreasing yields
 *
• Supports natural ecosystems services
(air quality improvement, disease
control etc.)
• Raw material availability
• Cannot deny next generations
• Value estimated: $ 16-64 trillion
 *
• Unstable & high fuel price, technologies to
conserve energy and produce biodiesel and
ethanol
• Reduce dependence on fossil fuels + retains
gge + save money (15% of production costs)
• China : project ‘Dream farm’ could lead to
energy savings of 2608 EJ
 *
• 70% of developing countries rely on
farming
• Businesses partner with NGO’s (analyze
impacts) & build relationships with the
entire supply chain

→Supply in long term ensured

• Economic viability: profitable through

increasing yields (previous cases)
Table 3: Summary of Adoption and Impact of Agricultural
Sustainability Technologies and Practices on 286
Projects in 57 Countries

Source: Food and agriculture organization of the UN

 *
• Businesses have responsibilities:

Education
Fair
returns Health
care

Labour Training
conditions
• Heterogeneity in agro-climatic environments
• Economically profitable + increasing final
demand
• Access to information (technologies,
pollution)
• Lack of institutions to facilitate the promotion
and adaption (research, NGO’s)
• Political constraints (benefits → resistance
of agrochemical industries)
The new food system challenge

• Change behavior towards healthier diets

and reduce food loss and waste
• Increase productivity by more than 60% on
existing crop and pasture land by 2050
• Preserve the environment through lower
resource intensity and sound use of inputs
• Make farming an attractive economic
opportunity for (young) people living in
rural areas
* The Solution, an initiative of the UN Sustainable
Development Solutions Network (SDSN), aims to bring
together different actors, including governments,
NGOs, the private sector, and academia, under a
shared commitment to sustainable food systems while
promoting rural prosperity and mitigating
environmental impact.
* It provides farmers with tailored tools and best
management practices on the 4 ‘Rights’ — Right
Rate, Source, Time, and Place — required to
sustainably enhance crop production.
 * Performance-based management
* A shared value approach
* Customized and science-based Best
Management Practices
* Access to a worldwide network of
international experts
* Iterative approach and continuous
improvement

Source: IFA Meetings; Paris, January 2015

 1) Promoting Soil Nutrient Management
NS Components
2) Strengthening Agricultural Extension Systems

3) Developing a real time performance

monitoring system for extension

4) Supporting the establishment of agribusiness

and retail centers

5) Establishing a network of universities to work

on Good Agronomic Practices