Urgent Need To Shift Away From Industrial Agriculture, Says UN Agency

By Catherine Saez

A recent report by a United Nations agency calls for an urgent shift of paradigm in agricultural development.

The UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) published on 18 September its Trade and Environment Review 2013 subtitled, “Wake up before it is too late; Make Agriculture Truly Sustainable Now for Food Security in a Changing Climate.”

“Developing and developed countries alike need a paradigm shift in agricultural development: from a ‘green revolution’ to a ‘truly ecological intensification’ approach,” the report said.

“This implies a rapid and significant shift from conventional, monoculture-based and high external-input-dependent industrial production towards mosaics of sustainable, regenerative production systems that also considerably improve the productivity of small-scale farmers,” it said.

Over 60 international experts contributed to the report’s analysis of the topic, according to an UNCTAD press release. In particular, the report calls for correcting existing imbalances between where food is produced and where it is needed, and to adjust current trade rules for agriculture.