COP16: Changing the way we grow food is urgent for Colombia and the world, says FAO

On a planet where some 733 million people go hungry, mainly due to conflicts, climate crises, inequalities and economic recessions, it is paradoxical to think that the very systems that produce many of the products we eat are a cause of biodiversity loss, a central theme of COP16.

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According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), just nine plant species currently for 66 per cent of our global crop production, despite the fact that more than 6,000 species have existed throughout history. A fact that illustrates how our diet has become uniform and how this has been accompanied by a drive to produce more, displacing wild species.

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As part of the UN Biodiversity Summit, FAO dedicated the day to talking about food. "Biodiversity is the foundation of food security and nutrition. It includes the genetic diversity of crop varieties and livestock breeds that form the basis of people's diets, the wild species that contribute to food supplies, and the materials, functions and services of the ecosystems that them," the organisation said.

This is why the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) has recognised these interrelationships since its ratification. However, more action is needed to the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity. "During the 2022 UN Conference on Biodiversity, the need to promote more sustainable agri-food systems was raised in the adoption of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, which includes direct links to agri-food systems in most of the goals and targets."

To this end, FAO today launched the Agri-NBSAPs Initiative, which aims to help countries identify, integrate and implement biodiversity-friendly agri-food solutions into relevant national planning and budgeting processes, thereby contributing to their national biodiversity strategies and action plans.

The tool was launched at an event attended by the Minister of the Interior, Juan Fernando Cristo, the Minister of Agriculture, Martha Carvajalino, the Minister of Culture, Juan David Correa, and the Executive Secretary of the CBD, Astrid Schomaker, among others.

According to Agustín Zimmermann, FAO Representative in Colombia, the Agri-NBSAPs aim to provide countries with a framework to guide the development of national targets to achieve the 23 objectives of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.

"For example, changing land use to more sustainable agricultural practices; reducing deforestation rates through better livestock management; smarter water use; resource-saving precision agriculture. FAO has a lot of knowledge to offer on all these types of practices, and can also help countries share what is happening around the table at COP16," said Zimmermann.

Regarding Colombia's current situation on these issues, the representative of this United Nations agency told EL TIEMPO that Colombia has a very important potential for growth towards more sustainable practices. "Today I would say that Colombia and the fact that it is working on biodiversity at the COP is a very strong sign of commitment to agriculture and, in general, to a more sustainable environment. In the government's plans, there is this emphasis on making agriculture more inclusive, sustainable and resilient. That is not to say that everything is fantastic, there is still work to be done. But there is a very strong commitment in this area," he said.

In this regard, the Minister of Agriculture, Martha Carvajalino, said that the country is already discussing the transformation of the agri-food system. "The fight against hunger and poverty must also be in harmony with the fight for the sustainability of the planet, and the Minister of the Environment, together with the National Government, under the mandate of President Petro, we are sure that there is a common path to build a fair world, where we stop hunger, where we fight poverty, but where we take measures to be sustainable so that humanity can continue to survive," said the Minister.

She added: "It is already clear that if we do not act, this could become a catastrophe. I believe that what we are saying today is that we can produce food in a sustainable, resilient way, and that food production is fundamentally based on the recognition of communities.

*Special Envoy of EL TIEMPO to COP16.