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UN: Global farm methods 'recipe for disaster'
The United Nations top official on the right to food has called for wholesale changes in farming methods to safeguard the environment and ensure everyone has enough to eat.
Olivier De Schutter, the UN special rapporteur on the right to food, said in a statement to mark World Food Day that there is currently "little to rejoice about," and "worse may still be ahead."
"As a result of climate change, the yields in certain regions of sub-Saharan Africa are expected to fall by 50 percent by 2020 in comparison to 2000 levels. And growing frequency and intensity of floods and droughts contribute to volatility in agricultural markets."
"Current agricultural developments are... threatening the ability for our children's children to feed themselves," he said. "A fundamental shift is urgently required if we want to celebrate World Food Day next year," he added.
De Schutter said the emphasis on chemical fertilizers and a greater mechanization of production was "far distant from the professed commitment to fight climate change and to support small-scale, family agriculture."
In addition, "giving priority to approaches that increase reliance on fossil fuels is agriculture committing suicide," he said.