Press Release
December 9, 2014

Villar backs shift to Agro-Ecology since PH No. 1
affected by Climate Change in 2013

SENATOR Cynthia A. Villar underscored the need for agro-ecology following reports by German think-tank Germanwatch in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Peru that the Philippines was the No. 1 country affected by climate change in 2013.

To support its new study, Germanwatch said the massive damage brought by typhoon Haiyan or Yolanda is an important case in point at the Global Climate Risk Index that was unveiled in the Peru convention.

The two other countrIes which suffered most from the effects of climate change last year are Cambodia and India.

Because of these developments, Villar there is more reason for us to focus on agro-ecology since it provides a number of environment-related benefits, aiming for environmental sustainability.

"And if only for those benefits, agro-ecology is indeed very timely as an alternative to conventional farming, taking into consideration that the country now experiences extreme weather disturbances such as stronger typhoons, draughts, El Nino/La Nina and other environmental risks. Thus, we need different approaches such as agro-ecology," explained Villar during her speech at the Southeast Asian regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) Agriculture and Development Seminar Series (ADSS)

The senator, chair of the Senate Food and Agriculture committee was the keynote speaker in thes said seminar sponsored by SEARCA at UP Los Banos, Laguna. She spoke on 'Agro-Ecology for Sustainable Agriculture and Environment towards Food Security'.

The senator supported the assertion of FAO Director General José Graziano da Silva that there is a need for a "paradigm shift" in agriculture.

Da Silva said the main challenge facing world farming is to lower the use of agricultural inputs, especially water and chemicals, as well as to make food production viable in the long-term.

He also said agro-ecology is really farming in a more sustainable way, and sustainability is the key.

Villar said Da Silva's points were echoed by United Nations (UN) Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, Professor Hilal Elver. He noted that recent scientific researches increasingly prove how agro-ecology offers environmentally sustainable methods that meet the rapidly growing demand for food.

Da Silva related that based on estimates, there is a need to increase food production by over 60 per cent to meet the expected demand from a population of over nine billion in 2050.

"Ensuring food security is another factor that is of foremost consideration. And according to the FAO, only small farmers and agro-ecology can feed the world. It cites that 70% of food consumed globally comes from small farmers," said Villar.

Based on official statistics, 1.5 billion of people globally are estimated to be involved in family farming in over 500 million small farms worldwide.

Vlllar said agro-ecological concepts, and practices contribute to the three main goals of FAO: eradicating hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition; eliminating poverty and the driving forward of economic and social progress for all; and the sustainable management and utilization of natural resources, including land, water, air, and climate for the benefit of present and future generations.

She said the goals that FAO believes will be realized and met with the help of agro-ecology.

Due to this, Villar said we need to learn more about agro-ecology so that we can assess its benefits and promote its adoption and active implementation here in our agricultural country.

She emphasized it can likewise contribute to rural development that will result to higher incomes in rural areas.

Agro-ecology uses ecological concepts and principles to design and manage sustainable agro-ecosystems, offering benefits for productivity, food security, environmental sustainability, and important ecosystem services such as climate change mitigation.

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