Agriculture Ministers Conference in Berlin – reconciling food security and sustainable animal husbandry

For the tenth time in a row, ministers of agriculture from all over the world met at the Global Forum for Food and Agriculture in Berlin, Germany. This year, they discussed the issue of how to shape the future of global livestock production so that it is sustainable and simultaneously ensures that the growing world-wide demand for foods of animal origin is met.

In their final communiqué, the agriculture ministers commit themselves to responsible and efficient livestock production. They call on their counterparts and all international organisations to take action, asking them to stand up for

• ensuring global food security, also through more efficient and sustainable production and better access to food products of animal origin;
  
  
• improving the livelihoods of livestock farmers by their gaining a more significant status in the value chains and enjoying working conditions fulfilling the standards of the International Labour Organization (ILO);
  
  
• protecting the climate, the environment and natural resources by supporting resource-efficient agricultural systems and sharing of knowledge to reduce emissions from animal husbandry;
  
  
• improving animal health and animal welfare, also through better access to veterinary medicine and consultation. The ministers unanimously demand that the development of resistance to antibiotics be prevented and that for this purpose, steps be taken against an unnecessary use of these drugs in animal fattening.

Winding up the Conference, Germany’s Federal Minister of Agriculture, Christian Schmidt, handed over the final communiqué to Monique Eloit, Director-General of the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE), and to José Graziano da Silva, Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).

Silvia Richter, Editor, Rural 21

More information

Download communiqué