Transforming food and agriculture to achieve the SDGs

In order to help policy makers and other development actors accelerate progress towards global
promises to end poverty and hunger, the guide Transforming food and agriculture to achieve the SDGs was published by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in June 2018.

Crafted as a learning tool, the guide offers a compendium of how-to pointers to expedite actualimplementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) –at a time when rising world hunger, soil and land degradation and other woes related to our food systems demand an urgent response.

The publication includes a set of 20 inter-connected actions designed to show the impact sustainable agriculture can have on tackling the world's greatest challenges. These 20 inter-connected actions aim to help map strategies to achieve Zero Hunger and the SDGs related to food and agriculture, including fostering more resilient livelihoods and higher productivity and incomes for rural smallholders.

They are meant to knit the many sectors of agriculture and rural development into a country's broader development programme. Rural investment, strengthened farmers' co-operatives, public-private partnerships, accessible policy debates and better co-ordination across ministries, all with a focus on people, their livelihoods and the environment, are key aspects of delivering necessary and transformative change, according to this guide.

Each of the actions is graphically identified with its contribution to SDG goals. They relate to key components of the development agenda, particularly to helping smallholders gain access to and benefit from markets, boost diversification, knowledge and resilience, safeguard natural resources including soil health, biodiversity and water, reduce food loss and waste and promote sustainable consumption, assure tenure rights, adequate social protection, improved nutrition, address and adapt to climate change, and improve governance systems.

(FAO/ile)