Appeal by 70 parties: The Netherlands’ strategy for global food security works!
A broad coalition of Dutch companies, knowledge institutes and civil society organizations wants to work together with the new government to make a real difference in improving global food security. The main focus will lie on supporting farmers and consumers in the Netherlands and beyond, and promoting climate-proof food systems in low- and middle-income countries. The coalition believes that, with our knowledge, expertise, experience and reputation for international cooperation and trade, the Netherlands must adopt an ambitious strategy for making our food systems more sustainable, and so contribute to achieving the targets in the Paris Climate Accord and the Sustainable Development Goals.
Concrete help for the government
The coalition is pleased that the new government agrees that the Netherlands should contribute to food security and water management in other countries (Outline Agreement, p 23) and offers a helping hand to continue to work together to achieve a resilient food system that makes a positive contribution to the climate goals and increases global food security. That has been detailed in three main points:
- Offer stability and continuity through greater ambition for international cooperation with sufficient financial resources
- Link the Climate Agenda to the Food Security Strategy, with context-specific action and investment
- Bring these points together in a long-term, government-wide International Food and Food Security Strategy, and involve the coalition in the formulation of this policy
This is essential because:
- 74% of the wide-range of food consumed in the Netherlands comes from abroad
- Dutch technology is involved in 80% of horticultural projects around the world
- Dutch knowledge institutes, with Wageningen University & Research in the forefront, are world leaders in research into food and food security
- 0.5% of national income is spent on ‘development cooperation’, while most people in the Netherlands think that is 3.6%
- 4.3% of total climate financing goes to agro-food systems, which cause an average of 29% of greenhouse gas emissions
- Together with 133 other countries, the Netherlands has pledged to integrate food and agriculture in its climate plans as of 2025. This commitment affects 70% of the world’s agricultural land.
- It will reach 10.6 million small farmers with activities aimed at increasing their productivity and incomes
Everything comes together
The signatory parties represent a broad cross-section of both the food and agricultural sector and the climate and environment sector. New supporters are very welcome to join the coalition by sending an email to fwouters@nlfoodpartnership.com.
Themes
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Dossier /Inclusive ways to sustainable and healthy food for all
All around the world small-scale farmers are using sustainable and inclusive methods to produce food. Working together with nature and each other, they provide their families and communities with sufficient and healthy food. But their production methods are under pressure from large-scale agriculture and the globally dominant system of industrial food production. Together with our partners, Both ENDS is trying to turn the tide in favour of sustainable, local practices that are mostly known as 'agro-ecological' or 'nature-inclusive'. Why are we focusing on these methods? Agro-ecological practices are climate-proof and inclusive and increase the opportunities for communities around the world to produce their food sustainably.
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Blog / 12 October 2022Op-ed in Trouw: "Give more money to local sustainable food producers in developing countries"
The Dutch government and Dutch businesses spend a lot of money on food production in developing countries. But, according to Karin van Boxtel, policy officer at Both ENDS, far too little of that money finds its way to sustainable, nature-inclusive producers.
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Dossier /Finance for agroecology
The lion's share of public budgets for climate, agriculture and development still goes to conventional agroindustrial projects that contribute to the current climate, food and biodiversity crises. Both ENDS and our partners are calling for a transition to agroecological practices that are people- and environment-friendly.
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News / 30 September 2021Agroecology in Kenya: fighting water pollution while securing food production
About 75% of Kenyans earn all or part of their income from the agriculture sector which accounts for 33% of the country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP). However, agricultural productivity has stagnated in recent years. Various factors have contributed to low agricultural productivity, including an overall decline in soil fertility because of the continuous removal of nutrients by crops; poor farming practices; land degradation and overuse/misuse of synthetic fertilizers that acidify the soil. The solution against these problems is: agroecology.
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News / 13 October 2023Water is life, water is food: World Food Day 2023
"Water is life, water is food" is this year's theme for World Food Day. Our partners around the world know all too well that this is a very true sentence. To celebrate World Food Day 2023 this October 16th, we'd like to show a few examples of how our partners fight for the right to water and this way, contribute to local food sovereignty at the same time.
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Transformative Practice /Agroecology
Agroecology is a diverse set of agricultural practices, a field of science and a social movement. It aims to transform food systems towards greater ecological sustainability, social justice, and resilience. Both ENDS and CSO-partners around the world support farmers and pastoralists practising agroecology, both on the ground and in gathering political and financial support.
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News / 17 September 2021Beyond trees: the importance of Non-Timber Forest Products for communities
About one in every six people, particularly women, directly rely on forests for their lives and livelihoods, especially for food. This shows how important non-timber forest products (NTFPs) and forests are to ensure community resilience. Not only as a source of food, water and income, but also because of their cultural and spiritual meaning.
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News / 19 August 2021Violet Matiru: “Communities around colonial Ruiru I Dam still struggle”
After many years of advocating for strong environmental policies at international platforms such as the UN, Kenyan Violet Matiru asked herself: "How does all this lobbying trickle down to our communities? How does this help our mothers who are still struggling with fetching water and cooking on wood stoves?" This is when she and her colleagues founded MCDI Kenya (Millennium Community Development Initiatives) and started to work with local communities. We talked to her about the historical and current power imbalance in water governance and her efforts to improve water governance in the Athi River basin, that runs all the way from upstream of Nairobi, through the city, into the Indian Ocean.
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Transformative Practice /Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration
In various countries in the Sahel, vast tracts of degraded land have been restored by the local population by nurturing what spontaneously springs from the soil. They do this using a method called 'Farmer Managed Natural Regeneration (FMNR)'.
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News / 27 September 2021Analog Forestry: sustainable food production with a feminist perspective
In times of ecosystem degradation, deforestation and climate change, rural communities often struggle to make a living in a healthy and autonomous way. One of the solutions to counter their problems is Analog Forestry, a sustainable practice promoted by many of Both ENDS's partners. We spoke to Carolina Sorzano Lopez*, Analog Forestry trainer from Colombia for the International Analog Forestry Network (IAFN), and Luz Marina Valle*, a local Analog Forestry promotora in her community of El Jocote in Northern Nicaragua, to explain to us the advantages of Analog Forestry.