Lead organization: More and Better Network

Co-organizers:
La Via Campesina
Pan African Farmers Organization (PAFO),
IFOAM (International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements),
PROPAC (Sub-Regional Platform of Peasant Organizations of Central Africa),
ROPPA (Network of Farmers? and Agricultural Producers? Organisations of West Africa),
Asian Farmers Association, AFA
ActionAid International
Oxfam International
FIMARC (International Federation of Rural Adult Catholic Movements),
MIJARC (The International Movement of Catholic Agricultural Rural Youth),
CIDSE (International alliance of Catholic development agencies)
World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA)
Asia Pacific Network for Food Sovereignity(APNFS)
ETC-group
AgriCultures Network
Sociedad cientifica Latinamericana de agroecologia (SOCLA)
Avalon Foundation,
Articulação Nacional de Agroecologia (ANA) (Brazil)
Associação Brasileira de Agroecologia (ABA) (Brazil)
Avalon Foundation,
Bangladesh Krishok Federation(BKF) (Bangladesh),
Biovision (Switzerland),
Coordination Nationale des Organisations Paysannes du Mali (CNOP) (Mali)
FoodFirst (USA),
ILEIA -Centre for learning on sustainable agriculture (the Netherlands)
Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP), (USA),
Millennium Institute (USA),
Navdanya (India),
Oakland Institute (USA),
SEARICE (the Philippines)
Sustainable Food Trust (United Kingdom),
The Development Fund (Norway),

There is an urgent need to transform unsustainable agriculture and food systems. Industrial agriculture and other forms of unsustainable practices have caused dramatic problems. But resilient and sustainable modes of food production exist, and small scale food producers nourish more than 70% of the global population.

How can we make the transition into agricultural production and food systems which can

- drastically reduce poverty,

- reduce climate change and cool the planet,

- restore biodiversity, soil fertility and water resources,

- improve livelihoods and provide employment for billions of people,

- produce enough, good and nutritious food for 9 billion people or more?

Examples of sustainable food systems and lessons learned from transition into such systems will be presented. Leader of farmers? organizations and international institutions will together with scientists and activists discuss how a transition into a viable food future can happen.

Long description
The side event will focus on the urgent need to transform unsustainable agriculture and food systems, and how to make such transition into a viable food future.
We need agricultural production and food systems which can
- drastically reduce poverty,
- reduce climate change and cool the planet,
- restore biodiversity, soil fertility and water resources,
- improve livelihoods and provide employment for billions of people,
- produce enough, good and nutritious food for 9 billion people or more.

Background
Almost 50% of the greenhouse gas emissions come from agricultural production, land use change, processing, packing and transport of food. Industrial agriculture and other forms of unsustainable practices have also caused dramatic loss of biodiversity and soil fertility and overuse of water.
Almost one billion people suffer from hunger. Every day about 30 000 people die of hunger and hunger related causes. Most of them are small scale food producers and their families. Unhealthy food and diets cause obesity, heart diseases and type 2 diabetes, affecting 2 billion people and serious pandemics are likely to occur in the near future.
Resilient and sustainable modes of food production exist. They have evolved and adapted for millennia in traditional forms of agriculture and are more relevant than ever as viable tools in preserving the natural resources, eradicate hunger and reduce unemployment worldwide. Combined with latest science on sustainable forms of production, they can create the viable food future we need. But the existing wealth of knowledge of small scale food producers has gone unnoticed, unsupported, even marginalized and ignored

Potential outcome for UNCSD/Rio+20
- Policy recommendations
- Steps for transforming unsustainable food systems into sustainable
- Input to what a green economy should be for agriculture
Looking forward for solutions and ways to shift towards more viable future
- The side event will
- Show that agroecological and other forms of sustainable agriculture is widely practiced and can nourish the people of the planet, preserve and improve the environment, play a major role in combatting climate change, create employment and livelihoods for billions of people - if supported and promoted.
- Present lessons learned on the ground from farmers transforming into agroecological and other forms of sustainable agriculture.
- Present and debate what kind of policies and actions are needed for agricultural transition to make agroecological and other kind of sustainable agriculture the dominant mode of agriculture.
- Contribute to build a global movement for agricultural transition into a viable food future.

New knowledge, information and proposals for the way forward
Four new ?tools? for agricultural transition will be launched at the side event:
- Agricultural transition report: a new publication which highlights the conditions and paths towards sustainable and successful forms of food provision, and proposes practical and political transitions towards these viable models. It will be published in English, Spanish and French, by the More and Better Network
- Agricultural transition webpage: a new webpage with many case studies and articles about agroecological and other forms of sustainable agriculture etc Farming matters :A new issue of the magazine with examples of sustainable agriculture and some core issues for the way forward for sustainable agriculture.
- Agroecology lectures: Presentations of agroecology on CD in

The side event will have four sections
1. Presentations
- the urgent need for transformation of agricultural and food systems,
- concept and proposals for ways forward to sustainable and viable food production and food systems,
- Ag-transition webpage and a new edition of Farming matters
2. Input and comments from leaders of farmers? organizations, high-level representatives from international institutions, scientists and activists. (2,5 hours)
3. Lunch with organic, locally produced food (if this is possible in the room(s) we will have for this event. (one hour)
4. Lectures and debate about Agroecology, resiliency and food sovereignty (2 hours)

Speakers:
- Elisabet Atangana, president of the Pan African Farmers? Organization, and co-coordinator of the More and Better Network (confirmed)
- Yaya O. Olaminan, chair of the UN Committee for the World Food Security (CFS) (Nigeria) (Confirmed)
- Vandana Shiva, Navdanya (Confirmed)
- Estrella Penunia Banzuela , Asian Farmers Association, AFA (confirmed)
- Hans Herren, President, Millennium Institute (Confirmed)
- Patrick Holden, Sustainable Food Trust (Confirmed)
- Aksel Naerstad, International co-coordinator of the More and Better Network (Confirmed)
- Angela Hilmi, consultant (confirmed)
- A leader from La Via Campesina, Confirmed)
- A leader from ROPPA (Confirmed)
- A leader from IFOAM (Confirmed)
- José Graziano da Silva, Director General , FAO
- Ertharin Cousin, Executive Director (from April 2012),WFP
- Kanayo F. Nwanze, Presiden, IFAD
- Olivier de Schutter, UN Special rapporteur for the right to food
- David Nabarro, HLTF
- Maryham Rahmanian, vice chair of the High Level Panel of Experts in CFS (Iran)
- Jão Pedro Stedile, MST (Brazil)
- National Agroecology Network (ANA) (Brazil)

Speakers at part 4:
Potential speakers (although may be others)
- Clara Ines Nicholls, SOCLA (Confirmed)
- Miguel A Altieri, SOCLA (Confirmed)
- Eric Holt-Gimenez Food First (Confirmed)
- Paulo Petersen AS-PTA ABA (Confirmed)
- Jean Marc van der Weid- AS-PTA (Confirmed)