“Business as usual is not an option…continuing to focus on production alone will undermine our agricultural capital and leave us with an increasingly degraded and divided planet.“
Bob Watson (IAASTD Director and DEFRA Chief Scientist), March 2008
The UKFG meeting on 30 October 2008 “Agriculture at a Crossroads: Implementing the findings of the international agriculture assessment – IAASTD” was enriched by the participation of about 100 people in a packed Committee Room in the Houses of Parliament. We are very grateful to Andrew George MP and Alan Simpson MP for sponsoring the meeting, to Bob Watson, Director IAASTD and DEFRA Chief Scientist, Patrick Mulvany, Practical Action, and Janet Cotter, Greenpeace, for speaking at the meeting and to Jeanette Longfield, Sustain, for chairing.
You can now find their presentations, audio recordings and related papers at the bottom of this page.
The meeting deepened understanding about this important UN/World Bank-sponsored report from the International Assessment of Agricultural Knowledge, Science and Technology for Development (IAASTD) and explored ways to implement its findings.
The IAASTD report, the presentations and discussion on 30th October lead us to a simple conclusion that it is imperative to build on and implement the findings of IAASTD. Starting at home, our ministers, officials and academic bodies should be using this Assessment as a basis for future practical and policy work on key issues relating to food, agriculture and the environment. In particular, the findings show that it is essential to implement radical changes in order to secure future food supplies, sustain ecosystem functions and improve equity. But it appears those in power are unwilling to do so. Perhaps the main action resulting from the meeting is that individually and collectively we need to remind them repeatedly about the consequences of not implementing these landmark findings and the worldwide benefits of doing so.
Downloads:
| Prof Watson (IAASTD and DEFRA Chief Scientist) | slides audio |
| Patrick Mulvany (UKFG) and Andrew George (IAASTD) | audio |
| Patrick Mulvany (Practical Action) | slides |
| Janet Cotter (Greenpeace UK) | slides audio |
| “22 Key findings of IAASTD” | article |
| Agriculture for Development on IAASTD, Autumn 2008 | article |
| Special briefing on IAASTD by Practical Action, GM Freeze and Friends of the Earth | briefing |