Opportunity to accelerate the transformation of agri-food systems
The coronavirus pandemic has highlighted the need for resilient, sustainable food systems supported by scientific evidence, through which the increase in poverty in the world can be avoided and help vulnerable groups such as small farmers, women, youth, among others, they can recover from the global health emergency. In a virtual discussion, the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) in Latin America, together with experts from the International Bioversity Alliance and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (the Alliance), the International Center for The Potato (CIP) and the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), discussed how Climate-Adapted Sustainable Agriculture (ASAC) can help mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on agri-food systems in Latin America. The current situation is presented as an opportunity to accelerate the transformation of food systems in Latin America. In a context of variability and climate change, food production must become more resilient to ensure the income of rural families and the nutrition of the population in general. Similarly, economic measures aimed at the recovery of the different sectors must seek environmental, social and economic sustainability. This will be key to a sustainable and successful recovery after the health emergency. Sustainable and climate-smart agriculture is crucial to making our food systems sustainable and resilient; the post-COVID-19 economic recovery is an opportunity to transform and strengthen the agricultural sector and rural families on a path of sustainability ”. Deissy Martínez Barón, Regional Director, CCAFS Latin America. Decision-making support for the agri-food sector during the pandemic The CSA options now being implemented in the agricultural sector of Latin America will allow farmers to increase the resilience of productive systems and continue food production during and after the health emergency to continue providing for the population, even in the event of an adverse weather event. The pandemic has affected the agricultural sector at different scales, from labor and access to inputs, to the mobilization and demand for food. COVID-19 has added to the set of vulnerabilities that farmers must take into account when making decisions about their crops. In this context, the Agroclimatic Technical Tables (MTA), an approach that provides the agricultural sector with agroclimatic forecasts to make informed decisions about crops, are playing a fundamental role during the health emergency, in the first place, thanks to the monitoring carried out by the Institutions participating in the roundtables can identify reductions in the income of rural families, in which territories there are shortage problems, difficulties in accessing inputs or decapitalization of farmers or rural families. On the other hand, in the agroclimatic bulletins, recommendations have been included to implement ASAC practices according to the behavior of the climate and to avoid contagion during agricultural activities so that they can continue with their productive activities. Small producers of crops as important as corn and wheat in Mexico and Guatemala are affected by the lack of income, the decrease in remittances, the shortage and the decapitalization of their crops. At CIMMYT, they consider it important to ensure that the entire value chain of wheat and corn production continues to function to ensure that they reach final consumers. Therefore, community seed banks, organic inputs, conservation agriculture and the digitization of the agricultural sector are some of the practices that have been implemented during the crisis to ensure sustainable food production while reducing environmental impact. Preparing for the future Thousands of voices around the world are calling for actions to build more sustainable, resilient and inclusive societies. In this sense, the proposal from CIP is to bet on agrobiodiversity by incorporating it into climate risk management strategies and from there promoting healthy diets, changes in consumer behavior and digital innovations for market access. Crop diversification, monitoring in planting areas and climate services will be key to taking advantage of the biodiversity of the Andes, an area where CIP research is concentrated, through different strategies for adaptation and mitigation to climate change that ensure a recupe