14 January 2014: Biovision-Foundation for Ecological Development has published a discussion paper outlining the priorities of several organizations for the final stage of the post-2015 negotiations, including on means of implementation, finance, monitoring and accountability, indicators, and goals and targets.

Titled ‘Towards Achieving Food and Nutrition Security, and Changing Course in Global Agriculture,’ the paper underlines key concerns including: not re-negotiating the proposed 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and 169 targets; ensuring an equitable multilateral trade system that promotes rural development, food security and animal welfare, and mitigates excessive food price volatility; implementing country-initiated multi-stakeholder assessments; creating and expanding the regulatory environment for long-term investments in food security and sustainable food systems; promoting additional financing for micro-finance, small and medium enterprises within sustainable food systems and research, as well as capacity building in financial literacy; and recognizing the role that the Committee on World Food Security (CFS) can play in reviewing and monitoring of the implementation of the post-2015 development agenda on issues related to food and nutrition security, sustainable agriculture and food systems.

The paper also calls for stakeholders to ensure that a number of issues that have not been taken up in the UN Secretary-General’s synthesis report will be reflected in the post-2015 development agenda: doubling incomes of small-scale food producers (target 2.3 of the outcome document of the Open Working Group (OWG) on SDGs); implementing resilient agricultural practices (OWG target 2.4); maintaining genetic diversity of farmed animals, as well as seeds and cultivated plants (OWG target 2.5); limiting extreme food price volatility (OWG target 2.c); halving food waste and reduce food loss (OWG target 12.3); and striving to achieve a land-degradation neutral world (OWG target 15.3).

The document reflects the views of Alliance Sud, Berne Declaration, Biovision – Foundation for Ecological Development, Bread for all, Fastenopfer, HEKS, HELVETAS Swiss Intercooperation, IFOAM, Institute for Advanced Sustainability Studies (IASS), Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, Millennium Institute, Shumei1, Swissaid, Utviklingsfondet, and World Animal Protection. [Publication: Discussion Paper: Toward Achieving Food and Nutrition Security, and Changing Course in Global Agriculture]