By adopting the communiqué of the 9th Berlin Agriculture Ministers' Conference, the participating Ministers from 83 states and representatives of the European Commission and international organisations such as the FAO undertake to lobby for a sustainable stewardship of water.
Federal Agriculture Minister Christian Schmidt stated the following in this regard:
"The sustainable stewardship of water is one of the major challenges of our century. Water is, alongside soil, the most important input for agricultural production. Agriculture has a particular responsibility because it uses about 70 percent of freshwater consumed worldwide. At the same time, it must be able to continue to meet its role as a supplier of food. To this end, it requires adequate access to water. Food security is not possible without water! Agriculture is faced with the task of producing more food with less water. We can only provide answers to these questions by working together closely in all fields. Together with my colleagues, the Agriculture Ministers from nearly all corners of the globe, I am therefore taking action to support careful stewardship of water. As a key actor we need to help safeguard water quality through sustainable water management, enhancing access to education, training and know-how and strengthening the establishment of structures and the use of technologies. With the Communiqué that we are adopting today, we are working towards this goal whilst playing our part in implementing the Agenda 2030."
Background:
This year, the Berlin Agriculture Ministers' Conference is being held for the ninth time during the Global Forum for Food and Agriculture (GFFA) – the Berlin World Food Conference. The GFFA is the world's largest Agriculture Ministers' Summit. At the invitation of the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture, Agriculture Ministers from across the globe discuss vital issues for the future of the global agri-food sector. The motto of this year's conference is "Agriculture and Water – Key to Feeding the World".
In their final communiqué, the Agriculture Ministers reaffirm their will to ensure a sustainable use of water resources, whilst identifying four central challenges: reducing the risks of water scarcity, curbing water pollution, managing surplus water and safeguarding adequate access of agriculture to water. At the end of the Berlin Agriculture Ministers' Conference, Federal Minister Christian Schmidt handed over the final communiqué to Mr. José Graziano da Silva, Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). In 2015, the international community enshrined the sustainable use of water prominently in sustainable development goal 6 of Agenda 2030. By adopting the GFFA final communiqué, the Agriculture Ministers commit to pro-actively support the implementation of Agenda 2030 and call for communicating the GFFA at UN level as agriculture's contribution to a successful implementation of the Agenda 2030. The GFFA final communiqué will also form the basis of discussions held directly after the G20 Agriculture Ministers' Meeting in Berlin on the subject of "Agriculture and water". The fundamentals worked out at the Agriculture Ministers' Conference will be incorporated into the G20 process.
The final communiqué of the 9th Berlin Agriculture Ministers' Conference can be downloaded at www.gffa-berlin.de and www.bmel.de/GFFA-Kommunique_2017_EN
Federal Agriculture Minister Christian Schmidt stated the following in this regard:
"The sustainable stewardship of water is one of the major challenges of our century. Water is, alongside soil, the most important input for agricultural production. Agriculture has a particular responsibility because it uses about 70 percent of freshwater consumed worldwide. At the same time, it must be able to continue to meet its role as a supplier of food. To this end, it requires adequate access to water. Food security is not possible without water! Agriculture is faced with the task of producing more food with less water. We can only provide answers to these questions by working together closely in all fields. Together with my colleagues, the Agriculture Ministers from nearly all corners of the globe, I am therefore taking action to support careful stewardship of water. As a key actor we need to help safeguard water quality through sustainable water management, enhancing access to education, training and know-how and strengthening the establishment of structures and the use of technologies. With the Communiqué that we are adopting today, we are working towards this goal whilst playing our part in implementing the Agenda 2030."
Background:
This year, the Berlin Agriculture Ministers' Conference is being held for the ninth time during the Global Forum for Food and Agriculture (GFFA) – the Berlin World Food Conference. The GFFA is the world's largest Agriculture Ministers' Summit. At the invitation of the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture, Agriculture Ministers from across the globe discuss vital issues for the future of the global agri-food sector. The motto of this year's conference is "Agriculture and Water – Key to Feeding the World".
In their final communiqué, the Agriculture Ministers reaffirm their will to ensure a sustainable use of water resources, whilst identifying four central challenges: reducing the risks of water scarcity, curbing water pollution, managing surplus water and safeguarding adequate access of agriculture to water. At the end of the Berlin Agriculture Ministers' Conference, Federal Minister Christian Schmidt handed over the final communiqué to Mr. José Graziano da Silva, Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). In 2015, the international community enshrined the sustainable use of water prominently in sustainable development goal 6 of Agenda 2030. By adopting the GFFA final communiqué, the Agriculture Ministers commit to pro-actively support the implementation of Agenda 2030 and call for communicating the GFFA at UN level as agriculture's contribution to a successful implementation of the Agenda 2030. The GFFA final communiqué will also form the basis of discussions held directly after the G20 Agriculture Ministers' Meeting in Berlin on the subject of "Agriculture and water". The fundamentals worked out at the Agriculture Ministers' Conference will be incorporated into the G20 process.
The final communiqué of the 9th Berlin Agriculture Ministers' Conference can be downloaded at www.gffa-berlin.de and www.bmel.de/GFFA-Kommunique_2017_EN
