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    Agroforestry is a key climate solution, Director-General says at FAO Council side-event

    Rome – Agroforestry is a key climate solution with huge
    potential to simultaneously improve food security and nutrition and alleviate
    poverty, while halting deforestation, conserving biodiversity, building
    resilience, and helping to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the
    Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
    (FAO) QU Dongyu said today.

    He delivered his
    opening remarks at a special joint event of the FAO’s Committee on
    Forestry
    (COFO) and the Committee on Agriculture (COAG) on Agriculture-Forestry Linkages. The event
    entitled “Scaling up agroforestry” took place on the sidelines of the 174th
    Session of FAO Council
    (4-8 December 2023). 

    In his address, the
    Director-General highlighted the need for scaling up agroforestry and its
    numerous environmental and socio-economic benefits, noting that it will require
    concerted efforts to foster greater collaboration and knowledge-sharing between
    forestry and agriculture sectors.

    According to the FAO’s State of
    the World’s Forests report
    in 2022, agroforestry
    can help restore over one billion hectares of degraded agricultural land, to
    increase soil fertility and agricultural productivity, while enriching
    ecosystem services and livelihoods.

    The Director-General also
    emphasized agroforestry’s vital importance for millions of smallholder farmers
    whose livelihoods depend on it. He also noted that it was paramount to create
    enabling environment to attract investors to help smallholder farmers apply
    innovative approaches.

    “Farmers need access
    to training, technology, markets, and financial support to adopt agroforestry
    practices effectively,” the Director-General said.

    To this end, Qu underscored
    the need for increased research and innovation which
    will improve our understanding of agroforestry systems and their benefits along
    the value chain and make it an attractive integrated business model for
    investment.

    The Director-General
    called on all relevant partners to work together to develop appropriate
    policies and practices. FAO is committed to support sustainable transitions to
    agroforestry in ways that meet the needs of smallholder farmers and transform
    agrifood systems for the better.  

    Other
    participants included Julie Emond, Chairperson of COAG (Canada); Guenter
    Walkner, Chairperson of COFO (Austria); and Michael
    Taylor, award-winning silvopastoral farmer (Australia). 

    The participants
    highlighted the potential of agroforestry as a cross-cutting solution to
    sustainably transform agrifood systems to be more efficient, inclusive,
    resilient and sustainable. The event showcased FAO’s work on agroforestry to
    Members, national experiences from Members and discussed ways forward for
    addressing the remaining barriers to agroforestry uptake. 

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