Dresden Declaration calls for hike in food production

By G. Venkataramani

DRESDEN, MAY 24. Development of sustainable agricultural production systems that are compatible with sustainable management and conservation of natural resources, economic development in rural areas to alleviate poverty and improving the quality of life should be given utmost importance while developing agricultural research agenda emerged as key issues as part of the Dresden Declaration, prepared through a consensus- building process here today.

``All the stakeholders endorsed the Dresden Declaration and the Global Vision for Agricultural Research for Development. There were initial reservations among NGOs and small farmer organizations and finally they had general agreement on the issues raised,'' said the chairman of the Global Forum on Agricultural Research (GFAR), Dr. R.S. Paroda.

There is an urgent need for increasing food production, food access and quality to keep pace with or exceed the rate of population growth. ``We the stakeholders of the GFAR, wish to remind the international community of the increasing importance and relevance of these challenges that have guided agricultural research over the past decades,'' read the declaration titled `Towards a global system for agricultural research for development'.

Over 400 delegates representing small farmers, NGOs, industries, national agricultural research systems, international agricultural research centres and the donor community participated.

These challenges have to be addressed in a rapidly changing socio-economic context. The recent trends that provided uncommon opportunities in agricultural research and development also posed some threats. Decrease in public research funding and increased role of private agricultural research necessitated the building of a new partnership and raised the issue of private versus public intellectual property rights.To address these challenges, the GFAR shareholders have adopted a Global Vision for Agricultural Research for Development, which builds on the diversity and complimentarity of different GFAR stakeholders.

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Section  : International
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