Excellencies, Honourable Representatives of Member Countries, Distinguished participants, Ladies and Gentlemen.
The analysis presented in the FAO document correctly identifies the interconnected nature of the climate crisis, biodiversity loss, and land degradation, as well as the role of industrial agrifood systems in deepening these crises. However, civil society organizations believe that there is a significant mismatch between the diagnosis provided and the measures proposed. While the analysis acknowledges the structural impact of industrial agriculture, the proposed actions remain too limited and insufficiently transformative to address the root causes of ecological and social vulnerability in the region.
The key to overcoming the climate crisis, biodiversity loss, and soil erosion lies in ensuring that land, water, and territories are not overexploited, but are governed in ways that meet people’s needs while respecting ecosystems and the interests of future generations. In this context, agrarian reform must become a central element of the sustainable development agenda in Europe and Central Asia. Therefore, the implementation of the ICARRD+20 process and outcomes should be considered a priority for the region.
Agrarian reform in the twenty-first century must be understood in a comprehensive and transformative manner, based on the principles of the four “Rs”: recognition of collective and customary rights; reparations and restitution, particularly in relation to colonial and historical injustices; redistribution of land, water, and territories in response to the growing concentration of resources; and effective regulation of natural resources and food systems. These dimensions are essential to ensuring fair, inclusive, and sustainable governance of territories and natural resources.
Civil society organizations also emphasize that the right to food must be explicitly recognized as a central response to interconnected trends and challenges, including socio-economic vulnerability in both rural and urban areas. Issues of justice cannot be separated from access to land, water, seeds, and dignified livelihoods. A human rights-based approach is therefore necessary to ensure that resilience policies respond to the needs of people and communities, rather than solely to economic or technological priorities.
Participants in the civil society consultation noted that there is a growing tendency in the region towards public policies focused on the industrialization of agriculture and the achievement of short-term productivity growth. At the same time, it is important to ensure that this process takes into account the interests of small-scale food producers, who continue to constitute a significant part of the farming community in many countries across the Europe and Central Asia region. Existing approaches may generate additional environmental risks and affect the sustainability of local communities and traditional knowledge systems. In this context, agroecology, local seed systems, and territorial food systems are viewed as important and promising approaches to addressing current challenges and should be reflected in public policy priorities. In this regard, the importance of further advancing UNDROP and strengthening the recognition of the rights and role of peasants and other people working in rural areas was also emphasized.
The document should also devote significantly greater attention to reducing dependency on chemical inputs. The current ecological crisis cannot be overcome without a radical reduction in the use of chemical fertilizers, pesticides, and other agrotoxins. These issues are currently insufficiently reflected in the FAO document, despite their central importance for biodiversity, soil health, water quality, and public health. FAO should therefore develop clear strategies and concrete measures to support the transition away from chemically intensive monocultures towards diversified mixed crop and livestock systems adapted to local ecosystems and territorial conditions.
At the same time, greater attention must be given to organic fertilization systems and agroecological soil management. Rising global fertilizer prices and increasing dependence on external inputs have already demonstrated the vulnerability of industrial production systems. Viable alternatives exist, based on organic manure, circular nutrient systems, and agroecological practices that strengthen resilience while simultaneously reducing environmental impacts.
The protection and promotion of local seeds and animal breeds must also become a central component of resilience strategies. Local and traditional seed varieties have adapted over centuries to specific territories and ecosystems and therefore play a crucial role in climate adaptation and biodiversity conservation. The increasing replacement of local seeds with industrial and standardized varieties undermines biodiversity and weakens the resilience of agricultural systems. Supporting farmers’ seed systems, participatory plant breeding, and local breeds is therefore essential both for ecological sustainability and for food sovereignty.
Civil society organizations also expressed concern regarding the growing emphasis on digitalization without sufficient attention to issues of governance, ownership, and control over data. Important questions remain unanswered regarding who processes, controls, and benefits from agricultural data and digital technologies. Resilience cannot be built on systems where knowledge and strategic information are concentrated in the hands of a few actors or external forces. Public oversight, democratic participatory governance, and accessibility of digital systems must therefore be guaranteed in order to prevent further dependency and inequality.
Finally, references to the Rio Conventions and international environmental negotiations must go beyond general commitments and explicitly support a structural transition towards agroecology and agrarian reform. Agroecology and democratic territorial governance must become key components of international negotiations on climate change, biodiversity protection, and combating desertification. Resilience cannot be achieved without transforming the dominant industrial agrifood model and without placing small-scale food producers, Indigenous Peoples, pastoralists, and local communities at the center of policymaking.
Ultimately, the transition towards sustainable agrifood systems goes beyond purely technical adaptation measures. It requires deeper political and economic transformations grounded in human rights, ecological sustainability, democratic governance, and territorial justice, as well as the strengthening of fair and inclusive food systems for future generations.