Switzerland: Agroecology to achieve the SDGs

The Swiss National FAO Committee (CNS-FAO) is an advisory body to the Swiss Government. It provides advice on the fight against world hunger and its causes, the improvement of the global food security, as well as the promotion of sustainable agriculture and rural development. The CNS-FAO issued in February 2019 a discussion paper on “Agroecology as a means to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals”.

This paper aims to orient the Swiss Government and interested stakeholders on the potential and challenges of agroecology. It builds on the understanding that there is no single approach or technological solution to make global agriculture and food systems (AFS) more sustainable. Instead, a combination of diverse activities is required, which are aligned with the overall objective of sustainable AFS. This discussion paper explores the specific role that agroecology can play in this process and outlines ways forward to make use of this potential.