SDC A&FS Network: Newsletter

At a panel discussion on 21 October 2022 in Bern, the Swiss NGO Alliance Sufosec (Sustainable Food Systems and Empowered Communities) presented its first global food and nutrition report. The report shows how the Sufosec member organisations Aqua Alimenta, Fastenaktion, Skat Foundation, Swissaid, Vétérinaires Sans Frontières Suisse, and Vivamos Mejor, along with their partner organisations in 27 countries, implement solutions to still achieve SDG 2 “Zero Hunger” by 2030.

The panellists agreed that a paradigm shift from large-scale monocultures of industrial crops towards agroecology and sustainable food systems is required to fight hunger worldwide in a sustainable way.

In her introductory speech, Nicole Stolz, head of development cooperation at Swissaid, showed that whilst hunger had decreased globally until 2015, progress was reversed during the pandemic, with currently 828 million people suffering malnutrition. She pointed out that hunger is manmade, so it can be stopped.

In a video message, Wesinew Adugna, head of the programme of VSF-Suisse in Ethiopia, illustrated the urgency of the hunger crisis at the Horn of Africa caused by the worst drought in decades.

Stellamaris Mulaeh, country programme coordinator of Fastenaktion in Kenya, argued that an advocacy approach is needed to bring agroecology onto the agenda of national policy makers.

Christoph Golay, visiting professor of international and development studies at the Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights, added that civil society organizations must campaign to bring the right to food into the constitutions of their countries.

Alessandra Roversi, program officer of the SDC Global Program Food Security Division, reminded the audience that the transition of agricultural food systems takes time, whilst short-term food emergencies must be addressed without delay. She emphasised that in spite of the multiple crises we are currently facing, SDC invests considerable amounts to address both short-term and longer-term strategies to fight hunger. 

The Sufosec report presents the results of the Household Survey 2022 of 14,000 households in 16 countries on food security and agroecology, as well as case studies from India, Colombia, Guatemala, Mali, Madagascar and Kenya. The report also includes an article by Johanna Jakobi (ETH Zurich) and Stephan Rist (CDE, University of Bern) on the current state of scientific literature on agroecology. The report can be accessed in English, French, and German on https://sufosec.ch.

In celebrating the 8+ years Sino-Swiss cooperation project “Rehabilitation and management strategies of over-pumped aquifers in a changing climate”, the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), the General Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Planning and Design (GIWP) of the Chinese Ministry of Water Resources, the Centre for Agricultural Research (CAR) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, in partnership with the Geneva Water Hub and the Dakar Water Hub, co-held a Webinar on Sustainable Groundwater Management.

More than 150 participants from different countries attended the webinar. The webinar is co-moderated by Prof. Yanjun Shen of CAR, Jean Willemin of Geneva Water hub and Dr. Liyan WANG of SDC China office.

Counsellor Nadia Benani, Head of SDC China office delivered the opening remark. Switzerland is engaged in the promotion of global water security, precondition of all societies in fighting poverty and developing sustainably. SDC is active in several countries around the globe in the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goal 6, challenged by overuse of water resources and climate change.

Video of Nadia

Dr. Paul Pavelic, Senior Researcher of the International Water Management Institute (IWMI), first presented a handful of case studies from India, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, and Australia. A diverse array of measures have been undertaken to address groundwater overexploitation and water security in different contexts, with adequate scientific evidence showing positive impacts.

Video of Paul’s presentation

Dr. Yu Lili of GIWP shared the results of implementing the Action Plan of Groundwater Overexploitation Control in North China, which has incorporated comprehensive measures in water-saving, groundwater replenishment and legislative framework. At the end of her presentation, she also openly discussed the challenges ahead.

Video of Lili

A group of cross-continental speakers gave a broad view on transboundary aquafer management in this session.

Jean Willemin introduced the session by indicating how water, as a potential source of conflict, can be a vehicle of cooperation, leading to the path of Blue Peace, highlighted by the Global High-Level Panel on Water and Peace. Recommendations of this panel inspired Senegal, Mauritania, The Gambia and Guinea-Bissau to engage on transboundary cooperation on the Senegal-Mauritanian Aquifer Basin.

Video of Jean

Dr. Gabriel de los COBOS, Head of the Geology and Groundwater Section of the Canton of Geneva, shared the 40 years successful cooperation between Switzerland and France. The Genevese Aquifer is the first historical agreement on a transboundary groundwater resource, as well as the pioneer case of artificial recharge management to address groundwater overexploitation.

Video of Gabriel

Mr. Ababacar NDAO, member of Dakar Water Hub and former Secretary General of Organization for the Development of the Gambia River (OMVG) shared his insights on the gains of 50 years of transboundary cooperation on the Senegal River with (OMVS) and Gambia River with OMVG. With respect to groundwater, the four countries sharing the Senegal-Mauritanian Aquifer Basin have committed to a political process to establish an institutional arrangement, which may set one more example for the world with a case of two transboundary basin organisations supporting states groundwater management.

Video of Ababacar

At the end of this session, Mrs. Elisabeth Lictevout, Director of the International Groundwater Resources Assessment Centre, presented a groundwater paradox case in the arid Northern Chile.

Video of Elisabeth

The final speaker was associate prof. LUO Jianmei of China Geo university. Mrs. LUO elaborated how cropping system, planting structure and water-saving technology may influence the food production in the North China Plain. Her presentation shed light on how to find balance between food security and water resources from a long-term perspective.

Video of Jianmei

At the end of the Webinar, Mrs. WANG Jinsu, Director of the Department of the International Cooperation, Science and Technology of the Chinese Ministry of Water Resources, made a concluding remark, confirming the fruitful results generated in the Sino-Swiss cooperation, as well as from the webinar.

Video of Jinsu