本网记者姚媛

    2017年6月16日，在中国南京举办的第七届金砖国家农业部长会议上，联合国粮农组织表示，世界上最重要的五大新兴经济体的农业部门有能力，在实现2030年消除饥饿和贫困的全球目标方面发挥主导作用。
　　“金砖五国”（巴西、俄罗斯、印度、中国和南非）共同组成了一个重要的经济集团。它们占世界人口的40％以上，占全球GDP的超过20％。它们共生产了超过全球三分之一的谷物。去年，俄罗斯成为世界最大的小麦出口国。
　　“金砖国家在国际舞台上发挥着重要的政治作用。全球发展中国家都把你们过去的几十年里经济发展上的成功作为效仿的典范。”粮农组织助理总干事和亚太区域代表昆德哈维·卡迪瑞桑说，“金砖国家的经验为全面实现《2030年可持续发展议程》中的17个可持续发展目标和巴黎气候协定，提供了一条道路。”
　　加快农村发展是实现可持续发展目标的关键
　　卡迪瑞桑指出，尽管有城市化趋势，但当今世界的贫困主要在农村。因此，加快农村发展将是实现可持续发展目标的关键。
　　“我们在世界不同地区的经验表明，加快农村发展可通过农业增长、有针对性的社会保护，以及农村非农经济发展的结合而得以实现。”卡迪瑞桑说。“农业可以成为农村可持续和包容性发展的驱动力。在低收入国家，源自农业的增长在减贫方面的有效性是其他经济领域的两倍。”
　　同样重要的是，所有的工具、方法和技术必须对发展中国家的贫困家庭农民有所助益，并且是容易获取的，从而帮助他们提高生产和生产力。我们注意到，南非政府所倡导实施的旨在帮助小农户强化生计、扩大耕地面积、增加粮食生产的Fetsa Tlala计划就是一个很好的例子。
　　金砖国家可在农业研究领域发挥主导作用
　　会议上，粮农组织向各国农业部长指出，实现农业增长需要研发领域的投资，金砖国家可以在这方面发挥主导作用。金砖五国均有强大的农业研究体系，可以帮助解决发展中国家面临的诸如如何以可持续的方式养活不断增长的人口等相关发展挑战。其中，生物技术和农业生态方法也将在这些进展中发挥关键作用。气候智能型农业对于适应农民所面临的不确定性变化至关重要，将严重依赖前沿研究。
　　信息与通信技术（ICTs）正日益普及，它们有望解决小农在价格信息、天气预报、疫苗、金融服务等方面所面临的诸多挑战。粮农组织正在与二十国集团、经合组织和国际粮食政策研究所（IFPRI）进行合作，以确保这些技术能惠及小农。
　　强化社会保护，发展非农业经济，促进农村发展
　　农业增长虽然至关重要，但不足以消除饥饿和贫困——社会保护也可以在农村发展中发挥关键作用。这些项目具有重要的减贫和健康方面的益处，也可以强化家庭农户的信心，鼓励他们更具创业精神。巴西的“零饥饿计划”和印度的《全国农村就业保障法》可以为全世界提供参考。
　　卡迪瑞桑强调，不要忽视农村非农业经济在促进农村发展中的关键作用，这一点至关重要。
　　“随着经济转型，大多数农户从农业以外的活动中获得收入。在多数情况下，这些活动产生的收入不仅提高了生活水平，还带来了更稳定的生活。政府可通过在农村投资卫生和教育，在促进这一变革发挥关键作用，”卡迪瑞桑说。
　　粮农组织向各国农业部长指出，国际贸易也可以作为促进粮食安全以及适应气候变化的有效工具。每个国家在某个阶段都会遭遇不可避免的歉收，此时，及时的进口有助于使国内粮食经济再平衡。由粮农组织领导的二十国集团倡议——农业市场信息系统（AMIS），为确保全球粮食市场的良好运作和透明度做出了重要贡献。
　　卡迪瑞桑欢迎中国政府的“一带一路”倡议，她表示这将为所有参与国之间的南南合作创造重要机遇。她还对中国政府在支持粮农组织南南合作和三方合作项目上发挥的主导作用表达了感谢。
　　BRICS countries well placed to take a leadership role in helping eradicate global hunger and poverty by 2030
　　16 June 2017, Nanjing, China – With the clock ticking toward the 2030 deadline for meeting the international goals to eradicate hunger and poverty, Ministries of Agriculture in five of the world’s most important emerging economies are well positioned to take a leading role in helping to achieve these objectives, the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization said today.
　　The five countries, known collectively as the “BRICS” (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa), form an important economic block. They account for more than 40 percent of the world’s population and over 20 percent of global GDP. Together, they produce more than one-third of global cereal production. Last year, Russia became the largest wheat exporter in the world.
　　“The BRICS countries play an important political role in the international arena. Developing countries around the world look to your successes in economic development over the past few decades as an example to follow,” said Kundhavi Kadiresan, Assistant Director-General and FAO’s Regional Representative for Asia and the Pacific, during a statement to the 7th Meeting of the BRICS Ministers of Agriculture, in Nanjing, China. “Your experiences provide a path that can help us all meet our global collective commitments, namely those of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development – its 17 Sustainable Development Goals – and the Paris climate accord.”
　　Kadiresan pointed out that, despite trends towards urbanization, poverty in the world today is primarily rural. As a result, accelerating rural development will be key to achieving the SDGs. 
　　“The question is how can we do this? Our experiences in countries in different parts of the world have shown that it can best be done through a combination of agricultural growth and targeted social protection, but also through growth in the rural nonfarm economy,” Kadiresan said. “Agriculture can be a driver of sustained and inclusive rural growth. In low-income countries, growth originating from agriculture is twice as effective in reducing poverty as growth originating from other sectors of the economy.” 
　　Equally important is that all the tools, approaches and technologies developed must be useful and accessible to poor family farmers in developing countries so that they can increase production and productivity. It was noted that government-led initiatives such as South Africa’s Fetsa Tlala, which aims to support subsistence and smallholder farmers expand cultivated land to food production, was an excellent example.
　　BRICS strong in agricultural research
　　The Ministers heard that achieving agricultural growth would also require investments in research and development, and the BRICS countries could play a leading role in this, as all five countries have strong agricultural research systems that are working on many of the challenges faced by developing countries, such as feeding a growing population in a sustainable way. Biotechnology would also play a key role in these advances, as would agro-ecological approaches. Climate-smart agriculture will be essential to adapt to the uncertain changes facing our farmers, and it will rely heavily on cutting-edge research. 
　　Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) are becoming more widespread by the day, and they offer a promising approach to address many of the challenges smallholders face with regard to information on prices, weather forecasts, vaccines, financial services, and much more. FAO is collaborating with the G20, the OECD and International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) in order to make sure these technologies benefit smallholders.
　　Agricultural growth cannot solve these issues on its own 
　　Agricultural growth, as important as it is, cannot eradicate hunger and poverty all by itself – social protection programmes can also play a key role in rural development. These programmes have important poverty reduction and health benefits, and can also strengthen the confidence of family farmers, encouraging them to become more entrepreneurial. Brazil’s Fome Zero and India’s National Rural Employment Guarantee Act are global references in this regard.
　　Kadiresan stressed that it is important not to overlook the key role played by the rural nonfarm economy in fostering rural development. 
　　“As economies transform, most farm households obtain significant income from activities other than farming. The income from these activities provides not only a higher standard of living, but also a more stable one in many cases. Governments play a key role in encouraging this transformation by investing in rural health and education,” Kadiresan said. “While these investments are typically not within the Ministry of Agriculture’s mandate, we must support such investments, as they are in the interest of our rural constituents. Where would any of us be today without the opportunities provided by our former teachers and a strong educational system?” 
　　The Ministers heard that international trade could also serve as an effective instrument in promoting food security and act as an adaptation tool to climate change. When an inevitable bad harvest occurs, as it does in every country at some stage, timely imports can help to rebalance the domestic food economy. In this regard, the Agricultural Market Information System (AMIS), a G20 initiative led by FAO, makes an important contribution to ensuring well-functioning and transparent global food markets.
　　Kadiresan welcomed the Government of China’s Belt and Road Initiative, which she said would create a great opportunity for South-South Cooperation among all countries involved. She also acknowledged the Government’s leading role in supporting FAO’s South-South and triangular cooperation programme.