Agriculture
leaders from the G-20 nations, which includes Canada, agreed in weekend meetings in Germany that greater efforts should be taken to safeguard water, to prevent
animal diseases and to curb the unnecessary use of antibiotics.
"We
commit to approaches that improve sustainability of water use in food and
agricultural production while ensuring food security and nutrition in
accordance with our multilateral trade commitments," the leaders said in a
statement after meeting in Berlin.
Climate
change, the growing world population and demands for industrialization have put
a strain on global water supplies, with the impact felt on rich and poor
nations.
The
United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization warned in December that 12
million people across Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia need food aid as farmers
struggle with the impact of repeated droughts, compelling Ethiopia to make
major wheat imports.
Saudi
Arabia has been ending its crop farming to save precious water and has been
importing food instead.
"We
will protect water and water-related ecosystems by encouraging water-friendly,
sustainable agricultural practices and technologies that enhance the water
quality and resilience of water bodies," the G20 statement on Sunday said.
"We
are therefore committed to developing and implementing corresponding strategies
at the national level," it added.
Global
farming needs sustainable water supplies to feed the growing world population
and provide the basis for world peace and stability, the meeting's host, German
agriculture minister Christian Schmidt, said.
"Agriculture
is a part of global security politics," he said.
The
G20 ministers also committed themselves to reducing animal diseases but to
prevent the unnecessary use of antibiotic drugs in farming.
While in Berlin, Agriculture Minister
Lawrence MacAulay met with the Director General of the Food and Agriculture
Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Dr. José Graziano da Silva, and
announced a contribution of $1 million to support international bodies that
develop the standards for food safety and plant and animal health.
On the margins of this mission,
Minister MacAulay also met with other key partners including Ministers of
Agriculture from China, the European Union (EU), Germany, the United Kingdom
and Austria, as well as the EU Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety
Commissioner and the Deputy-Minister of Agriculture for Turkey.
