Resident Coordinator's remarks at the webinar "From Sustainable Agronomy to the Sustainable Development Goals"

Most Venerable Phra Dhamma Shakyavongsvisuddhi, National Office of Buddhism, Ministry representatives, and friends,

I am honoured to join you today for this seminar on the Sustainable Agronomy and our shared mission on the Sustainable Development Goals in Thailand.

Wat Bowonniwet is a special place for me personally, as I am sure it is for many of you. This year marks my second anniversary as UN Resident Coordinator in Thailand. When I arrived in March 2020, my very first visit direct from the airport was to the temple to pay my respects to the country and people.

Let me express my personal appreciation to Phra Anil for his guidance and welcome as I began my journey here.

Hand in hand with their spiritual capacity, the clergy and religious leaders have an important role mobilizing the whole of society in this transformation necessary for the Sustainable Development Agenda, so that we can live at peace with each other, and in harmony with nature.

The Sustainable Agronomy principle of His Majesty the King, developed from the Sufficiency Economy Philosophy, is an inspiration for these efforts and progress on the SDGs in the Thai context.

In line with these sustainability principles, the UN stands ready to support the application of emerging technologies and smart agriculture to Thailand’s food production systems, in partnership with government, the private sector and communities.

From the UN perspective, I want to address the global picture on food security, and then focus on Thailand’s social and economic transformation that is spelled out in the Bio-Circular-Green Economy model as it relates to sustainable agriculture. Finally, in the spirit of discussions today, I want to cover some of the practical, on-the-ground projects and partnerships with government and communities that we can learn from.

Worldwide, the eradication of hunger and poverty is still one of the most pressing challenges of our time, especially in rural areas of developing countries. Armed conflicts, transboundary pests and diseases, natural disasters, and now COVID have interrupted momentum on SDGs 1 and 2 on No Poverty and Zero Hunger.

The latest FAO report “State of Food Security and Nutrition” estimates that nearly 12% of the global population was severely food insecure in 2020. In Asia, about 57 million more people in Asia were affected by hunger than the previous year.

As governments focus on COVID recovery and stimulus, we urgently need reliable guidance and support, expanded networks, and stronger collaboration to accelerate the agroecological transition we need to meet the challenges of today and the future.

Southeast Asia is one of the most vulnerable regions in the world to climate change, with Thailand in the top 10 most affected countries by extreme weather events in recent years.

The remarkable development of recent decades has also come at a cost to precious ecosystems and biodiversity that are vital to the wellbeing of the country and region as a whole.

We are fortunate that Thailand is a global powerhouse when it comes to food production, which despite some short-term price spikes, food security assured. With foresight and careful planning, we can safeguard food systems as well as the natural environment for generations to come.

The 13th draft National Economic and Social Development Plan places the Bio-Circular-Green model at the center, prioritizing sustainable agriculture and food systems as foundations of the resilient economy and society.

Informed by Thailand 4.0 and the strategy of digitalization, smart agriculture and food production will increasingly take advantage of technological innovation, such as farmers using mobile devices to track growing cycles and field-to-market logistics. It is encouraging to see a growing number of young farmers taking up these technologies and tools.

Earlier this month, UN Thailand joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and NESDC in signing the Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework that will guide all of the UN’s work here over the next five years.

The Framework was designed in consultation with government and partners from across society to support the NESDP and BCG model. The three key priorities in the guidelines are 1) the green and resilient economy; 2) human capital development; and 3) making sure that all people benefit from development.

Just as sustainable agriculture is inseparable from climate and healthy ecosystems that nurture human wellbeing, so too are addressing inequalities and the principle of Leave no one behind integral to our collective efforts.

Food systems are complex and multifaceted, requiring comprehensive and integrated management strategies. With our partners in the public and private sectors, and rooted in the communities of food producers, the UN is promoting more efficient, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable food systems, especially targeting reduced food loss and waste as well as climate-resilient agriculture.

I appreciate the focus in today’s seminar on practical solutions for sustainable agronomy, so I want to highlight some projects underway with the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives and other partners.

Rice is cultivated on nearly 50% of Thailand’s agricultural land, of key importance to both livelihoods and ways of life. FAO is working with government to evaluate sustainable rice production at scale, taking into account externalized costs for ecosystems and biodiversity that are often overlooked. The assessment looks at the impact on nature and society, the cost of “business as usual”, rice-field biodiversity, greenhouse gas emissions, air pollution, and health impacts of chemical pesticides.

Concurrently, UNEP’s Sustainable Rice Landscape project in Thailand brings proven technologies to improve efficiency, reduce chemical use, and minimize the environmental and climate footprint to enhance net income by 10 to 20%.

With our partners, the UN is strengthening natural resource management by training farmers to use smart phones to monitor irrigation systems and their harvests, building resilience to climate change by taking advantage of available technology.

The Digital Village Initiative that launched this month is supporting 10 villages across the country engaged in smart farming based on the internet of things, GPS, drones and traceability applications, including a smart farm for disabled people in Rayong province.

FAO is also supporting Thailand’s application to identify and safeguard the “Thale Noi wetland pastoral buffalo agro-ecosystem” as a Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System, with its associated landscapes, agricultural biodiversity, and knowledge systems.

These are just a few examples of the projects that need to be scaled up nationwide, to address the key challenges of our time and cultivate healthier communities in harmony with our environment.

Resilient and sustainable food systems are at the cornerstone of the entire development agenda, fulfilling that most basic human necessity of nutritious food for all.

As we seek to raise awareness about the SDGs and the impacts on people’s lives, let me draw your attention to the Primer on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which helps to create a common understanding of the Goals and the UN’s work with partners towards their achievement.

The Primer is available to everyone and an important tool to build awareness and inspire action on sustainable development.

To conclude, let me highlight a success story and the lessons we can learn from it. For most of the past 40 years, the eastern sarus crane has been extinct in Thailand, a casualty of hunting, habitat loss and other factors. After the reintroduction of captive birds into the wild, the species is now breeding in paddy fields in Buriram province under the protection of local farmers, in a model project for biodiversity conservation that can be replicated across the country.

To save the sarus crane and other species, this collaboration of wildlife organizations, the Royal Thai Government, UNDP – and crucially local communities – focuses on biodiversity conservation in food production landscapes. Built into the plan is the understanding that the welfare of endangered species is inseparable from ecosystems, including human wellbeing and nature-based economic values.

Ahead of the UN Biodiversity Convention in China this April, we are seeking champions for Thailand’s threatened species from government, the private sector, and leaders like yourselves, with the view that sustainable agriculture is only possible in sync with flourishing ecosystems and biodiversity.

I very much appreciate the opportunity to address you today and look forward soon to my next visit to Wat Bowonniwet.

Thank you.