Workshop 4

FRAMEWORK AND OBJECTIVES
The aim of this workshop is to discuss the agroecological potential of livestock systems in the context of the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), whose 2030 Agenda recognises 5 essential dimensions: humanity (people), prosperity, planet, partnerships and peace. Agroecology, the framework for which has been adopted by the FAO’s member states, puts in place 10 elements that contribute to several SDGs: 2 “Zero Hunger”, 12 “Responsible Consumption and Production”, 13 “Climate Change” and 14-15 “Aquatic and Terrestrial Life”.
In the workshop, the aim is to consider the potential of agroecology for livestock systems in its broadest sense, i.e. one that includes not only agricultural practices but also a reflection on the relationship with the environment, and the systemic impact of practices and value chains on agroecosystems and the food system. Consumer issues are also part of this discussion.
The value of livestock farming in pastoral areas has been demonstrated by numerous research studies. In particular, case studies within a network run by the FAO are helping to improve understanding of the role of livestock in the local food system, and a participatory approach is being developed in several parts of the world to put changes in practices at the centre of multi-stakeholder discussions to establish guidelines for sustainable livestock farming. The role of herds in maintaining landscapes and the plant biodiversity induced by grazing, as well as the maintenance of numerous local breeds, contribute to the fragile balance of natural areas, particularly in mountainous regions. Ruminants, as long as they eat grass, add value to areas of high scenic and tourist value, helping to keep people in the area and attracting travellers interested in the heritage resources of know-how, practices and very typical products.
The FAO recently assessed the nutritional contribution of eating animal products: livestock products are rooted in local eating habits. Nutrients that are essential to people’s health come exclusively from animal products, such as fats and the micro-organisms in raw milk, which contribute to the balance of human microbiota. Foods of animal origin are an important part of nutrition in desert or mountain environments, which are poorly suited to the cultivation of cereals and other plant products. The FAO report also warned against excessive meat consumption, and called on livestock farming to reduce the environmental impact of its activities, which include greenhouse gas emissions in the form of methane and nitrous oxide, and fertiliser inputs that can damage the biodiversity of soils and meadows and the health of aqua-fauna.
In the first two sessions of the workshop, we will discuss the implications of different livestock farming systems. For example, one of the issues to be addressed concerns land use. Land sharing favours the multifunctional use of natural resources, which is widely found in grazing and pastoral systems. However, in certain regions where more intensive livestock farming systems have been introduced, land sparing has gradually become the norm. Another issue is that of livestock effluents, which can vary from system to system, with consequences for natural resources (air, water, soil, biodiversity).
In the second part of the workshop, the more specific entry point is that of territorial qualifications which, through their labelling mechanism, consider from the outset livestock farming systems from farm to fork, and therefore also the consumer. Territorial qualifications are processes of social co-construction and tools that establish rules between environments, practices and products that can reveal the agroecological potential of farming systems. The tools of territorial qualification cover product certification under geographical indications (PDO, PGI), but also UNESCO recognition as World Heritage, Ingenious World Agricultural Heritage Systems (IWAS), as well as a wide range of territorial brands, participatory guarantee systems and quality labels with a territorial dimension. One of the major questions is the role of these tools in relation to the implementation of the elements of agroecology of different farming systems in territories.
STRUCTURE AND METHODS
The workshop will explore the findings of practitioners, local and regional authorities, governments and UN agencies, as well as researchers, on the following themes: