Canada Plays Leadership Role on Soil Conservation at G20 Meeting in Argentina

Healthy and productive soils feed the world, and Canada’s proud legacy of soil conservation research will help farmers feed a growing world population sustainably in the years to come

In the spirit of this year’s theme of healthy and sustainable soil management, Agriculture and Agri-food Minister Lawrence MacAulay put Canadian innovation and open trade front-and-centre at the G20 Agriculture meeting in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Argentina, as current G20 president, proposed that the G20 discuss ways to promote healthy, fertile and productive soils to improve food security and human health, in addition to a discussion on sustainable soil management.

Minister Macaulay highlighted Canada’s strong history in tackling environmental issues like soil and water conservation. In his address to the meeting, the Minister took the opportunity to propose the Canadian-led Agroecosystem Living Labs approach – a novel way to accelerate the development of sustainable agricultural practices and technologies around the world.

“Agroecosystem Living Labs is an innovative, integrated approach to agricultural research”

“The Government of Canada is pleased with G20 Ministers’ strong support for our innovative approach to help farmers develop farming practices in real-life situations that will protect our environment,” MacAulay stated. “By reducing trade barriers and getting new technologies and practices to the farm as quickly as possible, we can put more money in farmers’ pockets, and help support them with the vital job of feeding the world sustainably.”

Agroecosystem Living Labs is an innovative, integrated approach to agricultural research, bringing scientists, industry and farmers together to develop, test and monitor new technologies and practices on farms. The result will be more practical technologies and sustainable farming practices adopted more quickly by farmers around the world. Through these efforts, countries will be better able to address pressing environmental issues such as soil and water conservation, and climate change. Approaches such as this, along with barrier-free international agricultural trade, will go far in improving global food security.

G20 ministers strongly supported Canada’s proposal, which was included in the G20 final declaration (PDF).

While attending the G20, Minister MacAulay held meetings with his counterparts from the European Union, Mexico, Netherlands, Turkey, Japan, India, Italy and Germany, raising issues of mutual interest and promoting the importance of open trade.

The G20 is a forum of the world’s major economies that meets to develop policies to address the world’s most pressing challenges. It is made up of 18 countries besides Canada, as well as the European Union. The 18 countries are Argentina, Australia, Brazil, China, Germany, France, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United States.

Source: AAFC