A/HRC/12/31* page 10 A. Reinvesting in agriculture: the stakes 15. Considering self-sufficiency in food production to be the most efficient way to buffer fluctuations in international markets, several Governments (Cameroon, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Senegal)8 have declared this to be their strategic response to high food prices. In Asia, many countries, including China, India and the Philippines, have made important efforts to reinvest in agriculture. In Africa, Benin, Cameroon, the Central African Republic and Madagascar have taken short-term measures aimed at boosting production. In Latin America and Africa, a number of Governments have designed integrated national plans aimed at coordinating different measures to improve agricultural systems. Credits at low interest rates and subsidies have been provided to producers to buy seeds, fertilizers and agricultural equipment or to improve irrigation and power systems. Some Governments have distributed inputs to the smallest farmers, and taxes on fuel have been lowered as a way to facilitate product transportation and to allow for other expenditures for farmers. 16. When taking steps to increase investment in agriculture and rural development, Governments should be mindful of the need to ensure that investments truly contribute to the right to food.9 It is striking however, that Governments hardly acknowledge the existence of different models of agricultural development - the “Green Revolution” model, the agro-ecological farming approaches (ecologically friendly farming systems) and a possible model based on genetic engineering - when formulating their public policies on agriculture. These models can be complementary at the crop field level; a very careful combination of fertilizers and agro-forestry, for instance, is successfully promoted in some regions. At the public policy level, however, a prerequisite for a balanced approach is that the very existence of several models is acknowledged. In the fierce competition for scarce resources, such as land, water, investment and human resources, the implications of supporting one paradigm over the others deserve serious consideration. 17. The right to food should guide Governments’ choices between different modes of agricultural production. A number of United Nations agencies, including the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP),10 FAO and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), have underscored the potential of sustainable farming to meet the growth in demand.11 The Special Rapporteur has developed further the links between sustainable 8 Veena Jha, Analysis and Responses to the Global Food Crisis, International Labour Organization, Geneva, 6 March 2009, pp. 16-19. 9 This issue was discussed in depth during a multistakeholder consultation on the challenges of the Green Revolution in Africa I, convened on 15 and 16 December 2008, with the support of the Grand-duchy of Luxembourg. 10 UNEP, The Environmental Food Crisis: the Environment’s Role in Averting Future Food Crises, February 2009. 11 See for example the 2006 annual report of the Nairobi-based World Agroforestry Centre or the 2008 FAO-UNEP report on organic agriculture and food security in Africa.