Capacity Development for Environmental Management in the Agricultural Sector in Developing Countries

The relationships between agriculture, the environment, and development are deep and complex. By2050 a 70 per cent increase in production will be needed to feed an additional 2.7 billion people on analready degraded natural resource base. In light of this and amid the realities of climate change, theagricultural sector is now coming to terms with its potential role for contributing to – rather thandiminishing - environmental, institutional, social and economic resilience.The purpose of this paper is to highlight the importance of environmental management andgovernance in the agricultural sector to present environmental goals, requirements, entry points, andstrategies/approaches to capacity development for the environment (CDE) in this sector and to discussimplications for donors. The focus is on CDE in a developing country context.The paper recognises that CDE must be seen as part of an endogenous process of change, and that itmust operate at multiple levels: the enabling environment, the organisation, and the individual. The paperargues that CDE should focus on the sustainable production and provision of sufficient, safe, and nutritiousfood that simultaneously builds and reinforces ecosystem resilience, leading to equitable and economicallyviable livelihoods at an adequate scale. The paper links these concepts to the country systems approach todevelopment assistance advocated in the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness.