The conference is jointly organized by the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the Government of the Netherlands. It brings together over 350 technical experts and policy makers from government ministries, international organizations, NGOs and other elements of civil society, including farmers' organizations.

The conference provides a high-level technical forum that aims to identify new practices and the necessary enabling environments that will lead to increased agricultural sustainability, with particular emphasis on raising awareness at all levels of the multiple contributions that agriculture and related land use can make to increasing both sustainability and food security.

During the coming week, participants will focus on two tasks: reviewing progress toward implementing the principles contained in the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development and Agenda 21, and identifying the main issues to be addressed in the future. The main documents for the conference include the "Issues Paper," which outlines relevant concepts, issues and policies, and the "Stock-Taking Paper," which provides empirical evidence collected since July 1998 from various stakeholders and sources, including material drawn from an electronic conference held earlier this year and from a database developed by the FAO and the Dutch Government based on responses to an in-depth questionnaire.

A summary report will be produced by the conference organizers at the conclusion of the conference, briefly outlining the meeting's main conclusions and findings. In addition, a main conference report will be published later this year, which will include an extended technical section based on the relevant background documents, summaries of the discussions, and the main findings and conclusions of the conference. These will contribute to the Eighth Session of the Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD-8), which will focus on integrated planning and management of land resources when it convenes in April 2000.