Negotiators agree on a roadmap to climate resilient food systems

One and a half years after its establishment at COP27 in Egypt, the Sharm el-Sheikh Joint Work on Agriculture and Food Security has finally agreed on a roadmap for discussions on agriculture and food security in future climate negotiations.

During the recently concluded climate negotiations in Bonn, Germany, negotiators agreed to focus on approaches that include agroecology, climate-smart agriculture, regenerative agriculture, addressing land degradation and desertification, assessment of climate vulnerability and climate-resilient agriculture. They also agreed to focus on family and community agriculture, food systems, biotechnology, artificial intelligence in agriculture, integrated systems for sustainable intensification, standardisation of instruments for agriculture and fisheries and aquaculture.  

"The outcomes in the agriculture negotiations at this conference represent a pivotal moment for integrating food systems into climate action,” said Dr Million Belay, the general coordinator for the Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa, noting that it is an opportunity to champion for sustainable and climate resilient agriculture and food systems.

“By advocating for agroecology, we are pushing for a just, affordable and systemic response to the climate crisis that respects our holistic view of agriculture and food systems," said Dr Belay.

According to experts, agroecology approach has a potential to strongly contribute to farming systems that are resilient to climate change impacts, and it contributes to conservation of biodiversity and to reversing land degradation trends.
The negotiators will also be pushing for integration of agriculture and food systems in Nationally determined contributions (NDCs), National Action Plans (NAPs), Long-Term Strategies, Technology Needs Assessments, Technology Action Plans and the National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs), showcasing the integration and upscaling of the implementation of holistic approaches to mitigation and adaptation related to agriculture, food systems, food security and nutrition in NDCs, NBSAPs and NAPs.

Above all, the negotiators will be pushing for the scale-up of means of implementation and targeting needs and gaps related to agriculture and food security, in which case means of implementation include finance, technology development and transfer, and capacity-building.

Other subjects to be discussed in relation to agriculture for the next three years leading to COP31, according to the outcome of the Bonn talks, include risk management and risk-sharing tools, early warning systems, systemic and holistic approaches to climate action in agriculture and food security, and opportunities to align greenhouse gas mitigation in agriculture and food systems with sustainable development.

However, activists still believe that there is more to be done. “While a roadmap for discussions on agriculture and food security under the UNFCCC has finally been determined, there is still a lot to do in order to bring the focus on solutions that will benefit small-scale food producers on the frontlines of the climate crisis, and this includes accessible public finance,” said Marie Cosquer, the Food Systems and Climate Crisis analyst at Action Against Hunger.

“Climate action will only contribute to the realisation of the right to food for all if the voices of the most affected are heard, and if private interests are kept outside the UNFCCC space,” she said.
Mariana Paoli, the global advocacy lead at Christian Aid, also agreed that without proper commitments on finance, it may not be easy particularly for countries in the developing world to address the climate crisis.

“Developing countries have put proposals for the new climate finance goal on the table, but developed countries have refused to engage on how much public money they are willing to provide,” said Paoli, noting that failure by rich countries is a symptom of their lack of political leadership.
Outcomes of the Bonn process will now be discussed under different workshops set out by the negotiators ahead of the COPs.
“The decisions we make here today will shape the future of our food systems, the health of our planet and the livelihoods of millions,” said Dr Belay.