Belgium, (Brussels Morning Newspaper) Farmers have warned that global food security is at risk if governments fail to boost adaptation and promote more resilient forms of agriculture.
The message comes in a letter sent by family farmers in EU Member States and elsewhere.
It was published on the opening day of the UN Climate Summit where 90 heads of state are meeting to discuss food security and climate finance.
Over 75 organisations have signed the letter including the World Rural Forum which represents 35 million family farmers across five continents, and the Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa which represents 200 million small-scale producers.
The letter warns that the ‘global food system is ill-equipped to deal with the impacts of climate change’ and calls for world leaders to make ‘building a food system that can feed the world on a hot planet’ a priority for COP27.
COP27 is taking place in the middle of a global food price crisis exacerbated by drought and floods.
Small-scale producers are critical for global food security, producing as much as 80 pc of the food consumed in Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa.
Progress on finance is key to success at COP27. Wealthy nations increased adaptation funding to $40 billion a year by 2025 at the 2021 Glasgow Climate Summit however this is still a fraction of what’s needed.
Food and agriculture are sidelined in climate negotiations despite being responsible for 34pc of emissions. A shift to more diverse forms of agriculture with fewer chemical inputs is key in a changing climate and reducing emissions.
Elizabeth Nsimadala, President of Eastern Africa Farmers Federation,which represents 25 million food producers and is a signatory to the letter.
She said, “The producers in our networks feed millions of people and support hundreds of thousands of jobs but they have reached a breaking point. There needs to be a massive boost in climate finance to ensure small-scale producers have the information, resources and training necessary to continue feeding the world for generations to come.”
COP27 is taking place in the middle of a global food price crisis. While there is not yet a global food shortage, extreme drought, floods and heat has damaged harvests across the globe and scientists have warned of an increased risk of simultaneous crop failures in the world’s major breadbaskets. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has said a shift to more diverse, low-input food systems is key to maintaining food security in a changing climate.
Ma Estrella Penunia, Secretary General of the Asian Farmers’ Association for Sustainable Rural Development which represents 13 million farmers across Asia said: “$611 billion is spent subsidising food production every year – much of it on industrial, chemical-intensive agriculture that is harmful to people and the environment. This can’t continue. Leaders must listen to farmers and put their political weight and financial muscle behind a shift to more diverse, sustainable and empowering food production – especially agroecological farming, fishing, forestry, herding and pastoralism.”
Food and agriculture are, it is claimed, largely overlooked in climate negotiations despite being responsible for 34% of emissions, the majority of which come from industrial agriculture.
The signatories call on governments to work with them to build a stronger, more sustainable, and fairer food system.
Laura Lorenzo, Director of the World Rural Forum, added: “Food and agriculture have been sidelined in climate negotiations and the concerns of small-holder producers ignored. Small-scale family farmers need a seat at the table and a say in the decisions that affect us – from secure access to land and tenure, to accessing finance – if we are to rebuild our broken food system.”
