AGRICULTURAL NEWS - Speaking at the high-level action day on agriculture and food security during COP22, FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva noted that climate change impacts - including crops, livestock, forestry, fisheries, land, and water - are undermining global efforts to assure food security and nutrition.
The world must move rapidly to scale up actions and ambitions on climate change Graziano da Silva told delegates.
With over 90 percent of countries referring to the important role of agriculture in their national plans to adapt to and mitigate climate change, Graziano da Silva stressed that "it is time to invest in sustainable and climate-resilient agriculture as a fundamental part of the climate solution."
Last year's conference in Paris led to the world's first legally binding global climate deal. The current summit in Marrakech, Morocco is geared to implementation of the pledges all signatory countries made. Echoing the prevalent spirit at the COP, the Paris Agreement is irreversible and inaction would be a disaster for the world.
Transforming agriculture - maximising benefits
Although agriculture contributes to nearly 20 percent of greenhouse gas emissions, it is a fundamental part of the solution to boost resilience and combat climate change impacts - especially in developing countries where agriculture is often the backbone of the economy. Boosting agriculture can reduce malnutrition and poverty, create economic opportunities, and generate faster, fairer growth especially for young people.
Sustainable agriculture also improves the management of natural resources such as water; conserves biodiversity and ecosystem services, and increases carbon sequestration while easing the pressures that drive deforestation.
"We have to transform agriculture to make it more productive and more resilient at the same time. This transformation will help to address, at the same time, the triple threat of hunger, poverty and climate change," FAO's director-general said. "Countries are recognising this potential with unprecedented commitments."
Scaling up international flows of climate finance and unlocking additional investment in adaptation in agricultural sectors is needed to give traction to the action, he added.
A concerted push to put agriculture at the center of climate action
Featuring agriculture-focused initiatives, a special event co-organised by FAO and the Ministry of Agriculture of Morocco, is part of the Global Climate Action Agenda, led by the COP22 Climate Champions, Laurence Tubiana (France) and Hakima El Haité (Morocco), and aimed at joining and accelerating efforts by the public and private sectors to meet international climate goals.
Last year's conference in Paris led to the world's first legally binding global climate deal. The current summit in Marrakech, Morocco is geared to implementation of the pledges all signatory countries made. Echoing the prevalent spirit at the COP, the Paris Agreement is irreversible and inaction would be a disaster for the world.
Transforming agriculture - maximising benefits
Although agriculture contributes to nearly 20 percent of greenhouse gas emissions, it is a fundamental part of the solution to boost resilience and combat climate change impacts - especially in developing countries where agriculture is often the backbone of the economy. Boosting agriculture can reduce malnutrition and poverty, create economic opportunities, and generate faster, fairer growth especially for young people.
Sustainable agriculture also improves the management of natural resources such as water; conserves biodiversity and ecosystem services, and increases carbon sequestration while easing the pressures that drive deforestation.
"We have to transform agriculture to make it more productive and more resilient at the same time. This transformation will help to address, at the same time, the triple threat of hunger, poverty and climate change," FAO's director-general said. "Countries are recognising this potential with unprecedented commitments."
Scaling up international flows of climate finance and unlocking additional investment in adaptation in agricultural sectors is needed to give traction to the action, he added.
A concerted push to put agriculture at the center of climate action
Featuring agriculture-focused initiatives, a special event co-organised by FAO and the Ministry of Agriculture of Morocco, is part of the Global Climate Action Agenda, led by the COP22 Climate Champions, Laurence Tubiana (France) and Hakima El Haité (Morocco), and aimed at joining and accelerating efforts by the public and private sectors to meet international climate goals.
