“We believe that the key problem still remains with emissions from developed countries, which are already contributing to climate change and causing impacts on food production. Developed countries must urgently and immediately reduce their emissions and provide financing according to their obligations under the UNFCCC. For developing countries, adaptation has to be the main priority, adequately supported by developed country public finance. The agricultural challenges faced by the poorest and most vulnerable, in Africa but also in Asia, in small-island states, in Latin America, are adaptation challenges.”
This is part of the statement read by Lutfiyah Hanim of Aliansi Petani Indonesia in behalf of civil society organizations (CSOs), during the concluding session of the 2nd Global Conference on Agriculture, Food Security and Climate Change: Hunger for Action, held last September 3-7, in Hanoi, Vietnam, organized by the Governments of Vietnam and Netherlands, together with FAO and WB.
Besides Ms. Hanim, AFA was represented by Kanisorn Punyaprasiddhi of Sor Kor Por Thailand, Dr. Iqbal Kabir and Alaudin Sikder from Kendrio Krishok Moitree-Bangladesh and AFA Secretary General Esther Penunia. AFA participants worked with CSOs including SRD Vietnam, Third World Network, Oxfam International, SEARICE, Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy and IFOAM during the conference.
The AFA Sec Gen, reading from the CSO statement delivered during the ministerial roundtable, also called on the ministers to urgently direct resources “towards adaptation, particularly to help small-scale family farmers. Sustainable agroecological and organic approaches are the most important, reliable set of practices to protect yields and ensure resilience in the face of climate change. It is these approaches and producers that should be supported significantly with climate/public finance.”
At the start of the conference, the CSOs distributed a statement signed by 120 organizations, bearing the same messages.
Click here to download the CSO statement Sept 3
Click here to download the final CSO statement Sept 7
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