A COALITION of farming groups from across the world has formed with the aim of making sure the agricultural industry is at the centre of climate related discussions – with its inaugural statement released at this year’s COP 28.

To date, the Agriculture Climate Alliance includes the National Farmers’ Federation, Federated Farmers New Zealand and Federation of Rural Association of Mercosur (Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, Uruguay and Colombia).

The statement includes five key priorities, from recognising the essential role of livestock to generating investment to generating investment for more environmentally friendly farming.

Inaugural statement

Farmers around the world are at the front line of climate change. We must be proactive and ambitious in our actions to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture and adapt to climate change. A failure to act risks exacerbating existing food security issues around the
world.

Farmers are essential to climate action and have always sought to adapt and mitigate the challenges presented by a varied climate. But farmer’s contribution isn’t a given. While the risks are great, opportunities exist. Effective policies and the right support will allow
farmers to capture the benefit the transition to a low-carbon economy offers.

But to capture the opportunity of the transition to a low-emissions economy, governments must invest in agriculture to innovate and adapt economically, transition justly and recognise the unique role that agriculture plays through both being an emitter, a sequester
and a food and fibre provider.

Agriculture is on the frontline of climate impacts but also a critical part of the climate solution. Farmers and agriculture must be front of mind for policy makers when developing effective policies that reduce emissions, increase resilience and underpin global food security.

Emissions reduction policies must recognise farmers for the role they play in managing landscapes, and their contribution to food security, and must provide a pathway for a profitable, productive, and sustainable agricultural sector into the future.

The long-term success of agriculture and global food security will depend on farmers’ ability to innovate to reduce carbon emissions while increasing food and fibre production and managing future climate risks.

The Agriculture Climate Alliance seeks to ensure agriculture is at the centre of global efforts to mitigate and adapt to climate change. At COP28, the Alliance is calling on governments and civil society to commit to five key principles that ensure farmers and agricultures are on a significant downward trajectory for greenhouse gas emissions relative to food production, in-line with the Paris Agreement.

The Alliance is calling on governments and civil society to:

• Develop and implement voluntary, market- and incentive-based emissions reduction policies that advance risk, science, and evidence-based outcomes and promote farmer and rural livelihoods.
• Rapidly increase investment in climate research and development that drives innovation in agriculture and builds resilience in farming systems, assist the transition for developing countries and empowers the next generation of farmers.
• Support fair distribution of new technologies and practices that reduce GHG emissions, increase agricultural productivity and farm business profitability and underpin adaptation and resilience around the world.
• Recognise the essential role of livestock in the global agri-food system and fast-track research and development that mitigates related GHG emissions.
• Reduce pre- and post-farm gate food waste to provide greater benefits for farmers, stimulate circular agriculture, increase food security and reduce GHG emissions along the food value chain.

Source: National Farmers’ Federation