Wheat and rice stocks at government agencies have reportedly plummeted to a five-year low due to weather-related disruptions. This has prompted India to ban wheat exports and curb overseas rice shipments.
Organizations representing more than 350 million farmers and producers wrote an open letter to world leaders on Monday, warning that global food security is at risk unless governments boost adaptation finance for small-scale production and promote a shift to more diverse, low-input agriculture.
The heads of state will discuss food security and climate finance at the UN Climate Summit (COP27) in Egypt on Monday.
Food and agriculture is largely overlooked in climate negotiations despite being responsible for 34 percent of emissions, most of which come from industrial agriculture.
More than 70 networks and organizations representing farmers, fishers, herders and foresters have signed the charter, including the World Rural Forum, which represents 35 million (one million = 10 lakhs) farmers on five continents, the Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa, which represents 200 million small producers on the continent and the Asian Farmers Association for Sustainable Development with 13 million members.
Organizations from Jordan to the UK and India have also signed.
The letter warns that the “global food system is ill-equipped to deal with the impacts of climate change, even if we limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius” and says “build a food system that can feed the world on one planet.” hot”. must be a priority for COP27.
Smallholders are critical to global food security, producing up to 80% of the food consumed in regions such as Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. Yet they accounted for just 1.7% of climate finance flows in 2018: just $10 billion (1 billion = Rs 100 crore) compared to the $240 billion needed annually to help them adapt to climate change. . At the Glasgow climate summit (COP26) in 2021, rich countries agreed to double total funding for adaptation to USD 40 billion a year by 2025, which is still only a fraction of what is needed.
Elizabeth Nsimadala, president of the East African Farmers Federation, which represents 25 million food producers and is a signatory to the letter, said: “Our network farmers feed millions of people and support hundreds of thousands of jobs. work, but have reached a breaking point.
“There needs to be a massive push in climate finance to ensure that small farmers have the information, resources and training they need to continue feeding the world for generations to come.” COP27 takes place in the midst of a global food price crisis.
While there is not yet a global food shortage, extreme droughts, floods and heat have damaged crops around the world and scientists have warned of an increased risk of simultaneous crop failures in the world’s major breadbaskets. India recorded its warmest March on record this year, lowering its wheat production by 3 million tonnes. A highly erratic monsoon flooded several states in September, damaging oilseeds and pulses and delaying the rice harvest.
Wheat and rice stocks at government agencies have reportedly plummeted to a five-year low due to weather-related disruptions. This has prompted India to ban wheat exports and curb overseas rice shipments.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has said that a shift towards more diverse and 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: “US$611 billion is spent every year on subsidizing food production, much of it of them in industrial agriculture with intensive use of chemical products that is harmful to people and the environment. This can’t go on. 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, fisheries, forestry, grazing and grazing.”
Food and agriculture is largely overlooked in climate negotiations despite being responsible for 34 percent of emissions, most 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, said: “Food and agriculture have been sidelined in climate negotiations and the concerns of smallholders have been ignored. Small-scale family farmers need a seat at the table and a say in decisions that affect us, from secure access to land and tenure to access to finance if we want to rebuild our broken food system.”