Indigenous Farmers to Take Center Stage at COP28 in Dubai

As the world prepares for the 28th United Nations Climate Conference (COP28) in Dubai, indigenous farmer communities are set to bring the spotlight onto food systems, highlighting the critical role they play in addressing climate change. Against the backdrop of increasing concerns over food security and the climate crisis, COP28 will dedicate a thematic day to food systems on December 10, with expectations running high for stakeholders to deliver ambitious announcements and rallying calls.

Key Takeaways:

• Penunia emphasized the need for governments, development partners, the private sector, and civil society organizations to unite and support indigenous farmers through favorable policies and programs, as well as sufficient financing to direct toward agriculture.
• Direct financing for small-scale family farmers is key to empowering their organizations and cooperatives as effective change agents, aiming to enable millions of family farmers to directly contribute solutions.
• The contribution of agriculture and food to greenhouse gas emissions, including methane and carbon dioxide, has been known for some time, but there is now widespread recognition of its significance, warranting serious attention.
• Climate change challenges have intensified over the past few years, with increasing reports from farmers about the near impossibility of dealing with its effects.
• The upcoming COP28 in Dubai will be a critical opportunity to demonstrate a sense of urgency and the imperative of scaling up action on food systems, with a launch of a non-state actor call to action aimed at transforming food systems for the benefit of people, nature, and climate.
• Respecting and valuing the traditional knowledge held by indigenous people and the local knowledge possessed by farmers, fishers, and other food producers is critical, as is engaging women and youth in climate negotiations and other processes at all levels.
• Transforming the food system is pivotal in addressing the climate crisis, biodiversity loss, pollution, human health, and well-being, but the complex task lies in finding solutions that effectively address trade-offs, such as balancing biodiversity conservation, nutrition, farmer livelihoods, and greenhouse gas emissions.

Statistics:

• COP28 will dedicate a thematic day to food systems on December 10.
• 1 in 9 people worldwide suffer from hunger.
• 25% of greenhouse gas emissions come from the agriculture sector.
• 75% of the world's biodiversity is found in agricultural landscapes and wild areas.
• 50% of global food production relies on smallholder farmers.

Sources:

• Robert Kibet/IPS: Farmer Christine Nalienya winnowing beans outside her home.
• World Climate Action Summit (December 1-2, 2023).
• 4 SD Foundation, headed by David Nabarro.
• COP28 Food Systems team, with Gonzalo Munoz as lead on the COP28 Non-State Actors Agenda for Food Systems.
• UN Climate Champions.
• Chatham House, with Dr. Tim Benton as Research Director of the Environment and Society Program.