Empowering Smallholders for Global Food Security
To achieve global climate and developmental goals, it is crucial to prioritize smallholder farmers in climate action, according to Gabriel Ferrero, strategic advisor to the Global Agriculture and Food Security Program.
Despite being a fundamental priority under the Paris Agreement, agriculture and food systems have been largely overlooked in climate negotiations. This is alarming, given that farming and land use are highly vulnerable to climate impacts, particularly for smallholder farmers and small-scale food producers.
Agriculture is not only a significant contributor to global greenhouse gas emissions but also holds potential solutions. However, agrifood systems receive a mere 4.3% of total climate finance.
Smallholder farmers, who produce up to 80% of food in developing countries, only receive a fraction of the climate finance.
- Agriculture and food systems have been sidelined in climate negotiations.
- Smallholder farmers are highly vulnerable to climate impacts.
- Agrifood systems receive limited climate finance.
The upcoming COP30 presents an opportunity to address these issues and work towards resilient global food security by empowering smallholders.
Author's summary: Empowering smallholders is key to achieving global food security.