World leaders endorse landmark declaration to transform food systems at COP28

By Ndi Eugene Ndi
The United 28th Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP28) has recorded another milestone with the endorsement of a landmark declaration calling on countries to work together on agriculture, food and climate action.

On the second day of COP28 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates on Friday, December 1, more than 130 world leaders endorsed the ‘‘Emirates Declaration on Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems’’, announced at the World Climate Action Summit, putting food at the centre of the climate talks.

This one-of-a-kind declaration is a product of one year of negotiations that were spearheaded by the COP28 Presidency on the one hand and the push from farmer groups and civil society organisations (CSOs) from Africa on the other.  

The 134 signatories committed to incorporate food and land use fully into their plans to tackle climate change known as Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and National Adaptation Plans (NAPs) by 2025.

According to the declaration, the leaders declare their intent to work collaboratively and expeditiously towards “scaling-up adaptation and resilience activities and responses in order to reduce the vulnerability of all farmers, fisherfolk, and other food producers to the impacts of climate change, including through financial and technical support for solutions, capacity building, infrastructure, and innovations, including early warning systems, that promote sustainable food security, production and nutrition, while conserving, protecting and restoring nature” by 2025.

Significant step towards sustainable food systems
The declaration which has generally been welcomed by food systems experts and climate advocates, comes days after African Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) called for ambitious commitments to boost security at COP28. In a paper titled African Civil Society Common Position Paper on Climate Adaptation and Loss and Damage for COP28, the CSOs implored the presidency to push for progress towards resilient and just food and agriculture systems.

‘‘This declaration marks a significant step towards sustainable food systems in the world, especially in Africa where food security is a big concern, said Amy G Thorp, Senior Climate Adaptation and Resilience Policy Advisor at Nairobi-based Energy and Climate Think Tank, Power Shift Africa.

Though COP has finally recognised the urgency of transforming and adapting food and agriculture systems to the climate crisis, Thorp believes to attain the sustainability, “it is important to urgently increase access and scale of finance to agriculture and to provide technical support to farmers”.

The ‘‘Emirates Declaration on Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems’’ is just a starting point for the transformation of food systems, according to Elizabeth Nsimadala, President of the Eastern African Farmers Federation which represents 25 million small-scale producers. She said it recognises the world’s 439 million small-scale family farmers are key to achieving the changes needed.

“To ensure we can play our part we need a real say in decisions on food and climate and more direct access to climate finance: we produce a third of the world’s food but receive just 0.3% of international climate finance,” said Nsimadala. To her, small-scale farmers can help create the resilient and sustainable food systems needed to feed the world for generations to come if governments work with and invest in them.

Mwandwe Chileshe, the Director for Food Security, Agriculture and Nutrition at Global Citizen agrees that the declaration represents a significant step forward, showcasing ambition, but the ambition must translate into action to break the common pattern of unfulfilled commitments.

“For African farmers whose livelihoods depend on this declaration, it’s a starting point, not the final destination,” she said.

Africa contributes less than 4% of global carbon emissions, yet the continent is the hardest-hit by the disastrous effects of climate change with droughts, floods, cyclones and other climate-related disasters that greatly impact agricultural productivity.

Concrete actions needed
Some southern African countries including Zimbabwe are currently facing an El-Nino with erratic rainfall. The El Nino will drive below-average rainfall across Southern Africa and the 2023/2024 farming season in the region will be greatly impacted, according to Farming Early Warning Systems Network (FEW-NET).

Wanjira Maithai, Managing Director for Africa and Global Partnerships at the World Resources Institute (WRI) said the Emirates Declaration represents a major shift in mindset.

“Governments must immediately include food and agriculture into national climate plans – this means concrete actions, targets, timetables and finance to get fossil fuels out of our food system, promote more diverse and nature friendly farming, support small-scale producers and reduce methane.”

The countries that have so far endorsed the declaration are home to over 5.7 billion people, nearly 500 million farmers producing 70 percent of the food eaten worldwide, accounting for 76 percent of total emissions from the global food system, according to a statement by the COP28 presidency.

Cameroon was not among the signatories on day the declaration was announced. The agriculture sector is the largest employer of the working population in the country, employing over 70 percent of the workforce, and 90 percent of the rural workforce.

More countries are expected to sign the declaration in the course of the climate conference that ends on December 12.