The United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has urged countries to adopt climate smart agriculture in an effort to ensure food security in the future.
“Agriculture is a major contributor to global greenhouse gas emissions, while at the same time, famers worldwide are increasingly feeling the effects of a warming climate,” Mr Ban said.
He was delivering a message to the Third Global Conference on Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Security and Climate Change taking place in Johannesburg, South Africa.
“The answer to these interconnected problems lies in climate-smart agriculture,” he said, emphasising in particular the need to eliminate of childhood under-nutrition through sustainable agriculture that benefits smallholders around the world.
Mr Ban said that his recent visit to the Sahel reinforced his perception of how climate change compounds the challenges for small farmers, following three major droughts in a decade that exacerbated poverty, conflict and disease.
“The region’s governments are working to help their people become more resilient, but they need international support, including through an ambitious climate change agreement in 2015,” he said.
He called on leaders from government, finance, business and civil society to work together on solutions, welcoming proposals to develop a Climate-Smart Agriculture Alliance and inviting all stakeholders to bring bold initiatives to the table at next September’s Climate Summit, to be held at UN headquarters.
David Nabarro, his Special Representative for Food Security and Nutrition, delivered the Secretary-General’s message to the three-day conference.
In related news, the UN’s Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) reported that a record world cereal output was predicted for the year 2013, reaching a new high of almost 2500 tonnes.
At the same time, it warned that food security in several parts of Africa and elsewhere is deteriorating.
The latest issue of the agency’s Crop Prospects and Food Situation report said that cereal production rose 8.4 per cent.
At the same time, food security remained precarious in the Sahel, Central Africa, Southern Africa, parts of the Middle East and Philippines due to instability or drought, other types of severe weather and land degradation.
