This side event focused on three aspects of a resilient and emissions-efficient global food system. Exploring the nexus between climate science and agriculture, panelists highlighted in particular: methods to create a business case for climate-smart agriculture; data improvement, notably in climate vulnerable areas; and enabling conditions to scale up smart agriculture.
Robert Bonnie, Under Secretary for Natural Resources and Environment, USDA, moderated the event. He noted that 20 years ago agriculture did not focus on reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. He highlighted challenges to mainstreaming climate change in agriculture due to different cropping, climatic and soil systems, as well as raising awareness about climate-smart agriculture practices among millions of farmers in the US and abroad. He underscored the objective of the USDA’s Building Blocks on Climate Smart Agriculture and Forestry to reduce GHG emissions by 120 million CO2 equivalents by 2025.
Gary Linden, Acting Deputy Assistant to the Administrator, USAID, explained that climate-smart agriculture is based on science-based evidence. Drawing attention to the Obama Administration’s Feed the Future initiative to overcome global hunger and improve food security and the adoption of the Global Food Security Act, he underscored the importance of mainstreaming food security, agricultural adaptation and women’s empowerment into climate action at the global level.
Kevin Rabinovitch, Chief Climate Officer, Mars, Inc., spoke from the food business perspective, saying that the reason for engagement in this agenda is science clarity regarding the negative effects of climate change on food security. He emphasized the threats of climate change for business sustainability and financial health, adding that “moral imperatives” are also a reason to act on climate and agriculture.
Josette Lewis, Associate Director, World Food Center, University of California Davis, focused on soil and water management as key actions to make agriculture smarter and emphasized the importance of educating citizens on nutrition for behavioral change.
During discussions, panelists listed key challenges to advance the agenda of smart agriculture, including: cost reduction; relationship with farmers and behavior change; farmers’ adaptation to new regulatory environments; access to new technologies; methods to scale-up smart agriculture; and engagement of small farmers in smart agriculture. Panelists recommended improving science on the climate-agricultural nexus and the relationship with the whole supply chain of food production, including small farmers. From the floor, participants inquired about action on food waste, links between animal products and climate change, and public health threats deriving from current agricultural patterns.
