Advocating Farmer-Centred Climate Action in the UNFCCC Process

Since its inception, the World Farmers’ Organisation (WFO) has played an active and ongoing role in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) process, serving as the leading organisation of the Farmers’ Constituency to ensure that the experience, knowledge, and priorities of farmers are fully reflected in international climate policymaking.

In line with Agenda 21 – the sustainable development action plan adopted at the 1992 Rio Earth Summit and reaffirmed at Rio+20 Summit in 2012 – WFO firmly believes that “a farmer-centred approach is the key to the attainment of [the sustainability agenda].”

This is particularly critical in the context of the UNFCCC, where the climate-agriculture nexus and the uniqueness of the farming sector have gained increasing recognition. A key milestone was reached in 2015 with the adoption of the Paris Agreement:

• The Preamble recognises “the fundamental priority of safeguarding food security and ending hunger, and the particular vulnerabilities of food production systems to the adverse impacts of climate change.”
• Article 2(1)(b) formalises the objective of “increasing the ability to adapt to the adverse impacts of climate change and foster climate resilience and low greenhouse gas emissions development, in a manner that does not threaten food production.”

This policy recognition is now supported by robust scientific evidence. The IPCC 2023 Synthesis Report highlights that “many agriculture, forestry, and other land use (AFOLU) options provide adaptation and mitigation benefits that could be upscaled in the near term across most regions.” However, delivering on this potential depends on the ability of governments to engage farmers as partners and provide the necessary means of implementation —finance, innovation, and enabling policies. Only then can agriculture deliver its full contribution to climate resilience and emissions reduction, while safeguarding food security.