At Climate Week NYC 2026, President Dr Daniel Mwendah M’Mailutha focused on what farmers contribute to climate action, the support they need and how they can share in the value their work creates.

Climate action in agriculture must recognise farmers’ role in managing natural resources, shaping innovation and generating data used across food supply chains. At Climate Week NYC 2026, Dr Daniel Mwendah M’Mailutha, President of the World Farmers’ Organisation (WFO), highlighted how farmers contribute to these efforts, what support they need and how they can benefit from the value they create.

Loss of biodiversity, declining soil health, and pressure on water resources affect agricultural production and farmers’ livelihoods. President M’Mailutha addressed these issues at “Rewiring the Supply Chain: Turning Forest Protection and Traceability Standards into Value for Cacao Producers in Africa and Beyond”, convened by the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT. Farmers rely on biodiversity for services such as pollination and natural pest control, while their land management can help restore native plants and wildlife. WFO called for the infrastructure, finance, and policy support needed to enable locally appropriate practices.

How an innovation is developed and financed can determine whether farmers can use it. At “From Innovation to Implementation: Scaling Biosolutions for Resilient Agrifood Systems through Public–Private Partnerships”, hosted by the Consulate General of Denmark in New York, President M’Mailutha drew on WFO’s approach to innovation. Farmers’ needs and knowledge should shape research from the outset. Making new solutions available and affordable also requires action across the value chain, including credit and insurance suited to agricultural risks and production cycles.

Businesses across food supply chains increasingly rely on farm data to measure and report emissions. Farmers can use that data to make decisions and manage resources more efficiently, but producing reliable information takes time, skills, and investment. At Regen House on 24 September, WFO and Virginia Tech’s Global Agricultural Productivity Initiative co-organised “Data: The New Cash Crop”, a working session examining how data moves across the food system and who decides how it is used. In line with WFO’s Policy on Digitalisation and Artificial Intelligence, farmers should be recognised as partners in the data value chain. They should have control over their data, a voice in its governance, and a fair share of the value it creates.

What farmers can do on their farms depends in part on decisions made elsewhere: which practices receive support, whose knowledge informs research, how finance is designed, and who controls agricultural data. Ahead of UNFCCC COP31 and beyond, WFO will continue to advocate for farmers and their organisations to be recognised as partners in shaping these decisions, with the costs and benefits of climate action taken into account at farm level.