From May 13th to 17th 2019, the Global Platform on Disaster Reduction convened for the sixth time in Geneva, Switzerland, on the theme of “Resilience Dividend: Towards Sustainable and Inclusive Societies.”
The conference, jointly organized by the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) and the Government of Switzerland, consisted of plenary sessions, two ministerial roundtables, five high-level dialogues, and working sessions on various disaster-related topics.
As representative the farmers’ constituency within the Stakeholder Engagement Mechanism (SEM) for the implementation of the Sendai Framework on Disaster Risk Reduction, the World Farmers’ Organisation (WFO) was in Geneva and Tamisha Lee, President of our member organization from Jamaica, Jamaica Network of Rural Women Producers (JNRWP) was engaged as WFO representative in several panels and roundtables, bringing the real-life perspective of farmers into the debate.
On behalf of WFO, Tamisha Lee sent a clear message to the audience: more coherence is needed in the implementation of the different international frameworks namely the Sendai Framework, the Paris Agreement and the Agenda 2030, with increasing opportunities for non-state actors to be engaged in the implementing processes at national, regional and international level. “All of society” approaches recognizing farmers as active partners and solutions providers are central in the path towards the achievement of sustainable development for all.
In this regard, the 6th Session of the Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction (GP2019) was a great stage to raise awareness on “The Climakers. Farmers Driven Climate Change Agenda”, the initiative conceived by the WFO according to which all the actors in the food value chain work together with the farmers, to advance the global political dialogue on agriculture and climate change, promoting farmers’ contribution to the Paris Climate Agreement.
Working through the entire value chain in a joint bottom-up approach, including all the actors, is the only way to get effective solutions for a sustainable future that everyone can benefit.