Representing the World Farmers’ Organisation (WFO), Darrell Leroux from FNSEA (France) and a member of the WFO Working Group on Climate Change, addressed the OECD Green Growth and Sustainable Development Forum 2025 during the session “Advancing Solutions for a Productive, Sustainable and Resilient Agriculture.”

Leroux highlighted both the strengths of agriculture in contributing to climate solutions and the challenges that farmers face in driving this transformation.

The WFO representative emphasised that while agriculture is often portrayed as part of the climate problem, farmers are already committed to improving their practices, citing the adoption of approaches such as carbon sequestration, regenerative agriculture, and precision farming. He shared that, in France—like in many OECD countries—farmers succeeded in reducing their greenhouse gas emissions by 10 to 15% between 1990 and 2020, while continuing to grow more food.

However, he warned that current efforts are not enough to meet the climate targets outlined in the Paris Agreement. “Sometimes the reduction of GHG emissions is at the expense of food production. According to the FAO, we need to produce 70% more food by 2050, while reducing emissions by 66%. That may be the biggest challenge of the century.”

In response, he identified four key levers to support a farmer-driven transition:

• A clear and incentive-based political direction, to give farmers long-term visibility and coherence across policies.
• Public financial support, stressing that shifting existing funds is not enough and that new resources are essential to enable real change.
• Recognition of ecosystem services, including through robust carbon markets that can build trust and attract buyers.
• Mobilising the entire value chain, from downstream companies to retailers, to ensure that farmers are not left bearing the cost of transition alone.

Screenshot from the event “Advancing solutions for a productive, sustainable and resilient agriculture″; Image courtesy of OECD

“Farmers are price takers,” he underlined. “They have no control over the price they receive, and if demand doesn’t change, buyers won’t offer more for sustainable products. Farmers are disconnected from consumers, and the power lies with downstream actors who can influence demand through advertising, promotions, and placement.”

The WFO representative also called for mitigation and adaptation to go hand in hand, warning that delaying climate action would only increase the already high cost of adaptation. “In the EU, climate-related losses in agriculture already exceed €30 billion, around 6% of total production.”

He stressed that many low-carbon practices also benefit adaptation, citing conservation agriculture as one example that enhances water retention, improves soil health, and increases drought resilience.

Closing the intervention, the WFO representative drew attention to the climate finance gap: “Agriculture and food systems account for a third of global emissions but receive only 5% of global climate finance. It’s not just a gap—it’s a blind spot. And without access to finance, there is no transition.”

Through its members, WFO continues to bring farmers’ priorities and realities into international climate and sustainability dialogues, advocating for enabling environments and meaningful investment to ensure agriculture can be part of the solution.

Cover photo: Screenshot from the event “Advancing solutions for a productive, sustainable and resilient agriculture″; Image courtesy of OECD