As the world looks ahead to the 2025 UN Climate Change Conference (UNFCCC COP30) in Belém, Brazil, this November, the World Farmers’ Organisation (WFO) is working to ensure that farmers—particularly family farmers—are recognised as central to global climate action.

In August, WFO Secretary General Andrea Porro participated virtually in two key events to highlight the critical role of family farming in driving climate solutions and sustainable change.

Farmer Cooperation as Key to Climate Action

At the Launch Seminar of the Manifesto of Family Farming Cooperatives for COP30, hosted by the Comissão De Legislação Participativa of the Câmara dos Deputados, Congresso Nacional do Brasil, Andrea Porro, building on his previous intervention at the Brazilian Senate in June, highlighted that climate change is a uniquely complex challenge that demands solutions rooted in collaboration.

“The nature itself of climate change is such that every solution must be a cooperative solution,” he stated, underscoring that family farming cooperatives in Brazil and worldwide provide compelling evidence of how collective effort leads to real, scalable impact. He stressed that farming is fundamentally different from other industries — it is deeply intertwined with nature, community well-being, and food security — and thus requires climate policies that reflect these realities. This makes it imperative that farmers are not just included but empowered to shape climate negotiations and solutions.

In a significant announcement, Andrea Porro confirmed that the first-ever COP30 Farmers’ Summit will take place in Brasília, on 6–7 November 2025. Hosted in collaboration with the Confederação da Agricultura e Pecuária do Brasil (CNA Brazil), the Summit will provide a dedicated platform to translate the spirit of cooperation into concrete action, bringing together farmers from across the world to share experiences, build partnerships, and amplify their collective influence ahead of the COP30 Leaders’ Summit in Belém.

Farmers as Solutions Owners, Not Just Beneficiaries

At the international workshop “The Role of Family Farming Cooperatives in the Context of COP30”, hosted by the União Nacional das Cooperativas da Agricultura Familiar e Economia Solidária (UNICAFES) in partnership with the Brazilian Ministry of Agrarian Development and Family Farming (MDA) and the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA), the WFO Secretary General called for a paradigm shift ahead of COP 30: recognising farmers as indispensable partners in climate action.

Advocacy must be seen as a means, not an end. A successful COP, he emphasised, will not be measured by the number of farmers’ representatives present, but by the creation of opportunities on the ground that lead to policy frameworks co-designed with farmers, and by long-awaited investments in agriculture and rural communities. These efforts, he emphasised, need to be channelled directly through farmers’ organisations and cooperatives to ensure they reach those who need them most.

Farmers are too often portrayed as passive recipients of aid, rather than as solution providers. In reality, agricultural cooperatives already deliver tangible climate-smart services: technical training, access to resilient seeds and organic inputs, group loans for drip irrigation and solar pumps, and peer-to-peer learning through farmer field schools. “Farmers are not ‘asking for money’; they are offering solutions that are worth investing in,” he stressed.

COP30 must be a turning point to shift the narrative. Agriculture should not be viewed merely as a problem, and farmers should not be seen only as beneficiaries or victims of climate change. Farmers, their organisations, and their cooperatives must be recognised as key partners in delivering climate solutions.

WFO — a Unifying Voice for Farmers’ Climate Action

WFO’s engagement in these events marks a critical step in ensuring that climate policies are not only ambitious but also grounded in the lived experiences of those who work the land and feed the world. The Organisation remains committed to elevating the role of farmers as leaders of inclusive, pragmatic, and effective climate action. As the Focal Point of the UNFCCC Farmers’ Constituency, WFO serves as a unifying force that channels the diverse voices of farmers into cohesive, influential participation in international climate discussions.

Cover photo: Screenshot from the event “Launch Seminar of the Manifesto of Family Farming Cooperatives for COP30″; Image courtesy of Câmara dos Deputados, Congresso Nacional do Brasil