UN Climate Summit should champion approaches that ensure livelihoods of most vulnerable, say World Vision
World Vision is at the United Nations Climate Summit in New York, calling for action to help millions of rural farm families adopt climate-smart agricultural practices that will make it possible for them to reliably produce more nutritious and environmentally sustainable crops.
New farming techniques that bind topsoil and retain moisture can reverse massive degradation.
The child-focussed development organisation is participating in a number of events, including a side-event of the Africa Climate Smart Agriculture Alliance (Africa CSA Alliance) – a partnership that unites organisations like World Vision with academics and governments to quickly scale up on-farm assistance, link rural workers to technological advances and support a favourable policy environment.
The side event features guest speakers Mr John Kufour, former President of Ghana and the UN Secretary General’s Envoy on Climate Change; Dr. Ibrahim A. Mayaki, Chief Executive of the New Partnership for Africa's Development; and Her Excellency Rhoda P. Tumusiime, Commissioner for Rural Economy and Agriculture for the African Union.
The event will explore practical and innovative agriculture strategies – which are key to assisting farmers like Gadoode Hussein from Somalia, whose village suffered from prolonged drought, followed by devastating flash floods. A World Vision project used new farming techniques to bind topsoil and retain moisture. “When we started, we did not realise how fast the massive degradation could be reversed,” Gadoode said. “We thought we had lost everything forever.”
World Vision is also participating in the inaugural meeting of the Global Alliance for Climate Smart Agriculture (Global Alliance), which will be officially launched by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon at the Climate Summit.
World Vision’s Director of Agriculture and Food Security, Douglas Brown, said that, while the Africa CSA Alliance and Global Alliance share a similar goal of increased food and nutrition security, the Africa CSA Alliance has a particular focus on smallholder farmers.
“Its members will be working in the field to design and implement programmes with farm households, ensuring the active involvement of women, youth and other vulnerable groups,” said Mr Brown.
“As a member of the Africa CSA Alliance, World Vision is excited by this opportunity to empower farming families to adopt more productive, sustainable and resilient agricultural practices. This approach will support more reliable and improved livelihoods and well-being, which are essential for meeting basic human needs with dignity.”
Members of the Africa CSA Alliance are World Vision, CARE, Catholic Relief Services, Oxfam and Concern Worldwide. Four technical partners will ensure the most up-to-date technical information and evaluation capacity. They are the UN Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), the Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources Policy Analysis Network (FANRPAN), the research consortium CGIAR, and the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA).
Visit the website here: http://www.africacsa.org/
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