Agri-food systems hold the key to achieving food security and encompass solutions to numerous challenges, including climate change, biodiversity, soil degradation, and water scarcity, said Viorel Gutu, the Regional Representative for Europe and Central Asia at the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Report informs.
Gutu made the remark at the event on Launching the Baku Harmoniya Climate Initiative for Farmers: Expanding Opportunities to Enhance Farmers' Resilience to Climate Change, held within the framework of COP29.
The official highlighted the significant development of initiatives, coalitions, networks, alliances, and partnerships related to agri-food systems, climate change, and finance over the past decade.
"Last year at COP28, 160 countries signed the Emirates Declaration, recognizing the central importance of agri-food systems in addressing the climate crisis," Gutu noted. "This year, at COP29 in Baku, we are launching the Harmoniya Climate Initiative. As we need more coordination to implement more effective climate actions and accelerate the transformation of agri-food systems, we are pleased to see this ambition for better coordination reflected in the first objective of the Harmoniya Initiative.