Tuesday, November 26, 2013

Agriculture can unlock Africa's transformation even in a changing climate

AllAfrica.com via the UN Economic Commission for Africa: A senior official of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa today shed new light on the agriculture and climate change nexus, pointing to new avenues through which the sector can become the driving force behind Africa's transformation agenda.

In opening remarks at a panel discussion during the Africa Day event on the sidelines of the 19thsession of the U.N-led international conference on climate change in Poland, Ms. Fatima Denton said that even in a changing climate, the agricultural sector still retains its full potential to lift millions of Africans out of poverty, and to take the driver's seat on the continent's development train.

Ms. Fatima Denton who is the Coordinator of the African Policy Centre and Officer in Charge of New Initiatives Division at the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), facilitated the panel discussion.

She said that agriculture and climate change are linked in important ways as climate change has significant effects on agriculture, adding that the negative impacts of climate will further erode the capacity of poor farmers and food producers to adapt to the changing climatic conditions, that is, climate variability and climate change.

She explained that"technical and financial support are needed to address damages caused by climate change and to support adaptation activities of African farmers",and that such efforts can be implemented through a framework that stimulates and delivers new low carbon emission pathways in the agricultural sector and along the entire food value chains...

A farm on the outskirts of Bakau, Gambia, shot by Radosław Botev

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