During the COP29 environmental summitexperts, government representatives and the agricultural sector highlighted this Thursday the crucial role of agriculture to ensure the feeding of the world population, promote social peace and support efforts in the fight against the climate crisis.
The general director of the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), Manuel Oterostated that a city with an average population of 10 million inhabitants need 6,000 tons of food a day to meet your needs.
Therefore, the sustainable, productive, efficient and inclusive agriculture is of great importance, being especially fundamental for the preservation of social peacehe explained Otero during a forum in the House of Agriculture of the Americas pavilion, installed at COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan.
“We have to produce more food with less nature, recognizing the new challenges that agriculture faces, and to overcome them it is key to take advantage of science, technology and innovation, and facilitate their access to family farmers,” he expressed. Otero.
Otero He also indicated that The next 25 years until 2050 will be among the most decisive in the history of agriculture why will have to feed 2 billion more people.
For his part, the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security of Belize, José Abelardo Maihighlighted the importance of educating young people on the future of agriculture and to formulate strong policies to support climate-smart and sustainable agricultural practices. “We need incentives to mitigate, incentives for producers,” he stressed. May.
The soil scientist and World Food Prize winner, Rattan Lalidentified among the main global challenges the soil degradation and the urgent need for restorationin addition to emphasizing the importance of respect the work of farmers and value the ecosystem services they provide.
On the other hand, the representatives pointed out the role of the renewable biofuels in the climate change mitigation. The president of the organization Solutions from the Land, Ernie Sheahighlighted that, in addition to helping reduce greenhouse gases, one of the most recent benefits of renewable biofuels is their positive impact on public health.
“Renewable fuels also make a decisive contribution to reducing pollution and the opportunities for agricultural production are multiple,” he said. Shea.
During the discussions, it was proposed that countries include the use of ethanol as part of their commitments to reduce gas emissions greenhouse effect, in the context of the Paris Agreement.
(With information from EFE)
