The Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention on Climate Change to be held this year in Baku, Azerbaijan’s capital city will once again feature the pavilion of the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) and its private and public sector partners.
San Jose, Costa Rica, 4 November 2024 (IICA) – The Home of Sustainable Agriculture of the Americas will once again be present at the most important global forum for debate, negotiation and decision making on the environment.
The Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention on Climate Change to be held this year in Baku, Azerbaijan’s capital city will once again feature the pavilion of the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) and its private and public sector partners.
The COP29 pavilion will bring together key stakeholders of the Hemisphere’s agrifood systems to demonstrate the region’s intense commitment to climate change mitigation and adaptation today, as it opens its doors to representatives from across the world attending the Conference.
The atmosphere will be one of collaboration, focusing on promoting science-based solutions to the climate crisis that are already being applied in agrifood systems in the Americas and on strengthening collective action to build a more resilient agriculture sector in the Hemisphere.
As such, in Baku, IICA and its partners will be the spokespersons for farmers the leading players of the only production activity with the capacity to sequester carbon, while also ensuring food and nutrition security, and in so doing, contributing to climate change mitigation.
The Pavilion will host approximately fifty lectures to discuss and analyze agricultural and environmental issues, such as financing for sustainable production and adaptation; soil conservation; the fight against deforestation; regenerative agriculture and the circular economy.
IICA Director General, Manuel Otero, noted that, “Latin America and the Caribbean is the main net food exporting region in the world, a trend that will continue to build in the near future. Our wealth of natural resources also makes us a key player in the environmental sustainability of the planet. We are convinced that agriculture is a fundamental sector for climate change mitigation; yet, at the same time it must be transformed and adapted to address the new climatei mposed conditions”.
He also reflected that, “Our tone in Azerbaijan will be one of hope and encouragement, because now is the time for agriculture in the Americas. We believe in the fortitude of our farmers, our businesspeople, our entrepreneurs and the ministers of Agriculture of the region, who will be present at COP29”.
IICA’s message at COP29 will stress three components agriculture must be viewed as part of the solution to the climate crisis; science and new technology must be the drivers of the ongoing transformation of agrifood systems; and farmers must be seated at the discussion table and allowed to play a prominent role.
Third consecutive year
The pavilion’s main sponsor will be Protein PACT a joint initiative by key actors of the livestock production value chain of the United States, who are committed to the well being of people and animals, as well as climate action.
CropLife Internacional; the United States Dairy Export Council (USDEC); the agricultural science and innovation company, Bayer; and the food company, BRF/Marfrig, will also lend their support to the pavilion.
Other sponsors include Carbon Asset Solutions, a global leader in climate solutions for agriculture; the United States Soybean Export Council (USSEC); the United States Grains Council; the companies Elanco, JBS, PepsiCo, Inspiratus Technologies and BIO; and the Organization of American States (OAS).
This will be the third consecutive year that IICA and its partners will host the pavilion at the United Nations Climate Change Conference, demonstrating their firm commitment to ensuring that the voice of the agriculture sector is heard.
The pavilion was also established at COP28 in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, and at COP28 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, to call attention to the role of agriculture in resolving the key challenges facing a planet that requires the production of more and better food, without expending more natural resources.
The Home of Sustainable Agriculture of the Americas will also be the face of a region that is pivotal to the fight against global hunger and environmental sustainability. The Western Hemisphere is responsible for approximately 28% of the planet’s agrifood exports and also makes a substantial contribution to the region’s economy, in the context of major societal challenges.
Climate change is a reality that is already here – a fact already apparent to the farmers in the region who are suffering the effects of drought, flooding and other extreme events that are increasingly frequent and intense. As such, IICA is adamant that the sector can never again be absent from the main forum where decisions are taken regarding the path to address this crisis, and in a situation in which the issue of food is at the forefront of the global agenda.
More information:
Institutional Communication Division.
comunicacion.institucional@iica.int
