5 December 2011: Calling on climate negotiators to include agriculture in the text of the climate agreement, 16 leading agriculture organizations made an appeal through a jointly endorsed letter to the UNFCCC Conference of the Parties (COP) during the Durban Climate Change Conference. The appeal to COP 17 was discussed at Agriculture and Rural Development Day, held on 3 December 2011, during which more than 500 participants addressed priorities for meeting food security challenges while supporting climate change mitigation and adaptation.

Participants noted that a Work Programme on Agriculture has been stalled for too long in the Ad hoc Working Group on Long Term Cooperative Action (AWG-LCA) negotiating text. The text on the Work Programme on Agriculture calls for action by the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA).

The appeal to COP 17 highlights the untapped potential for mitigation in agricultural lands, as well as opportunities to help vulnerable populations adapt. Some speakers called for collaboration between business, government, research, and development organizations.

The letter was endorsed by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO), World Food Programme (WFP), International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), World Bank, CGIAR Research Programme on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS), Southern African Confederation of Agricultural Unions (SACAU), International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), Global Forum on Agricultural Research (GFAR), Food, Agriculture and Natural Resource Policy Analysis Network (FANRPAN), World Farmers’ Organization (WFO), Global Donor Platform for Rural Development, ACP/EU Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA), Farming First, Danish Agriculture and Food Council, and Agriculture for Impact. [CGIAR Press Release] [Full Text of Letter to COP 17]