13 December 2009: The Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), together with a number of other organizations, hosted the Agriculture and Rural Development Day on 12 December 2009, in Copenhagen, Denmark, in parallel with the Copenhagen Climate Change Conference. The objectives of the event were to build consensus on ways to fully incorporate agriculture into the post-Copenhagen climate agenda, and discuss strategies and actions needed to address climate change adaptation and mitigation in the agriculture sector. The Day brought together 350 participants, who heard two keynote presentations, including by the US Secretary of Agriculture, and attended four parallel roundtables and an “ideas marketplace,” which provided an informal opportunity for dialogue and information exchange.
Roundtable discussions focused on: increasing food productivity, climate resilience and greenhouse gas mitigation; policies and institutions for resilient development in the face of climate change; the potential of emission markets for small farmers and strategies; and responses for adaptation of farmers and food systems. Closing plenary speakers synthesized the Day’s discussion by underscoring that agriculture is at the intersection of poverty reduction, food security and climate change, and that addressing emissions from this sector presents a potential win-win-win situation. They also highlighted the need for a unified message on agriculture to be presented during the climate negotiations. [IISD RS Coverage][Agriculture Day Website]