18 November 2013: Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) governments attending the Fourth Regional Seminar on Agriculture and Climate Change, which took place from 13-14 November in Santiago, Chile, stressed that family farming can play a fundamental role in combating climate change and ensuring food security in the region.

The seminar’s seven sessions examined the use of biophysical modeling to analyze the impact of climate change on agriculture, the economics of adaptation in agriculture, collaborative work in adaptation, anticipated climate change impacts in Latin America and their impacts for adaptation policies, research priorities regarding LAC agriculture and climate change, and the way forward in regional cooperation on policies, instruments and other forms of collaboration in promoting adaptation in agriculture.

The seminar recommended developing integrated research foci and developing methodologies to diagnose knowledge gaps and investment needs in family farming as part of a strategy to promote climate adaptation and resiliency in agriculture and to help secure the role of family farmers in ensuring food security. The seminar also stressed the importance of coordination and South-South cooperation on climate change adaptation in LAC’s agricultural sector. It emphasized the need to analyze and promote institutional and financial designs that permit the adaptation and innovation changes required to address the anticipated impacts of global climate change on LAC agriculture.

The regional seminar was the fourth in a series on agriculture and climate change since 2010, and was co-hosted by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) and the UN Economic Commission for LAC (ECLAC), with support from French Cooperation. [FAO Press Release (in Spanish)] [Seminar Agenda, Presentations (in Spanish)]