Journalists and Food Producers Convene at COP29 to Spotlight Regenerative Agriculture’s Potential as Key Climate Solution

Baku, Azerbaijan – Critical roundtable discussion unfolded at COP29, uniting journalists, farmers, and food producers to explore the urgent challenges and transformative potential of regenerative agriculture in the face of climate change. Co-hosted by Future Economy Forum and Food Tank, and led by Danielle Nierenberg (Food Tank) and Walter Link (Future Economy Forum), the roundtable series included journalists Daphne Ewing-Chow (Forbes), Umar Manzoor Shah (IPS News), Kate Warren (Devex), Ibrahim Khalil (CNN Academy), David Gelles (The New York Times), Ledama Masidza (CNN Academy), Milliam Murigi (People Daily Newspaper, Kenya), Ayenat Mersie Ejigu (Devex), Maximiliano Manzoni (Climate Tracker), Dizzanne Billy (Climate Tracker). Thanks to all journalists and participants for amplifying farmer and food producers perspectives. Farmers and food producer representatives Million Belay (AFSA), Rosinah Mbenya (Pelum), Helmy Abouleish (Sekem), Thoraya Seada (Heliopolis University), Ahmed El Shazly (Heliopolis University), Naglaa Ahmed (Economy of Love), and others who emphasized the potential of a paradigm shift in our food systems towards agroecology, natural farming, and non-industrial approaches.

The Human Face of Climate Change
The roundtable from Nov 15 highlighted the importance of sharing the human stories behind climate change and showcasing regenerative agriculture as a key solution.

Danielle Nierenberg of Food Tank shared, “The importance of bringing together journalists, farmers and food producers as storytellers cannot be understated. These stories need to be told so that they can reach a wider audience and have a greater impact.”

“Unfortunately, the climate crisis will not go away,” stated Hunter Lovins, of Natural Capitalism Solutions. “Every time there is an event, we need to tell the story that this is the human face of the climate crisis, and regenerative agriculture is a key part of the solution. Carbon in the ground helps solve the climate crisis; it also solves the crisis of hunger, food security, biodiversity, inequality. Carbon in the soil increases water holding capacity, helping to prevent floods.”

Fair Compensation for Ecosystem Services
Panelists stressed the crucial role farmers play in providing essential ecosystem services and advocated for fair compensation. “Economy of Love is not about the money; it’s about love of creation, honoring the farmers for their ecosystem services,” expressed Helmy Abouleish, CEO of Sekem.

Rosinah Mbenya of Pelum, Kenya added, “You can give farmers payments directly to enable them to deliver the ecosystem services. If you help forest dwellers keep bees, you enable them to keep their forest lives and increase biodiversity.” She continued, “We need to scale whole communities to agroecology, not just one or two. Kenya now has a national agroecology standard, but the financing declined from 3% to 2%. This should be increasing in support for farming that pays them to do the work that is needed.

Scaling Regenerative Agriculture and Investing in Solutions
The discussion emphasized the need to scale regenerative agriculture practices and support farmers in transitioning to these methods, including through increased investment in regenerative agriculture and a shift away from industrial agriculture practices that exacerbate the poly-crises of climate, food insecurity and poverty, forced migration and more.

“Business as usual and industrial agriculture will worsen all crises,” stated Million Belay, Director of the Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa. “In transitioning to a paradigm of agroecology, we can feed people and solve multiple crises, but funding is reducing, exactly when governments should invest more. Western governments created these crises, and should fund the solutions.”

Sharing the Scalability & Potential of Regenerative Agriculture
Walter Link, co-founder of NOW Partners Foundation, stressed the importance of effectively communicating the benefits of regenerative agriculture.

“High-quality food should not be a luxury. Andhra Pradesh Community-managed Natural Farming (APCNF) provides organic food at the same price, in ways that make farmers more money,” said Link. “Natural Farming approaches are not just better for the farmers’ incomes and improved food security and yields; they are regenerating the environment, improving community health and strengthening biodiversity. And moreso, they are proven to be a scalable solution. In India alone, they grew from 40,000 to 1 million farmers within seven years. NOW is committed to supporting the scaling of this method globally.”

Learn more:
https://events.futureeconomy.forum/cop29-baku-schedule