Occupy COP and Climate-Smart Agriculture

Occupy agriculture…and climate change? At Agriculture and Rural Development Day at the COP 17 climate conference in Durban, South Africa, where “climate-smart agriculture,” a new global buzz-term, small farmers, gender, and sustainability have been big themes (along with the rising human population and the need for increased food production and research). So has a “work program” (UN speak) on agriculture in any agreement that comes out of here. Latest news today is that this may well happen. Mary Robinson gave a good speech on what a climate justice approach to food security would look like (more equity, more rights, more responsibility from the industrialized world). I see that on Dec. 4th, there’s a farmers’ march as part of the Occupy Wall St. protest in NYC. Interesting intersections, south and north.

Photo by Neil Palmer, CIAT (International Center for Tropical Agriculture)