South African farmers ahead with climate resilience – COP29

By Lindi Botha | 27 November 2024 | 1:00 pm

Finance talks at the 29th Conference of Parties (COP29) offered up an increase in the funding for developing countries to adapt to climate change and put mitigation measures in place.

Kaveh Zahedi, director of the office of climate change, biodiversity and the environment at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, speaking at the 29th Conference of Parties on the impact of climate change on developing countries Photo: COP29.az

While the Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, Dr Dion George, had high hopes to have the amount that developed countries contribute to the fund increased from the current US$100 billion (about R1,8 trillion) annually to US$1,3 trillion (R23 trillion), US$300 billion (R5,4 trillion) was eventually settled on.

A new draft document, the New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG), was also released and details a long-term finance proposal for climate change.

George said that this was a significant step in the right direction.

“It is more than what we had going into the negotiations and we can now build on that, especially given that South Africa will be the next president of the G20.”

Meanwhile, speaking to Farmer’s Weekly from Baku, Azerbaijan, where COP29 was being held, Agri SA’s chief operating officer Jolanda Andrag said that as far as South African farmers were concerned, many had been putting sustainable practices in place for years, and were already better equipped than most nations to handle climate change.

“What is needed is more innovation in helping farmers become more resilient, and putting systems in place that capture data on sustainable practices. This is important because

financing and insurance will become dependent on a farmer’s ability to manage climate risks, and lower their environmental footprint, and they need to be able to prove it.”

Andrag explained that the biggest deficiency currently in data capturing systems is the inability to capture what is being done on a grassroots level on the farm, and convert the data into information that shows what the specific practice’s effect is on finances.

She added that as a developing nation, South Africa would benefit from the climate fund. Andrag however said that how the financing would work was very vague.

“Should the financing come through, it should be spent on providing, among others, transition financing during times of drought and floods, helping farmers transition to more sustainable agricultural practices, and strengthening the operating environment for food security.

“Climate change is pushing maize production further east, towards regions where municipalities are in a state of decay. To maintain food security, you need to an enabling environment, especially in high-production regions.”

Commenting on the ability of farmers in developing countries to maintain food security, Kaveh Zahedi, director of the office of climate change, biodiversity and the environment at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, said that there was a financing gap that would prevent these countries from attaining food security.

“To transition to better farming systems we need financing that will solve land degradation, and place vital technology in the right hands. This includes high level technology like precision farming, [and] drought-resilient seed.”

Andrag was optimistic about South African farmers’ ability to manage climate risks.