OPINIONS

energy programmes can reduce GHG emissions, contribute to preserving natural resources and attract vital private sector investment. Moreover, digital farming can help small holder farmers access markets, increase their incomes and improve their livelihoods.

A time for concrete changes

The capacity of the agricultural sector to respond to climate change has far-reaching impacts on the livelihoods of the majority of people in many developing and developed countries. More than 3 billion people, 80 percent of the poor, live in rural areas, with around 2.5 billion dependent on agriculture for their livelihoods. Farmers, pastoralists, fisherfolk and community foresters, whose work is inextricably linked to climate, require greater access to information, technologies, markets and credit for investment. This would help them adapt their production practices to the changing climate, build resilience and continue to contribute to national economic growth.

Farmers are on the frontline of this transition. But there is also an acute need for sustainable food systems and better consumption patterns to decrease the pressure exerted by the agricultural sector on environmental resources. This global

trend must be supported by the multinational agri-food companies: it is crucial that they drive this shift by adopting a circular and sustainable approach to their production patterns.

The message FAO carried from the UN Climate Action Summit to the COP25 is this: transforming food systems is a long-term process but one that will ultimately be rewarding for the whole world. At this critical juncture on the path to sustainable development, FAO continued to promote action across the agriculture sector, in developing and developed countries, to tackle climate change while advancing towards the goal of Zero Hunger.

Open-air storage of cork in Tunisia. Cork is harvested every 9 to 12 years and is a renewable resource: the bark grows back and the oak tree is unharmed.

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Actions to make the agricultural sector sustainable are among the most effective measures to adapt to, and mitigate, climate change.