Africa Climate Week

NEWS COMMENTARY ON BALANCING MITIGATION AMBITIONS WITH ADAPTATION: PLACING AGROECOLOGY AT THE CENTER OF CLIMATE ACTION IN AFRICAAs
Governments of Africa convene in Accra, Ghana for a week-long Climate Change event dubbed, “Africa Climate Week”, they are expected to articulate bold actions to build the resilience of communities on the continent and demonstrate commitment to do their fair share of climate change action. Considering that African countries have relatively common context in terms of contribution to the causes of climate change and how its impact on the continent, it will be strategic for the governments to leave the discussion table speaking a ‘common language’ in their climate actions. This common language should not fall short of placing stronger emphasis on climate change adaptation for protecting the citizens, transitioning its current agriculture and food production system to agroecology as the most appropriate model for agriculture and advancing a strong argument to commit industrialised and wealthy countries to provide adequate climate financing for the implementation of its adaptation and mitigation plans.
The theme for the event which is “Climate Action in Africa: A Race We Can Win”, has been carefully chosen by African governments to take bold climate actions for building resilience and contributing to mitigating climate change. If there is any continent that is hardest hit by climate change, it is Africa, even though it is evident that the continent has contributed little to this global problem. Scientists have warned that considerable efforts are required to keep global temperatures as close to 1.5 degrees above preindustrial levels as possible, to avert a looming global climate catastrophe.
African countries must however be guided by the principle of equity in order not to accept or take upon themselves an undue or disproportionate burden for climate change mitigation. The more industrialised countries and economic powers such as the United States of America, Japan and other European countries, should take on more of the responsibility for mitigation, whiles the less industrialised and poorer countries are allowed to channel much of their resources to adaptation programmes. In addition, wealthier and more industrial countries should commit to providing funding to support the implementation of national adaption and mitigation plans of African countries. In effect, African countries should place stronger emphasis on prioritising the adaptation needs of vulnerable citizens.
More efforts should be placed on building resilience and adaptation. One therefore expects African countries to use Africa Climate Week to announce efforts on their National Adaptation Plans, NAPs, while also highlighting the urgent need for wealthy industrialised countries to provide increased support in the form of climate finance. Agriculture and food production systems have been the most heavily impacted by climate change. It is therefore time for a transformation of the current agriculture and food production model to one that is fit for purpose in an era of accelerating climate change.
In recent times, the continent has been on a trajectory of industrialising agriculture production, creating greater dependence on external inputs such as synthetic agrochemicals, genetically modified organisms, GMOs and heavy mechanization rather than promoting agrobiodiversity conservation. These practices have degraded the environment, diminished biodiversity and increased vulnerabilities. The industrial model of agriculture is clearly inappropriate in an era of climate change. It can best be described as one that offers false solution to the continent’s agricultural and food production system. It has failed to deliver on the promise of addressing food security and nutrition problems, reducing poverty, and building the resilience of smallholder farmers.
During the Africa Climate Week, we draw the leaders’ attention to consider agroecology as an alternative solution to the failed industrial and commercial model of agriculture and food production system. Fortunately, some African governments have positive good steps in this direction.
BY TONTIE BINADO, REGIONAL PROGRAMME MANAGER AND COUNTRY FOCAL PERSON ON RESILIENT LIVELIHOODS AND CLIMATE JUSTICE, ACTIONAID GHANA.