Morocco is using the COP22 climate conference to formally launch its 'Adaptation of African Agriculture' – or triple A initiative. Our correspondent Miro Lu spoke to Doctor Shenggen Fan, Director General of the International Food Policy Research Institute, and asked him about the initiative and how agriculture should adapt to feed more people and cut emissions.
"Morocco is needing effort to make sure that agriculture will be adapted to climate change and with a focus in Africa, called AAA. So African Agriculture Adapt to Climate Change. I think it’s a great initiative but it needs support from other countries as well, from the global community. The African smallholder farmers will be affected by climate change negatively, more droughts, more heatwaves, maybe more diseases, pests, and they need support. If they are supported by global community, they can produce more to feed their children, they can also help to mitigate the climate change, to reduce greenhouse gas emission to use certain technologies like conservation agriculture, cover crops, rotation of the staple crops with beans, pulses and others," Fan said.
"The theme at this year’s World Food Day is “ Climate is Changing, Food and Agriculture must too.” Modern day farmers have to feed more people with less and limited resources. How can they achieve that?" Lu said.
"One is technology. New technologies, new varieties, crop varieties can enhance the yield and increase the yield, can reduce carbon emission, can also use less water less land. We mush reshape our agricultural and food system to make sure that the policy will help to reduce subsidies, water subsidies, fertiliser subsidies, electricity subsidies, output subsidies, And use saved money to promote more nutritious food production. And also our thinking, our thinking must also change, what we eat, we need to take into consideration of the impact on our nutrition, on our environment, on climate change," Fan said.