* Any views expressed in this opinion piece are those of the author and not of Thomson Reuters Foundation.
South-South cooperation provides innovative, cost-effective ways to adapt to climate change and help reach zero hunger by 2030
Necessity sharpens the wit. Today, the pressing necessity is called climate change. Modifications in weather patterns, rising sea levels and other extreme weather events are just some of the impacts of climate change affecting – today and tomorrow - food and agriculture. Crops and livestock will also suffer negative effects in most regions of the world. As if that was not enough, climate change will predominantly hit the poorest in the world, of which 70 percent depend on agriculture and natural resources for their livelihoods. In light of this imminent and inevitable situation, as evidenced by the global scientific community, climate change requires new solutions to better adapt to climate change and mitigate its effects.
In this context, FAO’s goal is to ensure that Zero Hunger is achieved by 2030, to ensure food security for a world population which is expected to number 9 billion in 2050. Agriculture will be key to achieving a better adaptation and mitigation to climate change.
That wit needed to tackle the challenge that climate change poses has in recent years been rising to prominence in the global South. Innovative ideas are coming from South-South cooperation and from its newest variant: triangular cooperation. South-South cooperation is the dissemination and exchange of key development solutions, knowledge, experiences and best practices, policies, technology and resources, between southern countries in a worldwide show of solidarity. Triangular cooperation goes a step further and incorporates a third party, which may be a traditional donor or a multilateral organization that contributes with technical capacity, financial resources or in-kind contributions, such as sending experts or facilitating technology transfer.
South-South cooperation and triangular cooperation can offer fundamental help in addressing climate change, through both adaptation and mitigation efforts. For example, Ethiopia, a country regularly affected by droughts like the latest one induced by El Niño, has benefited from its cooperation with China, brokered by the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), for the construction of small irrigation systems and the transfer of Chinese water conservation knowledge.
Cooperation between countries of the global South facilitates the exchange of techniques to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases through more efficient and profitable practices, such as achieving more efficient fertilization, or the use of agricultural inputs that reduce nitrous oxide emissions. Nonetheless, maintaining agricultural productivity in the context of intensifying climate change will remain a challenge even if farmers adopt measures to adapt to it, such as the adoption of climate-smart agricultural inputs or switching to more efficient irrigation methods.
South-South and triangular cooperation not only provide technical solutions for mitigation and adaptation, but also management models to deal with the changes and reforms required, be they on the policy front, or in the institutional and grassroots arenas. Effective interaction between technical solutions and management models ensures sustainable growth in agricultural productivity.
At the level of public policy, political dialogue between countries is a useful tool for sharing experiences geared to developing coherent policies adapted to the national context. The ultimate goal of this dialogue should be to ensure that the implementation of these policies ultimately results in greater sustainable agricultural productivity.
At the institutional level, South-South cooperation supports and encourages collaboration in research and development, critical to providing innovative solutions for adaptation and mitigation.
Finally, at the grassroots level, knowledge sharing, sending experts to the field or fostering student exchanges all facilitate the adoption by farmers of sustainable and productive adaptation and mitigation practices.
In this regard, South-South and triangular cooperation can serve as a complementary tool to ensure access to knowledge and technology adapted to local circumstances. Farmers who, with the help of their peers, or experts, can gain access to information on the efficient use of resources, tailored to their local realities, will eventually be in the position to use innovative technologies to support a sustainable and climate-sensitive agriculture.
FAO is strongly committed to the promotion and facilitation of South-South and triangular cooperation. It is an innovative, supportive, complementary and cost-effective way to facilitate adaptation to climate change and mitigation, and one that also contributes effectively to achieve our mandate and the Sustainable Development Goals.
Laurent Thomas is assistant director-general and coordinator for technical cooperation and programme management of the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)
