Building cooperation agendas from policy dialogue on agriculture and climate change in Latin America and the Caribbean

Abstract

Since 2010, the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) and the Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO/RLC) have organized a series of annual regional seminars on Agriculture and Climate Change. The series stemmed by awareness about the complexity of dealing with climate change and the difficulties it poses for agriculture, the absence of agriculture in the global discussion on climate change, the neglect of climate change considerations in agricultural policies in most countries in the region, and the absence of forums for dialogues on climate change and agriculture policies. The document presents the main conclusions from the meetings, stressing: (i) the importance of including agriculture in national policy agendas; (ii) the need for policy dialogue, collaborative working arrangements, and better information and communication systems; (iii) the relevance of the evaluation of risks and vulnerabilities, adequate research and innovation agendas, traditional knowledge for adaptation, and the sustainable increase of agricultural productivity; and (iv) the crucial role of international cooperation and financing.

Keywords:

• Latin America
• agriculture
• climate change
• adaptation
• mitigation

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Adrián G. Rodríguez is an Economic Affairs Officer, Environmental Economics Specialist, at the United Nations Economic Comission for Latin America and the Caribbean (UN/ECLAC).

Laura E. Meza is an Expert Advisor on Climate Change & Sustainability at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in Chile.

Notes

1. In addition to the contributions of the UN/ECLAC and FAO, the seminars have been partially funded by the French Cooperation (2010–2015), the Inter American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (2010 and 2014), the Brazilian Cooperation (2012), Procisur (2012), Oxfam BG (2014), and the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS/CGIAR) (2015). The views expressed in this report are the sole responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the organizations that sponsored the seminars.