Traditional farmers ‘can help fight against climate change’

By: Aregu Balleh on October 9th, 2009

ADDIS ABABA:  Scientists and farmers from Africa and Latin America have together stressed the importance of indigenous and traditional agriculture in tackling climate change, food insecurity and poverty.

They met in Peru for a workshop on agrobiodiversity, conservation and food sovereignty, which ended on 29 September.

The participants -  from Peru and Ethiopia – asserted that agricultural conservation areas managed by the expertise of indigenous people are vital for offering native crops and their wild relatives a chance to adapt to new climatic conditions.

They agreed a declaration which highlighted the contributions of indigenous people to the conservation and sustainable use of plant genetic resources for food and agriculture.

It stressed that the resilience which is intrinsic to indigenous people’s farming systems was important to climate-change adaptation and mitigation strategies.

The participants urged that conservation areas should be promoted to protect the diversity of crops and livestock, because they can help people reduce poverty and maintain community sovereignty of food systems.

In the declaration, the participants said the most effective approach to the sustainable use of such biological diversity is to adopt models based on the local context and culture, and to make use of traditional knowledge, practices and innovations.

“The declaration encourages action research and South-South learning,” says Dr. Michel Pimbert, head of the sustainable agriculture, biodiversity and livelihoods programme at the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED).

IIED’s Peruvian partner Asociación Andes organised the workshop with the Association of the Communities of the Potato Park.

A crucial UN climate change summit is due to take place in Copenhagen, Denmark, in December.

There are hopes it will come up with a deal in which people in developing countries will be helped to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through engaging in forestry  and farming that reduces land degradation.