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ICARDA live at COP27

Published Date
November 13, 2022
Published by
ICARDA Communication Team
ICARDA at COP27
ICARDA at COP27
ICARDA and the CGIAR team attended COP27, hosted by The Egyptian Presidency in Sharm el-Sheikh, between 6-18 November 2022. This is the first COP that CGIAR centers have joined as one to present a unified front under the OneCGIAR ethos.

Read our daily Livestream of our activities as they happen

Of significance this year at COP27 was a marked prevalence of agri-food systems transformation in events and climate strategies presented at all levels and across the board. Given that last year's COP was the first time that agriculture was officially acknowledged and included in key pledges such as the methane pledge, this marks a significant pivot in climate change strategies, in which CGIAR can play a leading role through its research centers' combined innovation, expertise, trusted networks, and research portfolio. Key also was the interest solicited for CGIAR's agri-food systems innovations and technologies in bilateral meetings with government and private sector stakeholders throughout the conference.

 

CGIAR at COP27

 

“I applaud the COP27 Presidency's receptivity to CGIAR innovations via OneCGIAR's more integrated science, research, and solutions for targeted, appropriate agri-actions to transform Egypt's food systems.” - Aly Abousabaa, CGIAR CWANA Regional Director and ICARDA Director General.

This year's COP theme was 'implementation,' a change in conversation from last year, where countries united to set goals and pledges. Implementation does not just focus on execution but also includes finance, capacity building, and solutions, and fits well with OneCGIAR's vision of greater integration for impact. 

12 CGIAR centers collaborated at COP27 as a cohesive delegation within the UNFCCC COP process in order to more effectively raise the profile of its 2022 portfolio of 33 global initiatives designed to address specific settings of climate-change-related challenges across the globe.

 

Aly Abousabaa

 

“OneCGIAR is an example of how collaboration between centers and all our partners has created a formidable research engine for future resilient food systems.” – Aly Abousabaa, CGIAR CWANA Regional Director and ICARDA Director General at CGAIR’s event: Featuring Research and Innovation to Address Food Security amidst Climate Change.

Under OneCGIAR, the ICARDA delegation and their speaking partners advocated for urgent global action to revolutionize 'business-as-usual' agri-food systems that are no longer fit for purpose, including in the dry regions. Under the intensifying climate crisis, yields are declining, land degradation and water scarcity are accelerating, and today's food systems continue to significantly contribute to greenhouse gases that perpetuate climate change.

ICARDA's Integrated Desert Farming Innovations were also well regarded as potential solutions to acute farming challenges in dry regions, where water scarcity and heat limit productive rural farming. Integrated Desert farming Innovations are combinations of individual evidence-based solutions delivered in tailored packages to target specific challenges and demands.

 

Yasmine Fouad
“In these difficult times, we need to take consistent steps to take advantage of opportunities in this multistakeholder approach for climate mitigation and adaptation together.” - H.E. Yasmine Fouad, Minister of Environment, Egypt, at the Climate Strategy to Investment Plan event in the Egypt Pavilion.

 

The ICARDA delegation, led by Mr. Aly Abousabaa, CGIAR CWANA Regional Director and ICARDA Director General, engaged in over 30 events and meetings with ministers and national, regional, and international organizations, presenting and discussing key issues, plans, and actions to respond to the climate challenges.

 

Ayman Tharwat
“If we focus on revolutionizing the food systems from food to fork, we can create an immediate impact on the ground for better resilience and reduced emissions.” - H.E. Ambassador Ayman Tharwat, Egypt at the ICARDA and the Alliance of Bioversity and CIAT official UNFCCC side event: Can Science and Technologies Alone Build Climate Resilience in Africa and the Middle East? 

 

At the CGIAR-FAO-Rockefeller Food Pavilion, ICARDA hosted events that reflected on the complexity of integrated farming in the drylands and its impact on climate security. It also discussed the key elements of improving the productivity of drylands, especially capacity building and the inclusion of women farmers to make sure solutions are adopted, and the private sector to help drive affordable and appropriate technology.

 

Dina Saleh
“The private sector is essential because their profit and competition-driven goals also drive technology and cost efficiency to the benefit of our strategies.” – Dina Saleh, IFAD Regional Director at ICARDA’s event: Climate Security for the Global Drylands.

 

 

 

Together with the Global Crop Diversity Trust (Crop Trust), the event on genetic resources, led by ICARDA Lebanon Genebank Manager Dr. Mariana Yazbek,  highlighted the genebank's role in offering a rich source for climate-smart plant genetic traits and highlighted the importance of conversation of our vulnerable technology given the modern-era of extreme weather events, water scarcity, and even farming itself that encroaches on natural habitats.

 

Mariana Yazbek
“Open access knowledge is a key pillar of the OneCGIAR ethos. Our genebank collections research over 20 staple crops in 10 countries. All data are available to researchers globally, for free.” – Dr. Mariana Yazbek, ICARDA Genebank Manager and CGIAR Genebanks Initiative Lead at the Genetic Resources for Climate Adaptation event, Food Pavilion.

ICARDA also hosted an official UNFCCC side event together with the Alliance of Bioversity and CIAT, focusing on the key components that are often overlooked but vital for fully comprehensive and effective climate-resilient food systems, including enabling policies and financial incentives that drive the adoption of innovative approaches and technology, and consider farmer needs and demands from the start.

 

Esthere Zulu
“Increasing the gender role in cooperatives is a key component to improve community resilience in rural livelihoods.” - Esther Zulu, Farmer and Community Leader, Zambia at the ICARDA and the Alliance of Bioversity and CIAT official UNFCCC side event: Can Science and Technologies Alone Build Climate Resilience in Africa and the Middle East? 

 

ICARDA's Integrated Desert Farming Innovations were well received at a number of events. Based on traditional farming approaches such as 'oasis farming,' in which desert farmers combine different farming techniques to address varied conditions, ICARDA has upgraded desert farming packages to include contemporary innovations such as renewable energy integration, cutting-edge water management techniques, climate-resilient crops, protected (greenhouse) agriculture, resilient livestock, and more.

 

Vinay Nangia

 

“CGIAR’s Integrated Desert Farming Systems are whole-farm solutions that make collective use of available natural resources combined with innovation, for maximized farm profits.” – Dr. Vinay Nangia, ICARDA’s Water & Agronomy Team Leader, at the Climate Planning event, Qatar Pavilion.

Digitalization of both research and agri-food system transformational tools now plays a vital role in CGIAR's initiatives. Yet adoption of such technologies by rural farmers remains a challenge due to costs, access, and trust in new techniques. Across ICARDA's work, and especially through its Integrated Desert Farming Innovation packages, capacity building through training, demonstrations, market access, and private sector partnerships plays a key role in getting technology to where it is needed most.

 

Ajit Govind
“Digital augmentation is the solution to accelerate and scale climate adaptation. but what we need is a socially inclusive, digitally augmented transformative adaptation strategy.” – Dr. Ajit Govind, ICARDA Senior Climate Scientist and Systems Modeler, at COP27’s Water Pavilion 

 

 

 

 

The ICARDA Delegation at COP27

ICARDA DELEGATION AT COP27

 

  • Aly Abousabaa - ICARDA Director General and CGIAR CWANA Regional Director
  • Roula Majdalani - ICARDA Climate Change Advisor
  • Michael Baum - ICARDA Deputy Director General and Research Team Leader
  • Vinay Nangia - ICARDA Soils, Water and Agronomy Research Team Leader
  • Mariana Yazbek – ICARDA Genebank Manager  
  • Ajit Govind - ICARDA Senior Climate Scientist and Systems Modeler
  • Rachid Moussadek - ICARDA-INRA Morocco Systems Cropping Agronomist Joint Researcher
  • Mary Margaret McRae – ICARDA Head of Partnerships and Resource Mobilization
  • James Pursey – ICARDA Communication Manager 

Review ICARDA’s full COP27 agenda here.