Future Food Resiliency: Building Climate-Adaptive Agriculture Structures by 2025
The global fight against climate change is taking centre stage once again, as the 62nd sessions of the Subsidiary Bodies of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) convene in Bonn, Germany, from 16-26 June 2025. This critical conference, known as the Climate Conference Bonn, serves as a crucial stepping stone towards the 2025 UN Climate Change Conference (COP30) in Belém, Brazil, scheduled for 10 to 21 November.
The urgency of addressing the climate crisis is underscored by the escalating food insecurity and hunger across the globe. Climate-related shocks have already contributed to rising food prices and declining crop yields in many regions, intensifying the challenges faced by vulnerable populations.
At the heart of the discussions in Bonn will be the urgent need to scale up climate adaptation, particularly for the most vulnerable. Effectively tackling the climate crisis requires moving beyond reactive humanitarian responses towards anticipatory, risk-informed climate adaptation. This approach focuses on integrated solutions that address climate-induced food insecurity and hunger by combining climate adaptation with sustainable agricultural practices, inclusive governance, and enhanced local capacities to build long-term resilience.
One example of this integrated approach can be found in Kenya's SUSTFARM+ project. In partnership with Kenyatta National Farmers' Cooperative and ADS Western, this initiative empowers smallholder farmers through sustainable, climate-resilient agricultural practices, helping to mitigate the impacts of extreme weather on food production and build adaptive capacity in vulnerable communities.
Similarly, the Lao People's Democratic Republic's Convergence Initiative merges food systems transformation with climate action, following the merger of the agriculture and environment ministries. This pioneering national program aims to increase farmer incomes, improve market access, and reduce malnutrition by fostering coordinated action between sectors and stakeholders, benefiting millions reliant on agriculture.
The agricultural sector must be transformed through sustainable and climate-resilient practices, a goal that several ongoing projects are working towards. The World Bank, for instance, supports climate-smart agriculture and market access in Latin America and Africa, while promoting entrepreneurship and nutrition-smart strategies in Honduras and enhancing food crisis response and resilient agricultural production in Eastern and Southern Africa.
Innovative agricultural technologies also play a crucial role. Adoption of flood-tolerant seeds, precision irrigation, and integrated pest management, supported by government policies, exemplifies climate-smart agricultural technologies that improve productivity and sustainability while securing livelihoods.
The Bonn Conference will also feature a side event co-organized with FAO and CIRAD on 19 June, focusing on locally-led sustainable agrifood system transformation and climate finance for the agrifood sector. This event underscores the importance of ethical and inclusive climate finance, as scaling up climate funding that is accessible and supports local leadership is essential to ensuring resources reach those most affected by climate shocks.
Achieving these goals demands a coherent and integrated approach between development cooperation and humanitarian action. This is particularly important as the Second Africa Climate Summit (ACS2) is scheduled for 8-10 September 2025 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, aiming to strengthen Africa's voice on climate finance and adaptation strategies ahead of COP30.
As critical platforms for advancing climate adaptation and transformation become available, organisations like Welthungerhilfe (WHH) will be present and vocal. WHH is implementing climate-resilient agriculture projects, promoting sustainable water management, and advocating for inclusive climate finance.
COP30 aims to spotlight forest preservation, climate justice, and the acceleration of global climate finance commitments. By adopting these integrated approaches and learning from successful programs around the world, it is possible to effectively address the intertwined challenges of climate change, food insecurity, and hunger, building resilient and sustainable food systems that protect vulnerable populations in the long term.
- Advocacy for climate-smart agricultural practices and climate finance is essential to ensure resources reach vulnerable smallholder farmers, as demonstrated by Welthungerhilfe's climate-resilient agriculture projects.
- The urgency of food security highlights the need for climate adaptation, particularly for vulnerable populations, and the Bonn Conference will emphasize integrated solutions that address climate-induced food insecurity through sustainable agricultural practices.
- The Sustainable Farming in Kenya (SUSTFARM+) project is an example of this integrated approach, empowering smallholder farmers with sustainable, climate-resilient agricultural practices to build adaptive capacity in vulnerable communities.
- Climate finance for the agrifood sector plays a crucial role in enabling transformation towards sustainable and climate-resilient agricultural practices, as demonstrated by the Lao People's Democratic Republic's Convergence Initiative.
- The Second Africa Climate Summit (ACS2) aims to strengthen Africa's voice on climate finance and adaptation strategies, underscoring the importance of integrating climate finance with development cooperation for the successful transformation of food systems in the face of climate change.
