Amid ongoing efforts to mainstream the transformation of agriculture and food systems within the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) process, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) convened this side event on 3 November 2021 on the sidelines of the COP 26 negotiations. Discussions focused on current activities and potential future options for the Koronivia Joint Work on Agriculture (KJWA) which was established at COP 23 in 2017. The event was hosted by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), FAO, Biovision, the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), the Alliance of Bioversity International and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT).

The event highlighted that:

• feeding humanity requires a systemic transformation to build resilience to climate change and protect soils, water, ecosystems, and farmers, which is very different from the “green revolution”; 
• farmers and young people must be included and empowered; and
• on-the-ground implementation of Koronivia’s decisions must be fostered.

Panellists called for explicit mention of agro-ecology for determining projects for implementation.

Genna Tesdall, Youth Constituency of the UNFCCC (YOUNGO) urged explicit mention of agro-ecology in the COP 26 Koronivia workshop outcomes, emphasizing food security, food sovereignty, and a just transition at the national and international levels. Fergus Sinclair, Center for International Forestry Research and World Agroforestry (CIFOR-ICRAF) spoke on the agro-ecology coalition’s contributions to Koronivia.

Fabio Leippert, Biovision Foundation, spoke on the climate potential of agroecology. After an introductory video, he explained that agro-ecology can build climate-resilient livelihoods and food systems and strengthen mitigation through: diversifying the landscape; improving the fertility of soils; and putting people at the center. He concluded that to harness agriculture’s full transformative potential regarding climate change: complexity must be embraced; co-creation of knowledge, participatory innovation, and capacity building are essential; and agroecology is gaining momentum in numerous fora and countries.