Transforming global agrifood systems for a better environment… today and tomorrow

Tasked with feeding a global population of over 8 billion and supporting the livelihoods of millions across the globe, global agrifood systems don’t just provide food and support livelihoods - they also hold the key to our planet’s future.  

However, the very systems designed to nourish us are also harming the environment. The way we produce food today has significant negative impacts on climate change, biodiversity loss, and land degradation.  

As the International Community comes together for “The Triple COPs” this year to take stock of the progress and devise the next steps to arrest global warming to 1.5 degrees, we must prioritize making our agrifood systems part of the solution to realize the targets of the on-going “Decade of Action” and unlock lasting benefits for the environment and for the future of food. 

To that end, since 2006, FAO has been partnering with the Global Environment Facility (GEF), a financing mechanism for the three Rio Conventions for Climate Change, Biodiversity, and Land Degradation.  As the second largest GEF agency by funding, FAO has leveraged over 1.8 billion in GEF grants and another 13.18 billion in co-financing to catalyze the shift towards sustainable food systems and address the interconnected crises of climate change, biodiversity loss, and land degradation. Through GEF’s funding, FAO is supporting 139 member countries in making the agrifood system value chain more environmentally efficient.  

FAO-GEF partnership for Biodiversity 

The increased demand for food and fiber, together with the rising temperatures, is a key driver of biodiversity loss worldwide. To date, FAO has leveraged over USD 600 million in GEF grants enabling more than 100 countries to conserve and sustainably use biodiversity across a wide range of land and seascapes, resulting in improved management of over 160 million hectares of terrestrial and marine landscapes under improved management for conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. 

Indonesian rivers are rich with several species of Diadormus eel species that migrate back and forth from freshwater and the sea. Most of the eel harvested from Indonesian freshwaters is exported to Japan where it is a popular and premium menu item, sold as unagi. However, eel population in the country’s freshwater systems is rapidly declining due to overfishing and loss of habitat. FAO’s Ifish project in Indonesia worked with local communities to improve the management of the country’s freshwater ecosystems in selected project sites and promoted sustainable eel cultivation practices to ensure a 90% survival rate. Moreover, the project provided training on transforming different parts of eel into delicious food delicacies so that “No eel goes to waste”, adding an additional stream of income for the local communities. 

_{(Left) Eel cultivators in Indonesia's Cilcap region committed to releasing 2.5% of their nurtured eels to their original habitat. (Right) The Common Oceans program was instrumental in promoting sustainable use of Tuna resources in our shared oceans.}

In the high seas, thanks to FAO’s GEF-funded Common Oceans Program’s role in developing sustainable and transparent procedures to set tuna catch limits, eight out of 13 major commercial tuna stocks no longer experience overfishing. Not only that, by making a simple change of placing the fishing nets lowering the fishing net by two meters than usual, the Program reduced bycatch mortality rates by 98% of marine mammals, such as sharks, seabirds, and sea turtles. Additionally, the program reduced ocean pollution with biodegradable fishing gear and developed tools to curb illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing. 

FAO-GEF partnership for Climate Change

Agrifood systems are responsible for approximately 30% of global greenhouse gas emissions, with over nearly half of that coming from livestock in the form of methane, and CO2 released when forests are cut down for pasture. The FAO-GEF partnership has mobilized over USD 498 million in climate financing for climate-vulnerable countries, like Least Developed Countries and Small Island Developing States, to adapt to a changing climate while building more resilient food systems and healthier ecosystems and mitigate over 1 316 million metric tons of co2 eq in GHG emissions from agrifood systems globally.

For instance, FAO’s Climate-Smart Livestock (CSL) project in Uruguay was able to reduce emissions by 7 percent per hectare and by 18 percent per kilogram of meat produced in the project sites, while also increasing income from livestock by 28 percent. Knowledge on successful techniques, such as adjusting herd forage, reducing overgrazing to promote pasture regrowth, and improve soil conditions, was transferred from an initial CSL project in Ecuador to then benefit CSL projects in Uruguay, Dominican Republic, and Costa Rica.

FAO-GEF partnership for Land Degradation 

Every year, over 100 million ha of fertile land is degraded due to unsustainable agriculture practices. FAO, through its partnership with the GEF, is helping countries scale up efforts to reverse land degradation, combat desertification, and build resilience to drought and climate change. With over USD 330 million in GEF funding, FAO projects will restore 3 504 182 ha of degraded lands and bring another 95 160 066 ha of land under improved management

_{New conservation agriculture techniques, as demonstrated in Turkey's  can help farmers improve production while reducing water and energy use. Photo: ©FAO/Erdal Baydaş} 

Turkey’s Konya Closed Basin, popularly known as the breadbasket of the country due to its large volume of wheat production dominated by dryland agriculture, is amongst the driest areas in Turkey. With semi-arid climate conditions combined with very low precipitation, the frequent droughts leave the basin vulnerable to soil erosion and desertification with negative impacts on food security and dependent livelihoods. Since 2014, FAO has supported the Ministry of Agriculture in implementing the GEF-funded Sustainable Land Management and Climate Smart Agriculture project has been building the resilience of the farms and the smallholder farmers to land degradation and climate change-induced droughts through farmer field school trainings on sustainable land management, climate change mitigation, and climate-smart agriculture across 1000 farms. The project also demonstrated drip irrigation and programmed irrigation systems to help farmers save energy and water while improving the yield and efficiency of their farms. As a result, the project rehabilitated 41 834 ha of degraded forest land and 24 574 ha of degraded pastureland while reducing emissions greenhouse gas emissions by 91 370 tCO2eq per year.