78 NGOs call for climate finance for transition to regenerative farming at COP29

Baku (The Uttam Hindu): Seventy-eight NGOs, including Save Soil, 4per1000, and SEKEM, on Tuesday endorsed a policy recommendation document, to be presented to the UNFCCC at the ongoing UN climate conference (COP29), which is focussed heavily on securing a new climate finance target for countries most vulnerable to climate impacts, calling on the Convention to facilitate access to climate finance for farmers to restore soils.

The key policy recommendations include: Making climate finance accessible to farmers for adopting regenerative agroecological practices, increasing climate finance allocation to farmers for creating carbon sinks in farmlands, developing supportive policies and infrastructure for adopting sustainable land practices, mobilising private investment into soil regeneration, and integrating soil restoration into climate finance strategies.

The pivotal policy recommendations aim to empower farmers and foster soil restoration. What is regenerative agroecology? Regenerative agroecology refers to various types of agriculture practices like regenerative agriculture, agroecology, and sustainable soil management systems that increase organic matter and life in agricultural soils. It supports biodiversity, carbon sequestration, ecosystem restoration, and healthier food systems, and contributes to global climate resilience. Healthy soil underpins climate resilience, food security, and economic growth. However, soil degradation has compromised agroecosystem benefits, with 40 per cent of global land already degraded and 90 per cent of earth's topsoil at risk by 2050.

Implementing regenerative agroecological practices worldwide could contribute 27 per cent of the carbon sequestration needed to cap global warming below a two degree Celsius rise. Yet, a lack of financial support limits farmers' ability to transition from conventional, soil-degrading practices. Smallholder farmers, who represent a third of the world’s food producers, receive less than one per cent of global climate finance, despite their critical role in food security and the environment. To address this, the policy recommendations released by leading NGOs advocate making climate finance accessible to farmers, enabling them to shift to regenerative agroecology, improve soil health, sequester carbon, and secure food systems while building climate resilience and supporting biodiversity.

Degraded soils are now significant carbon emitters, exacerbating global warming. As the FAO projects, 90 per cent of earth’s topsoil is at risk of degradation by 2050 due to unsustainable farming practices. Today, billions of people are impacted by land degradation, driven largely by monocropping, excessive chemical use, and soil disruption practices. If supported to transition, agricultural soils could become active carbon sinks, offering one of the most effective climate mitigation strategies available.

However, smallholder farmers, who produce up to 70 per cent of food in some regions, lack sufficient access to climate finance to undertake these regenerative practices. Redirecting financial flows toward developing healthy living soils through regenerative agroecological practices is imperative. This shift is crucial for strengthening food security, enhancing carbon sequestration, and offering ecosystem benefits like flood and drought prevention. Commenting on the Recommendations, Praveena Sridhar, CTO of Save Soil, said: “Providing climate finance for regenerative agroecology empowers farmers to become climate solution stewards. By supporting the adoption of these practices, along with sequestering carbon, we can reverse soil degradation, foster biodiversity, and build resilient food systems."

“These policy recommendations are critical to transforming agriculture into a nature-positive force in the global fight against climate change. It is our strong hope that these recommendations are implemented as soon as possible, for the sake of our soil and collective future,” she added. “These recommendations are a marriage between economy and ecology. Whilst tree and animal-integrated regenerative agriculture practices increase soil quality, they also enhance crop productivity and increase farmers’ net income. Once they complete the transition, their requirement to purchase farm inputs from the market reduces, resulting in less cultivation costs and higher net income,” said Anand Ethirajalu, Project Director of Save Soil’s on-ground initiatives.