Ban Ki-moon emphasized the urgency of agricultural adaptation to climate change during consultations with Cem Özdemir, Federal Minister of Food and Agriculture of Germany, and Jennifer Morgan, State Secretary and Special Envoy for International Climate Action, of the Federal Foreign Office of Germany.

The BKMC and close partner Global Citizen hosted a closed roundtable to highlight the urgency of climate finance for smallholder farmers and food security between Anne Beathe Tvinnereim, Minister of International Development of Norway, Aslak Brun Director-General at Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Norway, Dr. Octave, Advisor to the Minister of Agriculture and Animal Resources for Government of Rwanda, Michael Gaffey, Director-General of Development and Cooperation and Africa of Ireland, Dr. Leonard Mizzi Head of Sustainable Agri-food systems EU, Kwagala Elizabeth of Pan African Farmers Organisation and Singer and Global Citizen Ambassador Natasha Bedingfield.

At COP27, the BKMC alongside CGIAR, Fairtrade, and FAO hosted a multistakeholder dialogue addressing the biggest challenges African youth smallholder farmers are facing in adapting to climate change. Global leaders and young African agripreneurs exchanged innovative and just solutions as well as the demand paper they curated over the summer in their local communities.

Ban Ki-moon Centre Co-chair and 8th United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon sent a clear message to world leaders at the Global Citizen Festival that took place in New York and Accra. We are pleased to see that US$2.4 Billion were announced to address global problems from women and girls’ education, climate change mitigation and adaptation, universal health, and more.

Leading up to COP27, Ban Ki-moon Centre Co-chair Ban Ki-moon hosted H.E. Dr. Yasmine Fouad, Minister of Environment and COP27 Ministerial Coordinator and Envoy, Egypt, H.E. Leonore Gewessler, Federal Minister for Climate Action, Environment, Energy, Mobility, Innovation and Technology, Austria,H.E. Mariam bint Mohammed Almheiri, Minister of Climate Change and Environment, United Arab Emirates,Jennifer Morgan, State Secretary, Special Envoy for International Climate Action, Germany at a high-level roundtable to enhance global cooperation and progress on scaling up adaptation to climate change.

“Youth Agri Champions – make young African farmers be heard” is a series of 3 Peer2Peer webinars which took place in Summer 2022. This webinar series brought together grassroots voices from the world of smallholder farming and agricultural entrepreneurship in Kenya, Nigeria, Rwanda, and Zambia, to share their on-the-ground experience with adapting their practices to climate change. Based on this, a demand paper was developped by the Youth Agri Champions and presented to key minister during bilateral meetings as well as public events at COP27 in Sharm El-Sheikh, 2022.

People living in cities have a key role to play in changing the global food system. By taking up gardening, people can better understand their place in our food system and learn how to advance change and challenge the climate crisis.

Supporting farmers to adapt to climate change is key, but we can also take steps to minimize our impact. Join our challenge to become a food champion – learn about some simple techniques then pledge to take one on. Pledge Now!

Nigeria has been struggling with an unemployment crisis for several years. Former Ban Ki-moon Global Citizen Scholar and Leap Africa Grants and Special Projects Coordinator Oyindamola Adegboye joined a conversation with Global Citizen and highlights a leadership gap that threatens to exclude young people from the job market in Nigeria. Investing in agriculture and youth empowerment is crucial to combat climate change and reduce inequalities.

Kenya National Farmers’ Federation Program Officer Loureen Akinyi Awuor and Global Citizen discussed in an interview why agriculture is a “gold mine” of untapped opportunity for youth in Kenya, how agriculture can be improved, and what structural investments need to be made to unlock the country’s potential.

Read the full interview and learn how agriculture can bridge the gap for youth unemployment.

Agriculture needs to be transformed in the decade ahead to minimize its environmental impact, deliver more food for a growing population, and provide stable employment for young people. Call on your world leaders to invest in climate-smart agriculture and youth development. Leave a personal message and tell your leader why smallholder farmers need our help.

COP26 will be the most important meeting following the adoption of the Paris Climate Agreement. I’m counting on world leaders to do their homework for sustainable development and humanity.

Global Citizen’s Mwandwe Chileshe – Senior Manager, Food Security, Nutrition & Agriculture visited small farms in rural Zambia to witness the direct impacts of a changing environment, on female farmers as part of our elevating agricultural adaptation advocacy work.

Farmers put the food on our plates but urgent support is needed to help them continue doing so. The worst impacted by changes in climate are smallholder farmers who supply a third of the world’s food. We need European leaders to take urgent action to protect and secure access to healthy, regular meals for all. Europe has the opportunity to fund critical demand-driven research, including climate adaptive crops, technologies and smart agricultural practices for farmers under attack from a changing climate.

Urge European leaders including Norway, the Netherlands, the UK, Germany and the EU commission to help farmers fight the climate crisis – email now.

Crops and animals thrive in different conditions but very few smallholder farmers are equipped with resilient crops, drought-proof water supplies, financing and tools needed to pull through under challenging weather conditions.

To end poverty, we must drastically cut emissions and adjust to a warming world. The agriculture sector has developed interventions to help reduce these challenges and ensure we live in a world that is food secure. Take our quiz to learn how and why agriculture needs to adapt to the changing climate.

This partnership will seek to increase development aid for climate adaptation in agriculture in low-income countries, particularly Africa. As well as seeking understanding of the challenges facing smallholder farmers, the complex dynamics of climate change, and how demand-driven research, such as those championed by CGIAR, accelerates climate adaptation on the ground.

The Climate Adaptation Summit 2021 led by Co-chair Ban Ki-moon, hosted by the Netherlands and the Global Center on Adaptation convened over 18,000 registrations, 300 speakers, 160 side events, 32 countries, world leaders, and local stakeholders.

It launched a comprehensive Adaptation Action Agenda and heard of new financial pledges to initiatives to make the world more resilient to the effects of climate change.