FROM BONN WITH BUREAUCRACY: WILL THE SHARM EL-SHEIKH WORK DELIVER FOR FARMERS?

At the SB62 climate talks in Bonn, agriculture negotiations under the Sharm el-Sheikh Joint Work on Agriculture have revealed deep divides over finance, implementation, and transparency. On the last day of the talks, NDIVILE MOKOENA (GenderCC South Africa) and FREDRICK OTIENO (Power Shift Africa) explain why, while parties agreed on draft conclusions and a template for the online portal, key demands from developing nations, especially around funding access, remain unresolved as the programme nears its final phase.

Agriculture is a priority sector for adaptation in Africa, which explains the significance of decisions taken under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). In the last two weeks, negotiations at the Bonn Climate Conference, known as SB62, on matters relating to the Sharm el-Sheikh Joint Work on implementation of climate action on agriculture and food security began with multipolar views. These focused on two key aspects: the annual synthesis report and the Sharm el-Sheikh online portal.

Notably, the synthesis report presented at this convening was the first of its kind to be prepared under the four-year Sharm el-Sheikh Joint Work on implementation of climate action on agriculture and food security. It captures the progress of work done so far since 2013 under this programme and identifies gaps that need bridging.

Developing countries, especially the Group of 77 and China, raised issues with the synthesis report. According to them, the report failed to reflect the availability of funds to support agriculture and food systems transformation at scale. Despite developed countries often stating that diverse sources of funds exist to support agricultural investments for food systems and climate resilience, this diversity of funding options was notably absent in the synthesis report.

After nearly two weeks of protracted negotiations, parties eventually agreed on draft conclusions proposed by the chairs to be presented at COP30 as a basis for further negotiations. Regarding the operationalisation of the online portal, the negotiations culminated in the parties welcoming the template to be used for submissions to the portal. Importantly, the template allows submissions to be categorised by any of the three criteria: project, initiative, or policy.

The parties also agreed that future workshops should actively involve observers, international organisations, financial institutions, and constituted bodies.

So, what’s next?

The Sharm el-Sheikh Joint Work (SJWA) online portal is still not functional. Parties and non-parties all look forward to submissions on work done by relevant parties, bodies, and organisations, including information on opportunities and access to finance and resources, especially for small-scale farmers, women, and underrepresented communities.

Future workshops should reflect real-life situations on the ground and promote agroecology, together with food sovereignty principles and land rights and tenure, as the most suitable methods to enhance adaptive capacity and build resilience of food systems.

The synthesis report must reflect elements that deliberately overcome structural and administrative barriers to access finance and resources by small-scale farmers, women, local communities, youth, and Indigenous people. It should also incorporate disaggregated data, lived experiences, and recommendations from grassroots communities, women, and Indigenous people.

The work programme nears its end, and there is an important need to ensure that it delivers actual tangible outcomes. Beyond SB62, parties, just like observer entities, demand that these negotiations progress from procedural and structural elements to the implementation phase.

It is a general expectation that the Sharm el-Sheikh Joint Work does not suffer the same fate witnessed in other workstreams where parties reach a dead end in translating initiatives to meaningful action.

The eventual outcome of the portal should be the actualisation of enhanced adaptive capacity, strengthened resilience, and reduced vulnerability to climate change for farming families and communities at the front line of climate change. This is the hallmark of agriculture, being a true sector for adaptation to climate change.