Experts gather to build momentum towards transformation of food systems in mountains of Asia

Kathmandu, 04 October 2024 – Academics, researchers, and policymakers from Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, and Pakistan set out the urgent need to transform food systems in the Hindu Kush Himalaya to meet the triple threat of climate change, nature loss, and acute food insecurity.

Food and farming are responsible for one quarter of global greenhouse emissions, second only to energy use. But with alternative models of farming capable of actually locking away carbon in the soil, global experts increasingly emphasise the sector as a solution to the climate crisis.

“It is urgent, in the teeth of the climate crisis, that we reshape agriculture in the Hindu Kush Himalaya,” said Abid Hussain, who leads the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD)’s Economies work.

“This is a region that is warming at double the global a verage, and where changes in water supply from loss of mountain snow and ice, and much more extreme rainfall, are putting extraordinary pressure on food and farming.

“It’s increasingly clear that industrial farming methods – including the use of chemical fertilisers and deforestation – have been a calamity for the biosphere, for human health, and for the climate, and have failed to deliver prosperity for farmers.

“Switching to alternative methods of agriculture has the power to improve livelihoods, human health, the health of our rivers, the quality of the air we breathe and, with soil being such a potent tool for carbon sequestration, offers a huge opportunity for us to hold onto a habitable planet.”

Given the population sizes here, and acute food insecurity needs, it’s crucial this be a priority zone for investment in this transition to agroecological methods, argue experts at ICIMOD.

The international conference, which also featured remarks from Honourable Minister, Ramnath Adhikari, Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development, Shahiya Ali Manik, Director, SAARC Secretariat; Benjamin Seidel, Deputy Head of Mission, Head of Cooperation and Economic Affairs, Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany, Kathmandu marked the conclusion of a two-year action-research project, Green Resilient Agricultural Productive Ecosystems (GRAPE) which prototyped climate-resilient agricultural practices in seven districts of two provinces of Nepal: Karnali and Sudurpashchim.

“Our work in these provinces, working closely with smallholders, shows how low-cost, scalable agricultural solutions can really quite quickly result in better soil health on farms, which translates to better quality yield, while reducing farmers’ reliance on costly externalities,” said Kamal Prasad Aryal, who led the action research component of the GRAPE project. “We’re already seeing these organic and natural methods of production contributing to an uptick in farmers’ incomes and food security. With two thirds of populations in Nepal engaged in agricultural work, we really hope more policymakers, farmers, donors, businesses, and publics from across this region embrace the huge opportunity that these climate-resilient agricultural practices underpin.”

The gathering, ‘Climate resilient agriculture for sustainable food systems in the Hindu Kush Himalaya’ was held October 1 – 3, with delegates learning about methods that might be scaled up, including climate-resilient agricultural practices, community learning centres, digital solutions and renewable energy technologies in agriculture.

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