For decades, representatives from national governments have gathered in a pre-determined city at the end of the year to negotiate a response to climate change. In 2015, they famously met in Paris and adopted the Paris Agreement, the landmark pact that governs nations’ collective efforts on global warming today.
Last year’s Conference of Parties added something new. For the first time, COP attendees emphasized food security—the imperative to adapt agriculture to climate change. Grow Further’s support for research and development on climate-resilient crops won recognition on the sides of COP 28. International climate change negotiators now plainly have the threats climate change poses to smallholder farming on their radar.
This spirit of new awareness was on full display last week during the opening of the United Nations General Assembly. New York City Climate Week was held in parallel. And Grow Further was there to participate in both events and lend our support, ensuring that a focus on food security isn’t lost again.
A World Food Prize laureate explains the VACS
Our founder and CEO Peter Kelly and Venkat Pegadaraju, our new Vice President for Development, flew to New York to participate in UNGA and NYC Climate Week side events. They were also on hand to network and share Grow Further’s story.
Last Wednesday, Peter and Venkat went to the Church Center of the United Nations to attend a special event hosted by Catholic Relief Services and the Farm Journal Foundation. The talk, “Advancing Global Solutions: Elevating Nutrition to Reduce Hunger and Poverty,” featured Dr. Cary Fowler, the US Department of State’s Special Envoy for Food Security, as the keynote speaker.
Earlier this year, Fowler became one of two 2024 World Food Prize laureates, so honored for his work on establishing the world-famous global seed vault in Svalbard, Norway. At the State Department, Dr. Fowler launched the Vision for Adapted Crops and Soils, or VACS program. Grow Further is proud to be listed as among the inaugural class of VACS Champions.
Through VACS, Dr. Fowler and the State Department are seeking to partner with other governments and nonprofit organizations to promote soil management practices and alternative crops that can help farms meet the threats posed by climate change head-on. Part of this strategy is to promote what many call “neglected crops” or “orphan crops.” The VACS program prefers to call these “opportunity crops” and we couldn’t agree more.
“These are opportunity crops,” Dr. Fowler said, “precisely because we’ve ignored them for so long.” Grow Further is now funding a program that we believe will usher in a bright future for one such opportunity crop, the Bambara groundnut.
Fowler’s talk was wide-ranging but focused on the need for organizations to place as much priority on nutrition as they do on food availability. “That takes you in a different direction,” he said. “It takes you in the direction of thinking about health. It takes you in the direction of thinking about a diversity of crops and farming systems and resilient agricultural systems. It’s a whole different way of thinking about the world.”
Fowler also touted the work of VACS Champions. He invited other organizations to join this movement, both formally and informally. “We do not own this,” he said. “We are not the gatekeepers.”
Climate Week
NYC Climate Week is held every year in the Big Apple on the sides of the UNGA. It’s a series of events, panel discussions, and open debates held at various venues with the main sessions held at a hotel or office tower close to UN Headquarters.
This year’s opening ceremony featured advisors to the White House and UN, a former prime minister of New Zealand, government climate and environment ministers, CEOs of major foundations, and more. Special sessions were held on climate finance, innovative technologies, renewable energy, and a special discussion on human security in an era of global warming.
Grow Further attended both the UNGA side events and Climate Week-themed events. Peter and Venkat mainly engaged in discussions on VACS and how to promote better food security and nutrition. Peter even had an opportunity to dine on some opportunity crops at an upscale Peruvian restaurant in Manhattan’s Upper East Side. That excursion showed how working with Grow Further will take you to many different places, from smallholder farmers’ fields to restaurants where diners can enjoy the fruits of their labor.
— Grow Further
Photo credit: Dr. Cary Fowler, US Special Envoy for Food Security, speaking at a forum hosted by Catholic Relief Services and the Farm Journal Foundation. Catholic Relief Services/YouTube.
