For Immediate Release
June 13, 2019
North America Climate Smart Agriculture (NACSAA) representatives will be at UN talks in Bonn, Germany, next week to push the message that agriculture is a major solution platform for achieving global climate stability and sustainable development goals (SDGs).
Attending the talks will be NACSAA Chairman Fred Yoder, a corn, soybean and wheat producer from Plain City, OH, who is a past president of the National Corn Growers Association and past director of the Ohio Corn and Wheat Growers Association; A.G. Kawamura, a produce/specialty crop grower and shipper from Newport Beach, CA; and Ernie Shea, president of Solutions from the Land, NACSAA’s sponsoring organization.
Kawamura, a former secretary of the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA), will be delivering the keynote speech for the opening session Saturday morning of the Global Alliance for Climate Smart Agriculture (GACSA), which is meeting over the weekend prior to next week’s UN Climate Change Conference, also in Bonn. Fred Yoder
Also attending the global climate conference next week will be Karen Ross, the current CDFA Secretary and a NACSAA ally who will be addressing the delegates to the Koronivia Joint Work on Agriculture.
The ag-related Koronivia Joint Work Agreement (KJWA) sessions in Bonn next week will focus on adaptive management strategies and soil health – two areas where farmers, ranchers, forestland owners and their many partners in developed countries have extensive experience to share with developing countries. NACSAA representatives will be advancing their submission with country negotiators, UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) subsidiary body experts and official observer parties.
A.G. Kawamura
The submission includes guiding principles that should shape the KJWA; methods and approaches for assessing adaptation, adaptation co-benefits and resilience; and pathways for improved soil carbon, soil health and soil fertility. Delegates to the UN conference will be looking at ways in which off-grid and decentralized energy solutions can be deployed for smart energy and water use in the agri-food chain.
Subsequent submissions will be developed and advanced on water management, nutrient use and manure management towards sustainable and resilient agricultural systems, livestock management and bioenergy including biofuels.
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For additional information, contact Ernie Shea at 410-952-0123, or at Eshea@SfLDialogue.net.