Colombia's NDC

Food System Overview

Colombia faces several challenges within – and opportunities to transform – its food systems. In 2018, agriculture accounted for over 6% of Colombia's GDP and employed nearly 16.5% of the country's workforce.[i] Additionally, the agriculture sector was responsible for 19% of Colombia's total exports, including products like coffee, flowers, and plantains.[ii] In Colombia, agriculture is mostly performed by smallholder farmers,[iii] even though as much as 81% of the land in the country is owned by a small minority.[iv] Colombia also faces a complex issue of ‘dual’ malnutrition, with both food insecurity and obesity prevalent in the country.[v] Considering these complexities, transforming Colombia's food system to ensure food security, healthy diets, environmental sustainability is of the utmost importance.

NDC Development

The process revising and updating Colombia’s NDC involved an extensive process of participatory consultation and dialogue with a range of stakeholder groups, which the country clearly describes in its NDC.[vi] The country coordinates its NDC update process using an institutionalised, ministry-led mechanism that enables continuity and regular follow-up on the country’s climate plans and targets. The sectoral mitigation potential of Colombia’s climate change measures – which includes assessing some food systems elements, like emissions from agricultural production and refrigeration – was calculated using assessment models developed through the Low Emissions Analysis Platform, an integrated, scenario-based modelling tool. Additionally, the development of Colombia’s NDC included efforts to capitalise on existing synergies between the climate strategy and other policy development processes. For instance, all measures in the country’s NDC are linked to corresponding Sustainable Development Goals to identify the co-benefits that span further than emission reductions on their own.

Food System Measures

The content of Colombia’s NDC includes several measures related to food systems.[vii] First, Colombia developed an accounting system for GHG emissions reduction and removals, which accounts for emissions from agriculture and land use. Additionally, the country’s NDC highlights measures such as agroecology and regenerative approaches to agriculture – specifically those that mitigate emissions from the production of commodities such as cocoa, coffee, and unrefined sugar. Further, given the important role that smallholders play in the country’s agricultural sector, Colombia’s NDC acknowledges the significance of engaging with smallholders and local communities (though the plan does not include any concrete measures for directly engaging with these groups). While the NDC itself does not include targets nor measures on food waste and loss, in 2019, Colombia introduced an ambitious new law that aims to address both issues,[viii] indicating the country’s action on food system transformation in pathways outside its NDC.

NDC Implementation

Colombia's NDC considers several elements necessary for implementation and monitoring. The implementation process is described as involving the consolidation of information systems and databases; record-keeping of research, technological development, and innovation needed for implementation; and capacity-building, education, and awareness-raising to facilitate climate action. For instance, Colombia’s National Information System of Climate is responsible for the monitoring, reporting, and verification of the country’s mitigation measures, plus the monitoring and evaluation of adaptation measures.

Sources

[i] Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, “9. Colombia” in “Agricultural Policy Monitoring and Evaluation 2020” (2020). Retrieved from: https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/sites/46b251d4-en/index.html?itemId=/content/component/46b251d4-en.

[ii] Food and Land Use Coalition, “Colombia: Food and Land Use” (2020). Retrieved from: https://www.foodandlandusecoalition.org /wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Colombia-Food_and_Land_Use.pdf.

[iii] DANE, “Tercer Censo nacional Agropecuario. Tomo 2. Resultados. Departamento Administrativo Nacional de Estadística, Bogotá” (2016). Retrieved from: https://www.dane.gov.co/files/images/foros/foro-de-entrega-de-resultados-y-cierre-3-censo-nacional-agropecuario/CNATomo2- Resultados.pdf.

[iv] DANE ,”Censo Nacional Agopecuario: 2014” (2014). Retrieved from: https://www.dane.gov.co/files/images/foros/foro-de-entrega-de-resultadosy- cierre-3-censo-nacional-agropecuario/CNATomo2-Resultados.pdf.

[v] Food and Land Use Coalition, “Colombia: Food and Land Use” (2019). Retrieved from: https://www.foodandlandusecoalition.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Colombia-Food_and_Land_Use.pdf; Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, “Health at a Glance: Latin America and the Caribbean 2020” (2020). Retrieved from: https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org /sites/13e271bc-en/index.html?itemId=/content/component/13e271bc-en.; Global Alliance for the Future of Food. Untapped opportunities for climate action: an assessment of food systems in Nationally Determined Contributions. n.p.: Global Alliance for the Future of Food, 2022.

[vi] Gobierno de Colombia. (2020, December). “Actualización de la Contribución Determinada a Nivel Nacional de Colombia (NDC).” Retrieved from: https://unfccc.int/sites/default/files/NDC/2022-06/NDC%20actualizada%20de%20Colombia.pdf

[vii] Gobierno de Colombia. (2020, December). “Actualización de la Contribución Determinada a Nivel Nacional de Colombia (NDC).” Retrieved from: https://unfccc.int/sites/default/files/NDC/2022-06/NDC%20actualizada%20de%20Colombia.pdf; Global Alliance for the Future of Food. Untapped opportunities for climate action: an assessment of food systems in Nationally Determined Contributions. n.p.: Global Alliance for the Future of Food, 2022.

[viii] E. M. Broad Lieb, et al., “Colombia Legal Guide – Food Donation Law and Policy” (2021). Retrieved from: https://www.foodbanking.org/wpcontent/ uploads/2021/01/Colombia-Legal-Guide.pdf.