Engaging local communities for climate-resilient agriculture value chains in Colombia

Background

Colombia has traditionally experienced high levels of inter-annual variability. However, climate change has been observed and is projected to further intensify extreme events associated with the La Niña and El Niño phenomena, such as droughts and floods.[i] Average temperatures in Colombia have risen by 1°C over the last twenty years while rainfall patterns have become increasingly erratic.[ii] Agriculture is identified as one of the most exposed and vulnerable sectors to climate change in Colombia's 2016 NAP[iii] and 2020 NDC[iv]. The NDC details the need to develop adaptation interventions that inter alia support (i) enhanced climate change adaptation capacities in key agriculture value chains and (ii) the operationalization of national climate change frameworks such as the Integrated Climate Change Management Plan for the agriculture sector (the ‘PIGCCS’), which was adopted in 2021.

Activities

The FAO-UNDP Global Programme ‘Scaling up Climate Ambition on Land Use and Agriculture through NDCs and NAPs (SCALA)’ was launched in Colombia in 2021 (see Part 1 on the global SCALA Programme). To enhance the climate change adaptation planning capacities in the agriculture sector, SCALA Colombia conducts participatory analysis of the impacts of climate change and supports community-led planning to identify adaptation measures for rice, corn, beef, dairy, sugarcane, and cacao value chains. The identified measures are implemented in the páramo, an alpine tundra ecosystem in the Andes, in close collaboration with rural food producers. Lessons are collected on stabilizing food yields while preserving the natural resource base for scaling up in other areas. SCALA Colombia also makes use of participatory research to document and systematize traditional knowledge of Indigenous Peoples and other groups for climate change adaptation in agriculture, while also strengthening community adaptation processes. The programme also strengthens the connection between local communities and national planning; for example, by organizing agro-climatic roundtables where stakeholders discuss how to operationalize the agriculture sector PIGCCS. To incentivize private sector participation in the transformation of Colombia’s food system as per the country’s NDC and NAP adaptation priorities, the programme designs guidelines for the certification of climate-adapted agriculture for rural microentrepreneurs and food producers.

Impact

SCALA Colombia addresses key agriculture priority needs identified in Colombia’s NDC and NAP through its targeted activities designed to strengthen capacities at the local level and operationalize the Climate Change Management Plan for agriculture. The programme collaborates closely with local communities and the private sector and provides the baseline for large-scale and targeted climate finance interventions designed to further enhance climate change resilience in Colombia’s agriculture sector and food system.

Sources

[i] World Bank. (n.d.-b). Climate Change Knowledge Portal: Colombia. Retrieved November 21, 2023, from https://climateknowledgeportal.worldbank.org/country/colombia.

[ii] World Bank. (n.d.-b).

[iii] República de Colombia. (n.d.). Plan nacional de adaptación al cambio climático. Retrieved from https://www4.unfccc.int/sites/NAPC/Documents/Parties/Colombia%20NAP%20Spanish.pdf.

[iv] República de Colombia. (2020). 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.