All developing countries prioritize agrifood systems in their national adaptation plans (NAPs), but critical gaps and barriers remain which hamper the full realization of these plans. This was the message emerging from a COP 30 side event on 20 November on “Advancing Climate Action in Agrifood Systems through National Adaptation Plans”. The event saw the official launch of the new SCALA-supported Agrifood systems in national adaptation plans – An analysis report and was an opportunity to outline the targeted measures necessary to help countries untap the unique potential of agrifood systems for climate action.
In his keynote opening address, Dr. Ulf Jaeckel, Head of the European and International Adaptation to Climate Change Division, German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Climate Action, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMUKN), thanked all partners for the collaborative success of the SCALA programme. He noted the importance of the new SCALA analysis in the context of other recent reports on adaptation and national adaptation plans and stressed the need for stronger alignment going forward between NAPs, nationally determined contributions (NDCs) and national biodiversity strategies and action plans (NBSAPs). Julia Wolf, SCALA Global Coordinator (FAO), echoed this, highlighting the Brazilian COP Presidency’s efforts to drive coordinated action across all three Rio Conventions (climate, biodiversity and combatting desertification).
What’s in the report
Krystal Crumpler, FAO Natural Resources Officer and the report’s lead author, then presented the key highlights of the new publication:
95 percent of developing countries with a NAP report climate-related impacts on agrifood systems.
There are persistent gaps in the application of evidence-based tools to understand climate risks in agrifood systems.
All developing countries with a NAP prioritize adaptation in agrifood systems.
Only 16 percent of adaptation actions in agrifood systems are linked to specific climate-related hazards.
Only 14 percent of actions target the specific needs of vulnerable groups within agrifood populations.
54 percent of total adaptation finance needs estimated in NAPs are required for agrifood systems, yet agrifood systems receive only 20 percent of adaptation finance.
Only one-third of countries report operational monitoring, evaluation and learning systems, while 47 percent identify indicators for tracking adaptation in agrifood systems (mostly on food production, with few focusing on food access and security).
47 percent of countries refer to losses and damages in agrifood systems (higher than in any other sector).
Looking ahead, Ms. Crumpler referred to how the updated NAP Technical Guidelines released in August 2025 can be a powerful tool to overcome many of the barriers outlined in the report “to guide practitioners in the transition from planning to implementation”.
Discussion
The moderator for the next part of the event was Julie Teng, SCALA Global Coordinator (UNDP), who stressed the centrality of adaptation and NAPs to the COP 30 discussions, while reminding attendees that only about half of developing countries have submitted NAPs so far. She then introduced Dr. Ismail Kone, Climate Change Adaptation Focal Point, National Climate Change Programme, Côte d’Ivoire; and Jorge Gutierrez, SCALA Colombia Coordinator, FAO Colombia.
Speaking about the NAP and NDC priorities of Côte d’Ivoire in agrifood systems, Dr. Kone referred to specific adaptation actions geared towards safeguarding key industries such as cocoa and rice production. He also highlighted the importance of three main adaptation elements for Côte d’Ivoire: governance, knowledge, and awareness; strengthening the policy infrastructure for climate resilience, including increasing NAP and NDC alignment; and supporting implementation and good practices such as agroecology and agroforestry. He said the most important missing ingredient for successful adaptation was finance but also spoke of the need for greater coordination and capacity building.
For Colombia, Jorge Gutierrez outlined five adaptation pillars: agroclimatic risk management; sustainable and low carbon practices such as ecosystem-based adaptation and nature-based solutions; reconversion of local bioeconomies; use of local, traditional and indigenous knowledge; and access to climate finance and inclusive markets. He noted that, for Colombia, climate action was not only technical but also social and political, referring to a territorial and inclusive approach for just transition, with a strong focus on local action that responds to the climatic and geographic realities of each region. He also underlined the importance of knowledge dissemination, referencing a forthcoming SCALA animated publication on 15 traditional and indigenous practices that support climate action.
Summing up
Concluding, Sibyl Nelson, FAO Senior Climate Change Specialist, thanked speakers and participants for their contributions and called on all attendees to leverage NAPs and other climate and biodiversity plans to translate commitments made through international processes into concrete national and local actions. On behalf of the SCALA programme, she invited everyone to continue engaging on these issues.
Links to all related material below.
Event recording: COP30 side event Advancing Climate Action in Agrifood Systems through National Adaptation Plans
Press release: COP30: Landmark report finds countries’ climate agrifood ambitions undermined by funding gaps
Videos: