A Vietnamese delegation led by Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Le Quoc Doanh attended the third Conference on Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Security and Climate Change (AFC) in Johannesburg city, South Africa.

The event, from December 3-5, was organised by the Governments of South Africa and the Netherlands in collaboration with other partners, including the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations and the World Bank.

In his opening remarks, South African Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Tina Joemat Pettersson described the conference as a forum for global leaders, scientists, non-governmental organisations, and stakeholders to share successes and discuss climate change-sparked challenges to food security.

Delegates sought ways to raise farm productivity and reduce carbon-dioxide emissions based on the application of state-of-the-art cultivating technologies in order to cope with climate change.

They also proposed programmes of actions and measures for poverty and inequality reduction.

The conference called for the establishment of a global alliance in a bid to build a smart agriculture based on sustainable increase of farm productivity, climate change adaptation and greenhouse gas emission reduction.

In his message delivered to the conference, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon said the connection between climate change, land, food, economies, and livelihoods are complex.

“Agriculture is a major contribute to global greenhouse gas emissions. At the same time, farmers worldwide are increasingly feeling the effects of a warming climate,” he added.

According to the UN Secretary General, the answer to these interconnected problems lies in climate-smart agriculture.

The first AFC was held in Hague, the Netherlands, in October 2010 and the second in Hanoi in September 2012.-VNA