Farmers from across the Americas will share how they manage both livestock and crops together using circular systems during an event hosted by Solutions from the Land at the 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27) in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.
Circular systems allow farmers and ranchers to grow food for their communities, enhance the environment and address climate change. The approach is tailored to individual farms based on their situations and needs and generally:
- Uses forages, crop residues and byproduct wastes, converting them into high-quality commodities.
- Provides food and nutritional security due to production of high-quality protein, essential fatty acids and bioavailable micronutrients.
- Retains and sequesters carbon and enhances other ecosystem services (like water quantity/quality and biodiversity).
- Provides and improves livelihoods for millions of farmers worldwide.
The event, “Circular System Pathways for Scaling Climate Smart Agriculture,” will be accessible via Zoom (access code: IICA*COP27) at 5:30 a.m. Eastern (12:30 p.m. ETT) Wednesday, Nov. 16.
Collaborating organizations include the Canadian Cattle Association, the Canadian Federation of Agriculture and the Global Farmer Network.
The event, which will take place in the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture Pavilion, is one of five organized by Solutions from the Land during the conference, with goals to build support among policymakers and other stakeholders for SfL’s guiding principles for enabling food systems to support and attain the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. These principles emphasize the need to keep farmers at the center of all discussions and decision-making as well as to value science, technology, systems-based approaches, collaboration and innovation.
Farmer Participants
Ray Gaesser, farmer from Corning, Iowa, will moderate the panel discussion. The corn and soybean farmer serves on the North American Climate Smart Agriculture Alliance and as a Solutions from the Land board member.
Dr. Bruno Basso, Michigan State University, provides expertise in circular economies.
Farmer panelists include:
- Brad Doyle, Weiner, Arkansas, farmer, Berger Farms/Eagle Seed, manages the No. 1 rice-growing farm in the U.S. as well as soybeans on 100% irrigated land using a tailwater recovery system.
- Jocelyn Anderson, Willow, California, farmer, GSA Farms,grows almonds, walnuts and row crops. Her farm uses walnut huller technologies.
- Bob Lowe, Alberta, Canada, is a past president of the Canadian Cattle Association.
- Nathan Belusso, Mato Grosso, Brazil, farmer, is a second-generation farmer who raises corn, soybean, and beans.
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