COP29 Baku Harmoniya, Initiative For Corporations, Not Farmers

On 19 November, the Azerbaijan presidency of the 29th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP29) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) launched the Baku Harmoniya Climate Initiative for Farmers in partnership with the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

“The COP29 presidency and FAO package the Harmoniya Initiative to help farmers maneuver through numerous agri-food related climate schemes. In reality, it is meant to assist corporate interests navigate these schemes and find the most profitable investment areas,” PANAP deputy executive director Arnold Padilla said. At present, there are over 90 global or regional initiatives, networks, and partnerships on climate and agri-food systems, according to FAO. “Aggregating and simplifying these will guide corporate investors where to bring their money, not to make the most meaningful climate impacts but to make more money,” added Padilla.

As Azerbaijan’s minister of ecology and natural resources said during the launch, the Harmoniya Initiative seeks to make investments in agriculture more attractive by working with multilateral development banks such as the World Bank and private banks. FAO director for climate change, biodiversity, and environment Kaveh Zahedi described the Harmoniya Initiative and World Bank, which joined the launch in Baku, as a match made in heaven.

“Given the World Bank’s terrible track record and role in promoting corporate control of agri-food systems and displacing farmers, we fear that this initiative will only put rural communities and the planet through more hell of poverty and destruction,” retorted Padilla.

The Harmoniya Initiative’s three stated objectives are: (1) clarifying the landscape of initiatives and offering a platform for knowledge and experience exchange and fostering more efficient collaboration; (2) making investments in agri-food systems transformation from both private and public sectors more attractive, building on strong collaborations with multilateral development banks (MDBs) and agricultural public development banks (PDBs), and developing synergies between the twogroups; and (3) empowering farmers, in particular women and youth, and supporting the development of climate-resilient villages and rural communities for adaptation action in the food, agriculture and water sectors.

The Farmer-Scientist Partnership for Development (MASIPAG), a Philippine-based national network of farmers and scientists, echoed PANAP’s statements. “With the presence of World Bank and other multilateral financial institutions and corporations, we are certain that ‘no real solution’ will be facilitated by this platform which adds to countless initiatives launched in climate COPs that distract from, ” MASIPAG regional coordinator Rowena Buena said.

Meanwhile, Chathu Sewwandi of Sri Lanka’s Vikalpani Women’s Federation said that private investments and financing from the World Bank and other multilateral development banks always come with a cost, especially for rural women.

“In Sri Lanka, IMF-World Bank worsened conditions for rural communities through the conditionalities attached to its loans,” Sewwandi said. She emphasized that rural women worldwide have long demonstrated real solutions , adding, “We need to hear concrete plans on how to support rural women and youth without being beholden to the World Bank and other financial institutions.”

PANAP’s Padilla reiterated that farmers’ and rural peoples’ fight for climate justice is anchored on radical food systems transformation with people-led agroecology and food sovereignty at the core. “Sadly, schemes like the Harmoniya Initiative, and the entire COP platform for that matter, are too biased toward big finance and agribusiness interests and agenda to transform agri-food systems in a meaningful way and address the climate crisis,” he stressed.

Climate investigative group DeSmog earlier reported that hundreds of lobbyists from corporate agriculture have shown up at the COP29, which PANAP and other campaigners criticized as using their power and influence to promote their agenda at the expense of real climate solutions.

PANAP, MASIPAG, Vikalpani, and other PANAP partners from Bangladesh and Indonesia attendedd the COP29 as part of the Asian People’s Exchange for Food Sovereignty and Agroecology (APEX). The groups launched their ongoing work, “Agroecology for climate justice: stories from the Global South” last Monday, November 18, as one of COP29’s official side events. (Read the stories here)

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