… Speaks on making Trade Policy work for the people and the planet
BY KWANELE TSABEDZE
MBABANE – “We cannot appreciate the relevance of climate mitigation and adaptation without realizing and making best use of local resources through local pathways. “
These were the words of the Woman Farmer Foundation’s (WWF) founding Director, Sonia Paiva, when speaking at the recently concluded COP28 Global Conference of Climate Change in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Paiva was an invited keynote speaker and panelist at the COP28 conference, which began on November 30 and will end on December 12. Speaking on behalf of Southern Africa, and Eswatini in particular, Paiva began her keynote speech with a poetic reminder of the importance of all value chain factors in Agriculture in the consideration of climate change issues.
“Here I bring with me these heat burnt mangoes in their season of reproduction. The effect and impact of climate change can be summarized in the following poetic expression: ‘Nature cries the most through its silent warnings of disaster.’ The mango is the planet, the eater is the people, and the processor is the trade (the economy). The integration of these elements (planet, people, and the economy) is what makes the triple bottom an indispensible tool for sustainable development,” said Paiva in her speech.
“The kingdom of Eswatini is one of the fastest growing countries in sub-Saharan Africa. With a population of about 1.2 million people, Eswatini is clad with vast prospects of opportunities in various sectors ranging from rich human capital development to that of trade and socioeconomic policy. However, the country’s growth trend is hampered by high poverty rate especially in the rural community, of which currently is at about 59% with high gender disparities characterized with 50.4 percent being female, while 49.6 percent of it being male. The country is faced with high level of socioeconomic inequalities widened by both indo and exogenous factors, mainly of which include trade policy imbalances among various socioeconomic strata, among others,” elaborated Paiva on Eswatini.
“Women Farmer Foundation (WFF) in support from both the Government of Eswatini and its strategic development partners has since its inception in the 2010 been involved in addressing climate change challenges using local pathways: Women farmer of the year competition; Women in agriculture empowerment programme; Training of cooperatives; Tunnel production(climate smart); Agri-business development skills; Value addition,” further elucidated the WFF Director.
She concluded with a call-to-action among her global counterparts, citing what the WFF is doing in the country.
“We cannot appreciate the relevance of climate mitigation and adaptation without realizing and making best use of local resources through local pathways. Therefore, at WFF, we have embarked on the initiative of addressing the following strategic interventions: Indigenizing trade policy; Resource mobilisation for smart trade facilitation; Smart solutions to address climate change; and, Enhancing socio-economic inclusivity,” concluded Paiva.
COP28 is the 28th annual Conference of the Parties, and the core of the COP is the negotiations between governments on how they’re going to cooperate and what new commitments they’re willing to make. Delegates comprise of world leaders, civil society representatives, leaders in business and finance and other individuals and entities of influence, including WFF Director Sonia Paiva and the Prime Minister of Eswatini, Russel Mmiso Dlamini.
