Six countries — Sierra Leone, Brazil, Norway, Italy, Cambodia, and Viet Nam — are pressing for faster action on biodiversity and food systems at COP17, warning that global targets set for 2030 cannot be met without urgent reforms to agriculture, fisheries, and land use.
Speaking at the biodiversity conference in Yerevan, Armenia, ministers from the six nations called on governments, financial institutions, and businesses to boost investment in sustainable food production methods. Their joint statement emphasized that more than half of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework’s 23 targets depend on transforming food systems.
Viet Nam’s low-emission rice programme was cited as a model, now covering 354,000 hectares and delivering measurable gains. According to the Alliance of Champions for Food Systems Transformation (ACF), the programme has increased yields by 12 percent while reducing input costs by 40 percent. It has also cut irrigation water use by 20 percent and lowered greenhouse gas emissions by roughly three to four tonnes of CO₂ per hectare per crop.
Nguyen Quoc Tri, Viet Nam’s Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Environment, said the country plans to scale the initiative to one million hectares. He noted that fertilizer use has dropped by around 30 percent in areas where the practices are applied, alongside reduced pesticide spraying and rising profits for farmers.
“Viet Nam’s One Million Hectares programme is showing that farmers can grow more rice with less harm to nature,” Nguyen said. “With agriculture and environment now in one ministry, we can scale this from more than 350,000 hectares today to a million. The targets have been agreed. This is how we deliver them.”
Progress Snapshot Shows Mixed Results
Alongside the joint statement, ACF released a new biodiversity progress snapshot tracking developments across member countries. The report highlights agricultural expansion, land restoration, and reductions in food waste as key areas of advancement.
In Brazil, over 50 million hectares are now under low-carbon agricultural technologies, with 3.4 million hectares of native vegetation under restoration by the end of 2025. Norway reported a 24 percent drop in food waste between 2015 and 2024, moving closer to its goal of halving waste by 2030.
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Rwanda’s terracing efforts now protect more than 1.1 million hectares of hillside farmland, helping curb soil erosion and land degradation. However, the six ministers cautioned that isolated successes will not suffice without broader adoption and deeper investment.
“Isolated progress will not be enough,” the statement read. “Successful approaches must become more widely adopted, with investment reaching the farmers and communities responsible for delivering change.”
Challenges remain, particularly in financing. ACF reported that only 0.8 percent of climate finance currently reaches smallholder farmers, with high borrowing costs and complex funding processes limiting access. The ministers called for accessible, predictable, and flexible funding to support long-term shifts in food production.
Sierra Leone’s Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Jiwoh Abdulai, pointed to domestic reforms as evidence of commitment. “With Sierra Leone’s environment and agriculture ministries working as one, we are giving biodiversity a place in our laws, institutions and budgets,” he said. “Our farmers are already restoring the land that feeds us. What we need now is finance that is as committed as they are.”
The push for accelerated implementation coincides with the first collective review of progress toward the global biodiversity framework, adopted in 2022. While agreement on targets has been reached, officials acknowledge that translating ambition into action remains the central challenge.
Financing Gaps Limit Scale-Up
Limited access to capital continues to constrain the expansion of sustainable practices. ACF data shows that only 0.8 percent of climate finance reaches smallholder farmers, despite their central role in global food production.
High borrowing costs and complex funding procedures create additional hurdles, particularly in rural areas where traditional banking services are scarce. The ministers emphasized that financial mechanisms must align with the timelines and realities of farming communities.
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Businesses are beginning to engage with these challenges. Danone recently announced support for regenerative agriculture across more than 2,500 hectares of British farmland, including areas supplying oats for its Alpro product line. Such partnerships aim to share the risks and costs associated with transitioning to sustainable methods.
However, companies require clearer evidence that environmental benefits are sustained over time, rather than simply tracking land area under new practices.
Sierra Leone increased agricultural spending from two to eight percent since 2023. Its Feed Salone initiative integrates biodiversity into national policies and budgets.
Policy Alignment Needed for Systemic Change
Other countries are exploring similar approaches. Italy and Cambodia are reviewing subsidy structures to better reward farmers who adopt agroecological practices, though details on implementation timelines remain under discussion.
Reducing food loss and waste also features prominently in policy discussions. The UN Food and Agriculture Organization estimates that approximately 1.4 billion hectares of agricultural land produce food that goes uneaten annually, highlighting the need for coordinated action across supply chains.
ACF’s latest snapshot will inform ongoing negotiations at COP17, where ministers are expected to finalize recommendations for financing mechanisms and policy integration before the next round of global biodiversity framework reviews.