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Food and agricultural value chains generate around one-third of global greenhouse gas emissions, consume around one-third of global energy and require huge amounts of water.

By adopting sustainable climate-friendly technologies and practices – from solar-powered water pumps to conservation agriculture – farmers and agribusinesses can contribute to both mitigation of and adaptation to climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions and using better natural resources.

FAO and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) have developed a methodology to help countries identify investment opportunities and policy options to increase their uptake and to assess the market penetration of climate technologies. The two institutions tested the methodology in Morocco and presented their findings in the newly published report: Morocco: adoption of climate technologies in the agrifood sector.

The report was launched at a side event organized by the EBRD during the COP22 climate talks in Morocco.

“The agrifood sector’s biggest challenge in the coming decades is to sustainably feed a growing world population in a difficult context of climate change, while preserving the natural resource base for future generations. Greater innovation and adoption of efficient and cost effective green technologies is essential to achieving that,” said Olivier Dubois, Senior Natural Resources Officer and Leader of FAO’s Energy Programme.

“Morocco is the first country where this methodology has been used because, in many ways, Morocco has been leading by example by responding efficiently to the challenges of climate change, and in particular its links to agriculture, with its commitment to sustainable development and vision of inclusive green growth,” he added.  

Step-by-step approach

The Finance and Technology Transfer Centre for Climate Change (FINTECC) initiative, funded by the EBRD and the Global Environmental Facility (GEF), assists businesses in implementing green technologies, largely through grants and technical support. It also helps policy-makers and businesses overcome obstacles to the development of functioning markets for climate technologies and practices.

In the context of FINTECC, FAO and the EBRD developed a four-step methodology that helps decision-makers monitor the adoption of technologies across countries.

Step 1 identifies the agrifood activities that are responsible for most greenhouse gas emissions.

Step 2 prioritirizes climate technologies and practices based on costs, markets and technical information.

Step 3 evaluates sustainability issues.

Step 4 addresses the main barriers holding back the adoption of climate technologies – from policy and regulatory constraints to knowledge gaps.

“Reducing the agrifood sector’s environmental footprint largely depends on sustainable technology transfers,” said Gianpiero Nacci, Associate Director of the EBRD’s Energy Efficiency and Climate Change team. “With this tool, governments and investors will be able to monitor technology uptake, assess investment opportunities and track how the adoption of specific technologies are responding to policy reforms.”

Findings from Morocco

Testing the methodology in Morocco, the study found that out of the 12 climate technologies and practices under scrutiny, greater uptake of conservation agriculture, efficient field machinery, renewable energy systems and efficient cold storage had the most immediate market potential for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and promoting resource efficiency.

But even though such technologies are promising, certain factors can hinder their uptake, such as the lack of knowledge and awareness, inadequate regulatory frameworks to scale up technology transfers and limited technical capacity and financial support. These technologies also imply serious risks, such as the impact of solar energy pumps on excessive ground water use.

In Morocco’s case, access to capital as well as its cost, financial returns and regulatory issues were the biggest constraints that need to be overcome.

Ongoing and dynamic process

The Moroccan experience is a step ahead in an ongoing and dynamic process to green the agrifood sector.

“We hope these findings will stimulate strategic thinking and policy dialogue, but also motivate countries to improve their data collection on emissions and market penetration,” said FAO Economist Nuno Santos, noting plans to expand the study to other countries.  

“The list of technologies that the agrifood sector can use to lower emissions is expanding and we are constantly seeing new developments. The idea is for countries to apply this methodology at regular intervals in time to track technologies already in use, and to expand it to new technologies as they become available,” he said.

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