the activities of the fifth day of the summer training program for the Agricultural Research Station in Sirs Al-Layyan for the year 2024.

Work continues to build the capacities of students from various Egyptian universities in climate action and sustainable development through open dialogue on climate change, food security, and climate-smart agriculture through an open dialogue at last Thursday 8 August 2024.

In which Prof. Fawzy El-essawy Younis lectured.

Professor at the Desert Research Center

And Director of Open Dialogues on Climate Change in Egypt Post-COP27.

Within the activities of the fifth day of the summer training program for the Agricultural Research Station in Sirs Al-Layyan for the year 2024.

Under the auspices of:

Professor Dr. Muammar Jaber Gad, Director of the Station..

In the presence of students from 9 Egyptian universities (Faculties of Agriculture) and students of the Higher Institute for Agricultural Cooperation.

During the dialogue, the following topics were discussed:

* Climate change and global food security.

* Environmental footprint – carbon footprint – water footprint.

* Climate-smart agriculture.

* Blue Economy.

The discussion and dialogue were held to clarify:

What is the relationship between food and climate change?

The food we eat and how it is produced affects not only our health but also the environment.

Food goes through several steps: growing, processing, transporting, distributing, preparing, consuming, and sometimes disposing of it.

Each of these steps generates greenhouse gases that trap the sun’s heat and contribute to climate change. More than a third of human-caused greenhouse gas emissions are linked to food.

The bulk of food-related greenhouse gases come from agriculture and land use.

These include, for example:

Methane from the digestion of livestock

Nitrous oxide from fertilizers used in crop production

Carbon dioxide from clearing forests to expand farmland

Other agricultural emissions from manure management, rice cultivation, burning crop residues, and using fuel on farms.

What can you do to reduce your carbon footprint?

* Eat healthier Start by eating a balanced, plant-based diet – one that provides energy and nutrients from a variety of food groups – and cut back on the foods that are most difficult for the planet.

Meat and dairy products can be important sources of protein and micronutrients, especially in low-income countries where diets lack diversity.

But in most high-income countries, switching to more plant-based foods promotes better health and significantly reduces your environmental impact compared to the average meat-based diet. What you eat matters more than how far it traveled or how much packaging it was in.

Transport and packaging typically account for only a small part of the greenhouse gas emissions from food.

* Reduce food waste

Think about how you buy, prepare, and dispose of your food. When you throw away food, you also waste the energy, land, water, and fertilizer that goes into producing, packaging, and transporting it.

Buy only what you need and consume what you buy. And don’t hesitate to buy imperfect fruits and vegetables. Otherwise, they may be thrown away.

Stop wasting, save money, reduce emissions, and help preserve resources for future generations.

If food must be thrown away, composting leftovers can reduce the amount of methane and carbon dioxide released from organic waste.

* Try sustainable recipes

Check out these recipes from top chefs who are creating delicious dishes that are good for you and the planet.

* Shop with a reusable bag The production, use, and disposal of plastic contributes to climate change.

Instead of plastic bags, use your own reusable bag and reduce the amount of plastic waste in our world.

Climate-smart agriculture and agrobiodiversity to enhance resilience

Climate-smart agriculture aims to sustainably increase agricultural productivity and income, achieve adaptation, and build resilience to climate change and reduce and/or remove greenhouse gas emissions from the agricultural sector where possible

This is done by:

* Working to increase their capacity to adapt to climate change while increasing agricultural production in quantity and quality through the adoption of innovative and improved climate-smart agriculture technologies and practices – integrated with the adoption of nutrition-sensitive technologies, crop diversification, food handling and income generation.

* Enhance biodiversity of smallholder farming systems as a climate change adaptation strategy with a focus on soil health and recycling of agricultural waste – through the adoption of climate-smart agriculture, forestry, conservation agriculture, integrated pest management, integrated pest management and other nature-based practices.

* Create an enabling environment for integrating climate change adaptation, nature-based and farm-level climate-smart agriculture and biodiversity-enhancing technologies and practices into local agri-food systems that are created at the community level, benefiting all members of society.

* The importance of the blue economy:

The seas and oceans are not only a source of jobs and wealth.The blue economy contributes to climate change mitigation through the development of renewable energies on the high seas, the decarbonization of maritime transport, and ecologicalization of ports.