Campaigners staged a boat race, rally and march on the Karnaphuli River, alleging that the first week of the UN climate summit (COP31) in Antalya, Türkiye, produced no concrete financing announcement for farmers.
The event took place at Abhoy Mitra Ghat in Firingi Bazar, as part of a nationwide campaign titled “From Aail to Antalya: Farmers’ Rights in a Just Transition”, run during the summit. It was jointly organised by the non-governmental organisations ISDE Bangladesh, the Food Security Network (KHANI), BWGED, CLEAN and PRAN.
Speakers at the rally said November 9, the summit’s opening day, had been designated “Food, Agriculture and Health Day”, yet the discussions yielded no specific funding pledge, timeline or binding decision for farmers. Citing FAO-UNDP estimates, they said agriculture and food systems account for 54 percent of global adaptation needs but receive only 20 percent of adaptation finance, while agriculture’s share of climate-related development finance has fallen from 47 percent in 2000 to 19 percent in 2023.
Participants put forward four demands for COP31’s final outcome, due on November 20:
A clear figure for tripling adaptation finance, with a share proportionate to need earmarked for agriculture and food systems and delivered to smallholders as grants, not loans.Formal priority for a just energy transition in agriculture under the next phase of the Sharm el-Sheikh joint work on agriculture and food security, with explicit recognition of farmers’ and farm workers’ rights.Ownership of decentralised renewable energy, such as solar irrigation, solar-powered cold storage and community mini-grids, by farmers’ groups, cooperatives and women farmers, with direct access to the Green Climate Fund and adaptation funds.Farmer representation in national adaptation plans, nationally determined contributions (NDCs) and COP delegations.
The event was moderated by ISDE programme officer Md Raisul Islam. Representatives of the Consumers Association of Bangladesh (CAB) and other groups expressed solidarity.
