The Scottish Parliament’s Cross-Party Group on International Development heard from three different organisations working to promote food security in the face of climate change at its meeting on Tuesday 4th February 2025.
Members of the Scottish Parliament were joined by an audience of interested stakeholders for the presentations and discussion, chaired by Sarah Boyack MSP.
NatureScot is Scotland’s nature agency, which “seeks to inspire, enthuse and influence others to manage our natural resources sustainably.” Dr Clive Mitchell, Head of Terrestrial Science, looked at the challenges presented for food security by an increasingly chaotic climate in Scotland and around the world. Clive’s presentation highlighted the need for transformation of use of the land and sea to build resilience to climate risks and markedly reduce emissions from the land.
Alex Gerard is Executive Director at Tiyeni (which means ‘Let’s Go!’ in Chichewa), a Malawian NGO with a UK funding arm and a member of the Scotland-Malawi Partnership. Alex explained the history of Tiyeni and its mission to stop soil erosion and increase crop yield through better land management. Deep Bed Farming (DBF) is a climate smart agricultural method that breaks the cycle of compacted soil. The system builds climate resilient farmland and communities and has been formally adopted by Malawi’s Ministry of Agriculture.
Rose Waswa, Projects Coordinator at Caritas Kabwe outlined the work of the Kumena Project, aimed at empowering resource-poor rural communities in Central Province, Zambia by strengthening income security, fostering well-being of women and promoting renewable energy use. The project was primarily designed and implemented to sustainably increase household income and food security among 1500 vulnerable small scale farmers. Kumena supported farmers to move to agro-ecological farming practices, giving them the power and knowledge to use contextually-appropriate methods. Rose also features in SIDA member SCIAF’s new film ‘Dignity’, available to watch online.
The presentations were followed by a lively discussion about the issues raised, and attention was drawn to the Agroecology Coalition, which works to transform food systems around the world.
The Cross-Party Group on International Development works to ensure liaison between MSPs and organisations working in Scotland on issues related to global sustainable development and humanitarian action. More information about the Group can be found at International Development | Scottish Parliament Website, and a form to sign up to the Group’s mailing list can be found at Cross Party Group on International Development. The next meeting is expected to be held on Tuesday 29th April 2025.