The inaugural meeting of the Global Alliance for Climate Smart Agriculture was held this week in conjunction with the UN Climate Summit in New York City.

“I am glad to see action that will increase agricultural productivity, build resilience for farmers and reduce carbon emissions,” said United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. “These efforts will improve food and nutrition security for billions of people.”

“Farmers are on the front line of the climate change agenda. Farmers are not only directly impacted by climate change, but are also vital in implementing solutions we need to in order to adapt and mitigate,” said Peter Kendall, president of the World Farmers Organisation (WFO). “We must reposition farmers at the centre of the agriculture sector to become more resilient to climate risks.”

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack represented the United States at the meeting.”Farmers, ranchers and other producers in the U.S. and around the world are feeling the impact of climate change now,” said Vilsack.”The Global Alliance for Climate Smart Agriculture offers the opportunity to collaboratively share knowledge, make investments and develop policies that will empower all producers to adapt to climate change and to mitigate its consequences. Long term global food security depends on us acting together now.”

Also participating in the meeting was National Corn Growers Association board member Paul Taylor of Illinois. “With increasing public focus turning to the climate, farmers must take a seat at the table to ensure our interests and concerns on this topic are accurately represented,” said Taylor. “American corn farmers have a dynamic story of constant improvement to share. We have a long history of finding innovative ways to meet ever-evolving challenges and activities such as this help us engage in a productive dialogue about this issue.”

The Global Alliance was formally launched by the Prime Minister of the Netherlands and includes more than 20 nations and 30 organizations and companies.