Negotiators at the UN climate talks in Poland have “failed to tackle one of the biggest climate challenges: changing agriculture technologies, practices and policies to make sure the world can feed itself,” write Bruce Campbell, director of the CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS) on CNN’s website.

The devastation caused by Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines comes as a reminder of the need for urgent action. Not only did it destroy urban areas, but farms covering hundreds of thousands of acres that produce key crops were crushed.

Such storms have an enormous impact on food security, but so too does the gradual shift in climate which is unfolding across the developing world. Smallholder farmers are battling increasing droughts and heavy rains, weeds, pests and crop diseases.

Climate-smart agricultural techniques such as agroforestry and low-till agriculture could help to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions generated by agriculture while at the same time increasing production and minimizing environmental impact.

“These approaches are essential if we want to meet our food needs while preserving scarce natural resources and cutting our climate footprint,” writes Campbell.

While the talks in Poland have recognized the danger climate change poses to agriculture and the threat our current approach to agriculture poses to the planet’s climate patterns, UN negotiations continue to sidestep the question of how to fund climate change adaptation for agriculture in the least developed nations.

“Negotiators need to devote their attention to the inextricable link between climate change and agriculture – not the opposite, which is what we are seeing now as climate negotiators focus narrowly on national interests and domestic politics.”

Read the full story: Serious about climate change? Talk about agriculture