A conference on hunger, nutrition and climate justice being held in Dublin has heard about the value of local knowledge in finding solutions to climate-linked food insecurity and the importance of involving local people in decision making.

Reuters Alert Net reports on how the conference included the voice of food producers in developing countries from East and Southern Africa as well as small island states alongside representatives of the United Nations and northern governments.

The main aim of the conference has been to get representatives of small farmers, fisherfolk and herders together with the heads of international agencies, government officials and other top-level policy makers to share experiences and ideas on tackling hunger, nutrition and climate problems.

Speaking at the conference, former U.S. Vice President Al Gore said solutions are available for agriculture to adapt to climate change and effective methods need to be implemented, including agroforestry, crop rotation and diversification, and underground irrigation

Irish President, Mary Robinson, urged for local people to be involved in negotiations to put together a new development agenda to replace the Millennium Development Goals, which expire in 2015.

Frank Rijsberman, chief executive of the CGIAR, says attitudes among scientists have shifted to recognise that local knowledge and concerns must play a part in helping farmers adapt to climate change. "The challenge is to try and combine understanding of traditional, local knowledge (and) the diversity of robust systems with the higher productivity that we clearly also need," he said.

Read the full story: Small farmers take the stage to sway climate justice debate