Southern Africa agriculture sector official observers at the 17th Conference of the Parties (COP17) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) on Thursday said they are expecting to be benefited from Green Climate Fund and "it would be disastrous" to the farming industry if the Kyoto protocol was to collapse in Durban.

In an interview with Xinhua on the fourth day of the COP17 summit, Southern African Confederation of Agricultural Unions (SACAU) analyst Manyewu Mutamba called on African Group of negotiators to "reject" a deal that fails to support agriculture.

Mutamba whose union represents several farmer organizations in Southern Africa Development Community (SADC), said the regional farmers' union expects a deal that positions farmers to benefit from the Green Climate Fund.

"It would be disastrous if the Kyoto protocol was to die in Durban," Mutamba said to Xinhua, "this would signal that prospects of ever agreeing on a genuine legally binding agreement on emission cuts are remote".

The analyst said given the central role agriculture play in the livelihoods of millions of people across Africa and the rest of the developing world, farmers expect the Durban conference to "firmly put agriculture on the climate change agenda".

"Farmers organizations have mostly been marginal to these processes, leaving other organizations to speak on behalf of farmers, usually without the necessary mandate or full understanding of farmers concerns. These weaknesses have often being used by those against the inclusion of agriculture in the UNFCCC agreement to discredit calls for a work program on agriculture," said Mutamba.

"We also hope that the sector can be positioned to benefit from the Green Climate Fund, and capacity building and technology mechanisms being set up under the UNFCCC," Mutamba said.