programme as well as the 22 financial institutions that are represented by the pioneer caf participants. bis central bankers ’ speeches while acknowledging that the challenges facing agriculture are huge given the growing population, declining land sizes, climate change that has imposed severe costs on the sector, all of which compound the problem of financing agriculture, the challenges are not insurmountable, if we work together. ladies and gentlemen, it is now my pleasure and privilege to welcome the hon. minister for agriculture, dr. sally kosgei to give the key note address and officially launch the east african agricultural finance network ( eaafn ) and inaugurate the regional certificate program in agricultural finance. thank you. bis central bankers ’ speeches

), but also to their customers, and to the generational challenge of transitioning to a climate neutral economy. the financial sector, firms, and regulators will not be forgiven if we fail to live up to expectations. positively for the financial sector, however, another early finding from the review was that there is broad acknowledgement that the financial system has a vital role to play in supporting the transition to a climate neutral economy. a clear opportunity for you all – but also a responsibility that must be lived up to. greening the bank i spoke earlier of this being a whole of society problem, and indeed it is. as such it is not for us to focus on esg integration in the banking sector, without looking at the actions of central banks too. this cannot be a case of “ do as i say, not do as i do ”. at the central bank of ireland, we have reflected this in our most recent strategic plan which commits us to acting as a socially responsible and sustainable organisation. over the course of our plan, we are aiming to increase public trust in the bank including by progressing our organisational sustainability objectives and continuing to build on our work with our local communities and voluntary activities. 16 taking action to ensure the financial system is resilient to climate - related and environmental risks, and to embed climate change considerations across our own operations, is a key strategic priority. in implementing this priority, we have looked at climate though a number of different lens : we recently published our climate action plan, which sets out how the central bank from an operational perspective is working to meet its commitments to meaningful change. 17 in terms of engaging more strategically on climate issues, in 2022 we established a climate risk and sustainable finance forum to bring together cross - industry representatives, climate experts and the central bank. the forum is designed to promote knowledge sharing and build understanding of the implications of climate change for the irish financial system. in addition, two industry - led working groups were established within the forum to progress the topics of risk management and capacity - building with respect to climate change – and i am particularly encouraged by the enthusiasm and commitment to progress shown in the working groups. and finally earlier this year we published climate - related financial disclosures of our investment assets18, something we aim to continue to publish on an annual basis. these disclosures are in accordance with tcfd framework, and whilst the eurosystem of central banks had proposed to only require disclosure of information in the category of ‘