After Rene Castro-Salazar attended the first U.N.-led climate talks in Berlin in 1985 as Costa Rica¡¯s environment and energy minister, he tried to talk about agriculture and climate change ¡ª but few wanted to join the conversation.

¡°There was always opposition ¡ª and we couldn¡¯t understand why,¡± said Castro, now assistant director-general at the United Nations¡¯ Food and Agriculture Organization.

To him, the need to tackle the topic was clear.