RECENTLY the United Nations (UN) proclaimed the year 2014 as the International Year of Family Farming (IYFF) to raise awareness on the importance of eradicating hunger and preserving natural resources.
NaijaAgroNet gathers that in both developed and developing countries, over 500 million family farms, thus defined as farms that rely primarily on family members for labour and management, produce the food that feeds billions of people.
Also, NaijaAgroNet findings revealed that several developing countries, family farms represent up to 80 per cent of all farm holdings, this much was confirmed by the UN at the launch of the International Year in New York, attended by UN officials, ambassadors to the UN, government ministers and civil society leaders who were selected to serve as special ambassadors for the year.
Huge potential of family farming:
Commenting on this, the Director-General, Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), an agency of UN, Mr. Jose Graziano da Silva pointed out to NaijaAgroNet the huge productive potential of family farmers, stressing “By choosing to celebrate this year, we recognize that family farmers are leading figures in responding to the double urgency the world faces today: improving food security and preserving the natural resources, in line with the Millennium Development Goals, with the debate on the post-2015 development agenda and the Zero Hunger Challenge.”
Also, Graziano da Silva said that on behalf of FAO, which is the lead UN agency for the year, the International Fund for Agricultural Development and the World Food Programme, that “Nothing comes closer to the sustainable food production paradigm than family farming. Family farmers usually run non-specialized, diversified agricultural activities that give them a central role in securing environmental sustainability and preserving biodiversity.”
He painted a picture of most family farmers, including fisher folk, pastoralists, indigenous people and traditional communities, as among the world’s most vulnerable populations; a situation that this year will try to address.
Need to reposition family farming:
“We need to reposition family farming at the centre of national and regional development programmes,” he declared, adding that governments play a key role in leading the support so that family farming could reach its potential, through the offering of technical assistance and policies that support the productivity increase of family farms, as well as placing appropriate technologies within their reach; in addition to improving their access to land and water, credit and markets; and creating an enabling environment for further investments.
He said that everyone had a role to play in fulfilling the potential of family farming, including family farmers associations and networks, international and regional agencies, the private sector, civil society and academia.
NaijaAgroNet gathered that special ambassadors for this year comprise Ibrahim Coulibaly, from Mali, President of the National Coordination of Peasant Organizations of Mali; Mirna Cunningham, from Nicaragua, former Chair of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues; and Gerd Sonnleitner, from Germany, President of the European Farmers Association.
Impact of C.A.R. conflict on family farming:
The continuous security situation in the Central African Republic (CAR) is giving the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) some nightmares, hence it warned on the potential food security crisis in the country.
NaijaAgroNet reports that FAO had raised alarm that despite security challenges in half of the region, farmers in the Central African Republic are counting on the next agriculture season to restore their food production capacity to avoid risks of famine and malnutrition.
NaijaAgroNet recalls that since last year when they had to flee the violence, farming families and communities had to abandon their fields along the main roads to replant deep in the bush.
This disruption, experts said has led them to produce much less than previous years with a major impact on their food reserves that will last till February instead of July 2014. Just as FAO is already working to provide farmers with seeds and tools for the next campaign, however, more funds are needed for the food security component of the 100-day response plan.
NaijaAgroNet gathered that the initial assessments conducted in the past weeks indicated a deteriorating situation in terms of low food stocks, widespread disruption to village food markets and a lack of purchasing power overall among other issues.
Crisis capable of disrupting family farm wishes:
For the acting FAO representative in the Central African Republic, Alexis Bonte, who recently visited Bossangoa, the combination of food shortages and poor sanitary conditions in the camps and deep in the bush, as well as extreme poverty, risk triggering serious malnutrition because families are no longer attending to their farms as they could wish.
The success of the next planting season Bonte noted is crucially hinging on the return of farming families to the fields, pointing out that families who are unable to plant in March will have to wait one whole year before they could attempt to harvest again.
“Failure to help these families will have dramatic consequences on the food security for a quarter of the Central African population. The low production perceived from the last harvest coupled with a prevailing situation of chronic country-wide malnutrition is setting the stage for a full scale food and nutrition security crisis should the next planting season fail, reports the Organization today,” FAO official said.
Family farming, a model to overcome food crisis:
According to the World Farmers’ Organisation (OMA-WFO) at the recently held conference tagged “Family farming: A dialogue towards more sustainable and resilient farming in Europe and the world,” family farm represents the backbone of agriculture all over the world and was sponsored by the European Commission in Brussels within the context of the ‘International Year of Family Farming.’
A delegation of WFO made up of a board member, Luis Miguel Etchevehere, the Executive Director Marco Marzano de Marinis, and Cinzia Pagni, were at the forum to reaffirm the active role of the organization in the framework of the global initiative of the United Nations scheduled for this year, alongside with FAO and other organizations such as the World Rural Forum; WFO actively participate in the International Steering Committee for the International Year of Family Farming, the aim of achieving the goals set by the UN, hence plays an important role among the nearly 60 members of the WFO coming from 44 different countries.
NaijaAgroNet recalls that in some countries, such as Belgium, Ghana, Norway, Nigeria and Sweden, family farming represents the quasi entirety of the agricultural sector, while in others, such as Switzerland, United Kingdom (UK), Finland, Ireland, Uganda, Australia constitutes 95 per cent of the agricultural production. Maintaining that globally, WFO says, family farming represents the principal organizational model in agriculture.
Family farming, therefore, represents an important opportunity for the economy; some countries already implemented policies to support family farming, while in other countries more work needs to be done.
In addition, NaijaAgroNet learnt that among WFO members, the UK, Finland and Switzerland have highlighted the need for measures to enhance competitiveness and reduce the dependency from the European funds of the CAP for example. On the other hand, some countries are asking for more funds directed to specific countries, such as Albania, South Africa and Ghana, or better access to credit, such as Uganda.
According to WFO’s Cinzia Pagni, they are aware of the difficulties faced by family farmers, namely the limited access to credit, marginal position in the value chain, lack of infrastructure, limited access to information, and a marginalized role in international fora and development agendas, hence “WFO considers the 2014 International Year of Family Farming as an excellent opportunity to reposition family farming on the top of national, regional, and international development agendas.”
7 ways to promote family farming:
The goodwill ambassador for the International Year of Family Farming for the World Farmers Organisation (WFO), Mr Ger Sonnleitner, in his submission, outlined some seven ways to promote family farming and rural development.
Sonnleitner made this view known at a two-day conference on family farming in Brussels, according to NaijaAgroNet reports, while dwelling on “Regional Dialogue on Family Farming: Working towards a strategic approach to promote food security and nutrition.”
The conference was organized by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in collaboration with the World Farmer’s Organisation (WFO), the World Rural Forum (WRF), and the International Cooperative Alliance (ICA).
The event took place in the framework of the International Year of Family Farming (IYFF) is the final conference in a series of five held to increase knowledge on the state of family farming, the challenges and the actions and policies needed.
Regional dialogue on family farming wanted:
Additionally, NaijaAgroNet reports that the regional dialogue on family farming is a multi-stakeholder initiative aimed at identifying best practices in family farming as well as policies and practices in support of family farming around the world.
This year, NaijaAgroNet further gathered will serve as a catalyst in the creation of a multi-stakeholder dialogue that will continue even after the IYFF comes to an end in order to keep family farming high on the international agenda.
Sonnleitner went on to highlight seven points he deemed to be fundamental in order to ensure rural development around the world, including good governance, enabling rural development through capacity development programmes for farmers, pointing out that rural development must be a central point on the international development agenda, just as there must be a specific support measures for small farmers aimed at making their farming activities more profitable.
He advocated for “economically and politically independent farmers’ organizations” stressing that modernization of farming, and a subsequent increase in production, and positive effects on food insecurity cannot be over-emphasised, just as a local and regional focus of rural development programs, and keeping in mind that one size does not fit all, are imperative.
Family farming, a flexible model:
“In this moment of crisis, family farming represents a flexible model, able to adapt to changing contexts and emerging challenges such as climate change, price volatility, and the marginalization of farmers in the value chain,” he said, insisting that if all work together and promote this model of farming, the issue of food security will no longer be a global problem.
ActionAid harps on support for smallholders:
Speaking to NaijaAgroNet, the Policy, Advocacy and Campaigns Manager at ActionAid Nigeria, Mr. Tunde Aremu, said their position is primarily built around support for smallholder farmers. Although it may not be very easy or necessary to separate the issue of family farming from that of smallholder farmers or from the general issue of right to food
And for Ms Luckner Timothee, 31, a Bahamian backyard farmer, says that since she began farming, she was able to grow varieties of vegetables and fruits, including multiple varieties of cabbage, tomatoes, sweet potatoes, lettuces, peppers, bananas and sugarcane.
“With the availability of this myriad of vegetables, fruits and herbs in my garden, I have been able to significantly reduce my grocery bill and I know exactly what I eat,” she said.
Conclusion:
The truth is that family farming cannot do much without enable 7-ways prescribed by WFO ambassador and as we look forward to see how the campaign thrives beyond 2014 as being projected by some stakeholders, its hope that International Year of Family Farming will bring about a step forward to reduction of hunger in our world, especially beginning with active regionalisation of dialogue on family farming as shown at the global level.
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