The General Assembly of the United Nations adopted the Decade of Family Farming 2019-2028 on 20 December 2017 in order to improve the position of family farmers in all five (5) continents. The declaration of the Decade ensures the continuity of the successful IYFF-2014 process by advancing the implementation of public policies and facilitating the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its SDGs. Now, it is up to us to successfully implement the Decade by seizing this enormous opportunity, the fruit of our labour.

The Decade for Family Farming is our opportunity to, collectively, achieve more and better public policies for Family Farming and defend existing ones; to be a major force behind the implementation of said policies; to make sure Family Farming is understood and recognized for its worth; to put people ahead of major interests; to build a better future in our rural areas and, also, in our cities.

Within this context, we are organising the VI Global Conference on Family Farming entitled: "A Decade to improve the lives of Family Farmers". The event will be held between 25 and 29 March 2019 in the city of Derio-Bilbao, Basque Country, Spain. It will bring together representatives from Farmers Organisations and other Civil Society organisations, Governments, International Organisations, Research Centres and Cooperatives from across the five continents.

The VI Global Conference on Family Farming will be a preparatory event of the launching of the Decade, to be held in Rome weeks later. Both occasions are part of a process to build a solid, multi-stakeholder and participatory Agenda for the Decade of Family Farming.