Following the New York launch of the Decade on Family Farming during the High-Level Political Forum, FAO, IFAD, and the Alliance to End Hunger convened stakeholders from diverse sectors for a discussion on ways to support the implementation of the Global Action Plan for the Decade. As the predominant farming type, family farmers produce 80 percent of food using 70-80 percent of the available farmland. They play an integral role in eradicating hunger and shaping the future of food.

“The majority of the people who live in extreme poverty are in rural areas,” said Joanna Veltri, Chief of the Liaison Office for the Americas of International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). “500 million family farms support two billion people worldwide, yet they are the most impoverished. Family farmers are a key lynchpin to achieve the Sustainable Development Goal 2 to end hunger and achieving long-term sustainable food systems.” She noted the importance of Pillar 2 of the Global Action Plan, which focuses on incorporating youth, and Pillar 6 on adaptation to climate change.

Vimlendra Sharan, Director of FAO North America, nted that the Decade’s Action Plan aims to realize family farmers’ unique capacity to redress failures of our food systems. Through a framework of seven pillars for countries to develop public policies and investments to support family farming, the Decade aims to strengthen family famers’ contribution to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. “After the International Year of Family Farming in 2014, we realized that more awareness and support for family farmers is key for resilience and the future of food. There are 2 billion food insecure people, and family farmers play a key role in proving healthy foods, thus also supporting the Decade of Action on Nutrition (2016-2025),” said Sharan.

Following the opening remarks, Rebecca Middleton, Executive Director of the Alliance to End Hunger moderated a discussion on different approaches to strengthening and supporting family farmers.  

Angelina Tracy, Director of Strategic Growth Initiatives at Land O’Lakes International Development, an arm of the member-owned agricultural cooperative Land O’Lakes Inc., noted the importance of having an enabling environment. “Strong producer organizations, credit unions, land tenure security, supply services and access to finance are key for family farmers to participate and benefit from the market. 35 percent of rural farmers do not have access to broadband; having access is important for their productivity,” said Tracy.  

“It’s really important to have farmers at the table,” emphasized Jordan Treakle, Policy Director at the National Family Farm Coalition, made up of 30 organizations advocating on behalf of family farmers in the United States. “The Family Farming Decade is important in the United States. While farm productivity is at an all-time high and farmers have access to technology, debt, farm closures, and suicide levels are high.” Issues such as land consolidation, tax subsidies, along with the relocation and weakening of U.S. agricultural research centers reduces farmer opportunity for innovation at the family farmer level. He noted the importance of adhering to human rights based tools such as the Right to Food and the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of land, fisheries, and forests (VGGT), and engaging in the Committee on Food Security (CFS).

“The decade has to be transformational,” noted Rob Bertram, USAID Chief Scientist. Agricultural growth is four times more effective at reducing extreme poverty in low-income countries, he elaborated. Productivity and sustainability do not have to be at odds with one another, “family farms can be highly efficient and more productive with access to inputs, irrigation and mechanization, and sustainable management practices,” said Dr. Bertram.

“Family farmers are often the most marginalized and underserved by services,” said Colin Christensen, Global Policy Director at One Acre Fund. The social enterprise works with small farmers, 60 percent of which are women, by providing them with basic tools to advance their agricultural production. 

An active discussion among speakers and participants followed on ways that the Decade can address unique challenges family farmers face in different contexts, the importance of providing farmers with technology, innovation, and access to diverse methods ranging from agroecology to sustainable intensification. In his closing remarks, Sharan emphasized that “Family farmers are not defined by size, but by agricultural activities predominantly reliant on family labor. Family farmers face different challenges in different regions and socio-economic contexts. The Decade takes this into account, providing guidance to governments worldwide.”

 Learn more about the UN Decade on Family Farming (2019-2028).