In this issue of GREAT insights we have asked the ‘custodians’ of the UN Year of Family Farming and the AU Year of Food Security, the Director General of the Food Agriculture Organization and the AU Commissioner for Agriculture, what outcomes they expect from these international processes, particularly in terms of the progress required on concrete measures to promote family farmers and better harmonisation and alignment of development partners’ support to those priorities. The Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs looks at agricultural dynamism in Africa in the context of the growing discourse in Europe on ‘economic diplomacy’ and exploring linkages between the AU Year of Agriculture and the 2014 Italian European Union Presidency.

Other articles are dedicated to the risks of heralding Africa as the new frontier for commercial farming, presenting ‘alternative’ development pathways and agricultural policies. Issues covered include food sovereignty based on customary land rights, agro-ecological approaches to diversifying farming systems, rehabilitating degraded farmland, the importance of water management, the need for an enabling policy and regulatory framework for smallholder farmers, and the key role of women. References to regional experiences in Africa, as well as family farming in Europe, also provide additional insights.