THE MOMENT IS NOW!

HOW WE PRODUCE, COMMERCIALIZE, CONSUME AND FEED OURSELVES WILL MARK OUR FUTURE.

 LET US PUT FAMILY FARMING AT THE CENTRE OF SUSTAINABLE FOOD SYSTEMS! 

The World Rural Forum (WRF) invites you to the Global Conference: Family Farming at the core of Sustainable Food Systems, organised with the support of the European Union, and based on a participatory process involving family farming organisations, international organisations, governments, research centres and other relevant actors.

A Global Conference to scale up the implementation of the United Nations Decade of Family Farming (UNDFF) 2019-2028 towards more sustainable, resilient, inclusive, and viable food systems, contributing directly to the achievement of the SDG.

Simultaneous interpretation will be available in English, French & Spanish.

For more information visit conferencia.ruralforum.org

REGISTRATION IS OPEN!

More than 250 participants from 66 countries around the world, including representatives from various governments, international organisations such as FAO, IFAD and ILC, agricultural and rural development associations, research centres, cooperatives, trade unions and other civil society organisations came together during the 6th Global Conference on Family Farming, which was held between 25 to 29 March in Derio-Bilbao.

The Conference focused on the development of the global Action Plan for the Decade of Family Farming 2019-2028 declared by the United Nations at the international level and also at the local and regional level around the world. The Decade’s ability to encourage the development and implementation of National Action Plans (established in all countries by governments, agrarian organisations, National Committees of Family Farming and other actors) through concrete and solid commitments to significantly improve public policies in favour of family farming, is key for the Decade to meet its objectives and allow us to ultimately achieve the SDGs.

The VI Conference had two internal working sessions prior to the institutional opening on 27 March; the first (25 March) involved an exchange session between Family Farming organisations and the second (26 March) was dedicated to working sessions for young farmers and women farmers.

During the main days of the VI Conference, attendance was high and there was exceptional media coverage. It should be noted that 27 media outlets that have the largest audience covered the event.

Following the introductory remarks by Marcela Villareal, Director of Partnerships Division of FAO, and Ashwani Muthoo, Director of the Global Engagement and Multilateral Relations Division of IFAD, at the institutional opening on Wednesday, 27 March, was attended by Lehendakari Iñigo Urkullu (President of the Basque Government), accompanied by José María Zeberio, President of the World Rural Forum; Josefa Leonel Sacko, Commissioner for Rural Economy and Agriculture of the African Union Commission; Mario Arvelo, President of the United Nations Committee on World Food Security (CFS); Fernando Miranda, Secretary General of Agriculture and Food from the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food of the Government of Spain and Leonard Mizzi, Head of Unit C1, DG DEVCO of the European Commission.

That same day, the National Committees of Family Farming (NCFF) worked hard to ensure that their proposals were included in the Action Plan for the Decade. NCFFs are platforms created as a result of the IYFF-2014 that bring together agricultural organisations (which in many cases lead these Committees), associations, research centres and, in various instances, government bodies. NCFFs from 38 countries had the opportunity to meet at this conference.

On Thursday, 28 March, Gabriel Ferrero, Director General of Sustainable Development Policies of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of Spain, gave a presentation on the Decade of Family Farming and SDGs. During the day, the working groups’ results of the previous day were made available, and the WRF as well as the people and entities that have made it possible to celebrate its 20th anniversary this year were honoured.

The closing ceremony of the conference was attended by Bittor Oroz, Vice-Secretary of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Policies of the Basque Government, accompanied by Maite Peñacoba, Director General of Agriculture in the Provincial Government of Bizkaia; Joan Brady International Coordination Committee of La Vía Campesina; Arianna Giuliodori, Secretary General of WFO; Oana Neagu, COPA-COGECA Director; Lautaro Viscay, Technical Secretary of REAF-Mercosur and Martin Uriarte, Vice-President of the WRF (current WRF President).

The VI Conference resulted in a final Declaration of Family Farming Organisations and Civil Society Organisations, established by the World Coordination Committee of the IYFF+10 and open for signature by all organisations, in which Governments and the International Steering Committee of the Decade are asked to highly consider the results obtained during these days of global efforts in Bilbao.

The VI Global Conference on Family Farming has made a significant contribution to the process of the Decade of Family Farming, which will be officially launched in Rome from 27 to 29 May. As of 30 May, a phase to fully implement the Decade will begin. It is essential in order to substantially improve the quality of lives of farmers across all five continents.

In 10 years, the world will be very different, it will have made progress in terms of public policies, it will recognize family farming as the key actor in achieving the sustainable development goals, taking into account the coexistence of sustainable food systems and family farmers in the aim of a favourable future. This is the shared aspiration that comes out of the discussions in Bilbao and family farming organizations have promised to continue their efforts as guardians of the Decade of Family Farming.

The generational renewal is one of the outstanding issues that the VI Global Conference on Family Farming will address

The future of Family Farming depends to a large extent on whether there are young people, women and men, who are willing to work in this activity.

The average age of farmers increases. In the Basque Country, where the World Rural Forum is based, for each farmer under 41 years old there are 13 farmers over 55 years old. [1]

The generational renewal is one of the great challenges for the immediate future and, together with the role of women, one of the outstanding issues that we will discuss in the VI Global Conference on Family Farming.

The official program of our conference includes two specific working sessions about youth and women. Both meetings will take place on the second day, Tuesday, the 26th.

It will be interesting to know their points of view and obtain their ideas and conclusions to incorporate them into the Agenda of the Decade for Family Farming declared by the UN.

There is a series of public policies related to basic services in rural areas, training, associative culture, access to credit and financing, access to land, among others, which should be applied to ensure that young people, women and men, take the witness of their elders and bet on Family Farming.

[1] Juventud Agraria en el País Vasco. Informe del FRM y Lorenzo Mz. De Salinas y Ocio.

This week we met with the highest leader of Álava and the Mayor of Bilbao

We continue taking steps towards March 25. On that date the VI Global Conference on Family Farming will begin. It will be in Bilbao and will bring together about 250 representatives of farmers organisations, cooperatives, governments, research centers and other organisations from around the world.

An important event for the future of Family Farming that will help to design the official Agenda of the Decade adopted by the UN.

Bilbao will be the previous step to the official launching of the Decade in Rome in May organized by FAO and IFAD. There will be adopted the contents of the Action Plan for the period 2019-2028 dedicated to Family Farming, following the Resolution adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations.

Those involved know the importance of the Bilbao Conference to improve the life of the people dedicated to family farming around the world.

But it is important that society also knows. Hence, these days we are making a great effort so that our message reaches the media.

It seems basic to us to raise awareness on how family farming has global consequences on issues that affect us all, such as food, migration, land management, climate change and sustainable development.

The role of the media is important; such is that of the Institutions. That is why, as World Rural Forum, we have recently appeared in the Spanish Senate. And this week we have met with the Deputy General of Álava, Ramiro González, and the Mayor of Bilbao, Juan María Aburto.

It is essential that the public authorities know the details of the VI Conference and the Decade; that they know that ending hunger is the second of the Sustainable Development Goals of the UN 2030 Agenda. And that they commit to caring for a social and strategic asset of first order such as Family Farming.

A positive effect of the VI Global Conference before its celebration is the attention that the media is paying to Family Farming.

Newspapers and radios from the Basque Country have already informed of the details regarding dates and place, content, objectives and participants of the conference that will begin on March 25 in Bilbao.

But not only that. The Basque newspaper of greater diffusion, El Correo, published on February 19 an interview with José María Zeberio, president of the World Rural Forum, for his appearance in the Spanish Senate.

Zeberio spoke of the “vocation” necessary to be dedicated to agriculture and the importance of having “public policies” that ensure basic conditions in rural areas.

He explained that Family Farming, and this includes artisanal fishermen, pastoralists and peasants, is distinguished because it is a family or several cooperatively united that assume the “responsibility” of exploitation.

He added that along with an improvement of the farms and livestock, the objective of small family farms is “to maintain a productive activity that progressively improves and is sustainable over time.”

The lack of young people with a desire to engage in family farming, inequalities between women and men, unfavourable conditions from the point of view of infrastructures and services in rural areas or low prices of food in a current culture that minimizes food expenses are some of the challenges and problems pointed out by Zeberio.

In the VI Conference, we want to specify measures for the Decade of Family Farming from an open and inclusive dialogue

Every day we have to sow. Every day we have to put a brick to build. Every day, we have to fertilize the land to collect the fruit; go out to graze to feed the cattle; or cast the nets to fish.

Although it does not hurt to look back and feel proud of what we have achieved. If you tell us, in 2008, that we were going to celebrate the International Year of Family Farming (IYFF 2014), to be part of the SDGs of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development of the United Nations and to celebrate a Decade, we would not have believed it.

However, here we are. With the Decade of Family Farming (2019-2028) recently started and on the verge of celebrating the VI Global Conference of the WRF, which will take place in Bilbao, the last week of March.

We will be about 200 representatives of multiple entities that will give voice to millions of people. The World Rural Forum is a plural network. In the same way, the VI Conference will be an open and inclusive meeting. We will have relevant actors from governments, international organizations such as FAO and IFAD, farmers’ organizations, cooperatives, trade unions, National Committees of Family Farming, NGOs and research centers from all five continents.

We are interested in the participation of everyone. We want contributions to emerge that can be incorporated into the Decade Action Plan, whose official launch will take place in Rome in May. We also seek to “facilitate dialogue, new partnerships and the involvement of new entities in the Decade (…) to promote the implementation of the Decade Agenda”. This is reflected in the second objective set for the VI Conference.

A world population of 2,500 million is dedicated to Family Farming, which accounts for 40% of employment

In Euskadi, in Sweden, the Philippines, Australia, Paraguay and Madagascar, Family Farming is a planetary model just like our World Rural Forum is global and the VI Conference is Global.

Each country and each region has its uniqueness, but family farms are an extended model.

The defining aspect to talk about this reality is that there is a family linked to an agrarian farm.

And that it is the members of this family who contribute the labor – totally or partially – and make the decisions.

The figures often give us the measure of things, their relevance.

In the case of Family Farming, 2.500 million people are engaged in this activity[1], which means the employment of 40% of the world population[2].

The Decade of Family Farming that we have just entered is a period declared by the General Assembly of the United Nations, where 193 countries are represented.

And Family Farming is part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, being the “Zero Hunger” the SDG number 2 of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals established by the UN.

If the figures serve to clarify terms, it is also important to highlight that 200 representatives from all five continents will participate in our VI Conference, which will take place in Bilbao -in the Hotel Seminario in Derio- between March 25 and 29.

And if the numbers are important, the program and the challenges that we have set for this conference are so.

The VI Conference will serve to draw the road map of the coming years, set objectives and provide, with an open and inclusive approach, content for the Agenda and the Action Plan of the Decade.

Everything in order to improve the lives of women and men family farmers. And, by extension, that of the rest of the society.

[1] SOFA, FAO, 2014

[2] ILO, 2013

The VI Global Conference is the prelude to the Decade’s Action Plan

Five days of work and debate.

200 participants from all over the planet; representatives of governments, international organizations such as FAO and IFAD, regional agrarian organizations, National Committees on Family Farming, NGOs, trade unions, cooperatives and research and training centres.

And an agenda full of content and challenges.

The VI Global Conference on Family Farming is near.

The installed clock continues its account. It marks, unappealable, the days, hours, minutes and seconds remaining until March 25.

Consequently, now we have to be thoroughly involved and duplicate tasks. These are busy days.

We want everything to go well and this forces us to make the best effort.

In all areas: political, academic, administrative, organizational and communication.

We are sure that everything will turn out well.

In which context will the conference take place in Bilbao?

We come from having celebrated, in 2014, the International Year of Family Farming (IYFF) and we just, this month of January, raised the curtain of the Decade declared by the UN, which will occupy the period 2019 – 2028.

We are facing a great opportunity to achieve two great goals that we have always pursued: social recognition and public policies that improve the lives of family farmers.

Society does not grant sufficient relevance to Family Farming because there is a lack of awareness of its economic and strategic value. It is not so perceived, but it is a social asset of first order. We are talking about food security and nutrition, zero hunger, employability and economy, sustainable development, climate change and heritage.

The VI Global Conference should be understood as a great opportunity. It is the prelude to the Decade and where we will plan the actions of the coming years.

This is reflected in the first of the objectives of our conference that we have noted down: “Contribute to the design of the official Decade Agenda for the national, regional and global levels by developing quality inputs for the Action Plan of the Decade of Family Farming”.