Group of 13 countries proposes adoption of a Decade of Family Farming

Costa Rica, Angola, the Dominican Republic, Egypt, Ethiopia, France, Indonesia, Italy, Mexico, the Philippines, Spain, Thailand and Uruguay make up the Core Group working on the draft resolution for the Decade of Family Farming.

Wednesday, 16th of August 2017- On the 25th of July, the 13 countries that make up the Core Group in support of the Decade of Family Farming inaugurated a photography exhibition on the subject of Family Farming in different places around the world. The event took place at the United Nations Headquarters in New York with the support of IFAD, FAO and the World Rural Forum – WRF and was attended by representatives from 13 embassies.

The Core Group of countries proposing the adoption of the Decade of Family Farming by the United Nations Assembly is composed by Costa Rica, Angola, the Dominican Republic, Egypt, Ethiopia, France, Indonesia, Italy, Mexico, the Philippines, Spain, Thailand and Uruguay.

The draft resolution for the Decade of Family Farming, which will be presented to United Nations General Assembly in the coming months, is currently being prepared by these countries under the leadership of Costa Rica.

The photography exhibition, a joint initiative of the Core Group, draws attention to the needs and contributions of family farmers in the eradication of hunger and poverty, the empowerment of women and the struggle against climate change.

The ambassador of Costa Rica to the UN in New York, Juan Carlos Mendoza, was entrusted with inaugurating the exhibition and referred to the importance of Family Farming, “as it represents between 70 and 80% of global food production and 3.3 thousand million people live in rural areas”.

 

THE DECADE OF FAMILY FARMING ALREADY HAS BROAD SUPPORT TO BE DECLARED BY THE UNITED NATIONS GENERAL ASSEMBLY

The Decade of Family Farming has the official support of international bodies such as the FAO, IFAD and IICA, which have shown their support explicitly in letters signed by their directors and president. Furthermore, all the countries in the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), the Specialised Meeting on Family Farming (REAF) and the Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries (CPLP) have expressed their support, officially and in writing, for the declaration of the Decade of Family Farming.

In addition, 7 regional Family Farming organisations (AFA, COPROFAM, PDRR, PIFON, PROPAC, ROPPA and UMAGRI) have requested the declaration of the decade, and more than 250 signatures of the letter of support of have been acquired by other civil society organisations, governments, research centres, international organisations and cooperatives, among others.

The goal of the Decade is to improve working and living conditions for family farmers across the five continents and it will have 7 specific goals which you can find out more about in the concept paper for the Decade of Family Farming.

 

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