National and Regional Action Plans for Family Farming: progress in the implementation of the UNDFF 2019-2028

The WRF is presenting the 2021 annual report on the progress in the implementation of the UNDFF 2019-2028 through National and Regional/Subregional Action Plans on Family Farming.

The World Rural Forum (WRF), in collaboration with FAO, is carrying out a permanent monitoring exercise on the implementation of the United Nations Decade of Family Farming (UNDFF) 2019-2028 in over 60 countries and 8 sub-regions of Africa, Asia and the Pacific, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean.

This report contains a comparative overview of the progress made between 2019 and 2021 in the development of UNDFF National and Regional/Subregional Action Plans. It also contains examples of mechanisms, methodologies and tools used for the definition of action plans. Finally, a series of conclusions and main recommendations is included.

Since the beginning of the UNDFF, the number of countries and actors involved has increased significantly. In December 2021, at least 51 countries in Africa, Asia and the Pacific, Europe and Central Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean are engaged in the UNDFF; there are 45 National Family Farming Committees (NCFFs) bringing together more than 2,625 farmers’ organisations, NGOs, public institutions, research centres, cooperation agencies, etc.; at least 1,853 members of the NCFFs are family farmers’ organisations.

In 2021, the development of National and Regional/Sub-regional Action Plans not only resumed, but was taken up more strongly as part of the response to COVID-19 and the ongoing discussions on the achievement of the SDGs, sustainable food systems and climate change. 2 more countries adopted their National Action Plans (Philippines and Sierra Leone), 14 countries took very significant steps in developing their National Action Plans and 4 sub-regional drafting processes were underway (MENA, SAARC, CAC-SICA, REAF-Mercosur).

The joint efforts made by the NCFFs, family farming organisations, governments and their partners (in particular FAO and IFAD) to implement the UNDFF have accumulated solid experience which continues to grow.  The mechanisms, methodologies and tools developed have favoured policy dialogue and coordination between actors, analysing the situation of family farming and its needs in terms of public policies, reviewing the existing legal framework, planning the steps to build and implement the National Action Plans for Family Farming, etc.

The UNDFF is a robust process, advancing steadily in the provision of concrete solutions for the transformation of food systems. Based on the accumulated experience, efforts should be redoubled and oriented towards developing additional National and Regional/Sub-Regional Action Plans and providing these plans with the necessary budgets and instruments for their implementation.

We are confident that this synthesis report on the status of progress made in the implementation of the UNDFF will contribute to stimulating policy dialogue and reinforcing collaboration and commitments to strengthen family farming and unleash its transformative potential in building sustainable, resilient, inclusive and viable food systems.

We hope you enjoy reading it.