Event | 17 - 18 February 2014

Fifth global meeting of the Farmers' Forum

IFAD Headquarters, Rome, Italy

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The fifth global meeting of the Farmers' Forum took place  at the beginning of the International Year of Family Farming. The global consensus on the need to invest in smallholder family farming provided a conducive context to facilitate dialogue and discuss partnerships between farmers’ organizations and Governments, IFAD and multiple technical and financial institutions in attendance.

More than 80 farmers' leaders were present representing millions of smallholders and rural producers from all over the world.

The Forum organized a special session on small-scale fisheries to discuss issues faced by small-scale fishers and map partnership opportunities between their organizations and IFAD. The special session also agreed on recommendations for all parties concerned on how to develop the small-scale fisheries sector. In addition, the Farmers’ Forum enabled technical negotiations on the International Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Artisanal Fisheries to support its implementation.

IFAD presented the Partnership in Progress: 2012-2013 report that reviews the evolution of collaboration between IFAD and farmers' organizations. Participants discussed the results with IFAD management.

The Forum provided a wide space to discuss operational matters of partnerships between IFAD and farmers’ organizations. Working groups focused on the following topics:

  • the role of farmers’ organizations to link smallholders to markets on better terms
  • building of inclusive agricultural policy dialogue platforms at national and regional levels
  • sharing experiences of the IFAD-funded regional programs in support to farmers’ organizations; and, the role of farmers’ organizations and partners in strengthening resilience against climate change. The Forum also held a meeting on the role farmers’ organizations and IFAD play in strengthening youth participation in agriculture.

A series of side events and informal technical meetings took place between the Forum’s participants during the event and the concurrent IFAD Governing Council.

In conclusion, participants adopted the Final Statement of the fifth global consultation of the Farmers’ Forum. Elizabeth Mpofu, General Coordinator of the international peasant movement, La Via Campesina, presented a summary of the final statement to the thirty-seventh session of the IFAD Governing Council.

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