Event | 15 - 16 February 2010

Third global meeting of the Farmers' Forum

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The third global meeting of the Farmers' Forum took place in conjunction with the thirty-third session of IFAD's Governing Council. The Forum brought together more than 70 farmers' leaders from around the world, representing millions of smallholders and rural producers from all over the world, who interacted with IFAD and selected technical and financial partner institutions.

Following a recommendation of the 2008 Farmers’ Forum, participating farmers’ organizations strove to increase women’s presence and voice in the event. IFAD organized a preparatory Special Session to reflect on how to promote women’s leadership in farmers’ organizations. The declaration resulting from the Session was included in the Forum’s final Synthesis of Deliberations.

As in 2008, IFAD presented the Partnership in Progress report taking stock of its partnerships with farmers’ organizations over the last two years. This was discussed at some length by participants.

With a view to give more space to operational matters, than on previous occasions, the Forum included working group sessions on the following: 

  • the operational collaboration between IFAD and farmers' organizations at country and regional levels
  • food security in a context of growing competition for access to land
  • the roles of farmers' organizations in empowering small farmers in value chains
  • differentiated policies and investment programmes in support of smallholder agriculture.

A Synthesis of Deliberations and recommendations regarding the evolving partnership between farmers’ organizations, IFAD and other partners was agreed upon by participants and discussed with IFAD’s management. Alphonsine Nguba Ngiengo of the Confederation Paysanne du Congo, and a member of the Forum Steering Committee, delivered the final synthesis to the thirty-third session of the IFAD Governing Council.

After the closing of the Governing Council, the Forum held two special side events to enable discussions between participants to continue. The themes of these side events were: a) Provision of support services to farmers' organizations; and (b) The Purchase for Progress (P4P) initiative of the World Food Programme and its collaboration with national farmers' organizations.

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