G20 Agriculture Ministers Meeting, Second Session

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Excellencies,

Dear Colleagues,

Family farms feed the world. Producers working 5 hectares and under produce almost half of all food calories on only 17 per cent of the farmland. And fisheries and aquaculture support the livelihoods of nearly half a billion people worldwide.

Family farming and fishing are the engines of rural economies and jobs. They are a global network of practitioners for biodiversity, natural resource management and climate action.

Investing in small family farms and sustainable fisheries is a direct investment in bolstering national food supplies, the stability of rural communities – and entire societies. I applaud that food is increasingly being considered an issue of national security – but this fact is an indicator of the real risks we face.

IFAD has been investing in small farmers, fishers, and vulnerable rural people – including youth, women, and Indigenous Peoples – for almost fifty years.

Family farming is a business, just as fishing is a business. And IFAD is unique in our approach to that fact, investing in what small-scale producers need to build viable businesses: increase production, improve land tenure, add value, or get their products to market.

We need to increase financing and match it with policies that promote sustainable approaches, better land and fisheries management, and strengthened value chains.

This is the purpose of the UN Decade for Family Farming. As a co-leader with FAO of the UNDFF, IFAD is committed to ensuring smallholder food producers are at the heart of policy discussions on sustainable agriculture and food systems

In the last five years, amongst many other accomplishments, the UNDFF has been instrumental in 16 national plans for family farming, including here in Brazil, and with another 41 in motion. 364 laws, policies and regulations to support smallholders have been developed and approved in 82 countries.

Distinguished friends,

IFAD strongly supports the work led by the G20 Brazilian Presidency to establish a Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty and Hunger. Both the UNDFF and the Global Alliance require support and political commitment to deliver.

We concur with the idea to include a family farming session in future G20 agriculture working group meetings and encourage a focus on smallholders producers across G20 tracks, including climate and development finance.

The fact is that when small-scale food producers grow and prosper, they build local economies, jobs and social stability en route. And they are the fastest track to achieving the SDGs. They deserve – and need – our urgent and ambitious support.

Thank you.