The VIII Global Conference on Family Farming: Sustainability of Our Planet, organised by the World Rural Forum, is approaching. It will bring together relevant family farming leaders from 5 continents, representatives of governments, international institutions, research centres, foundations, consumer, youth and women farmers’ organisations. It will take place from 19 to 21 March 2024 in Vitoria-Gasteiz, Basque Country, Spain.
Among the nearly 150 people from more than 60 countries who will participate in the Conference, there will be prominent figures such as the European Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, Mr. Wojciechowski; the Commissioner for Agriculture, Rural Development, Blue Economy and Sustainable Environment of the African Union, Ms. Sacko; the Minister of Agricultural Development of Brazil, Mr. Teixeira; or the President of the International Fund for Agricultural Development of the United Nations-IFAD, Mr. Lario, among others. The programme can be consulted here.
The Conference will be a unique space to define and strengthen the necessary commitments to ensure that family farming plays a leading role in global challenges, such as the climate crisis, the loss of biodiversity or the sustainability of food systems.
Five years into the United Nations Decade of Family Farming 2019-2028 (UNDFF), the 8th Global Conference on Family Farming provides a unique opportunity to reflect on key achievements, analyse the interconnected challenges facing family farming that have become more acute in recent times, and identify priority and catalytic actions to scale up the implementation of the UNDFF in response to these challenges facing not only agriculture, but humanity as a whole.
Thus, the first day’s programme will focus in particular on taking stock of the Decade declared by the UN precisely to ensure the promotion of this type of agriculture. In this sense, and as spaces expressly recognised in the UNDFF declaration, there will be a special event on the contribution of the National Committees for Family Farming (NCFF) in the improvement of public policies in favour of the sector.
The promotion of rural youth and the empowerment of women will be particularly relevant on the second and third day respectively, when the Conference will hand over the leadership of the Conference to them. In addition, the Conference will be the loudspeaker to call for the declaration of a United Nations International Day for Rural Youth.
Discussions and agreements on new possible alliances to face environmental, social and food challenges, the role of family farming organisations in climate response, land tenure, associativism and cooperativism and value chains, or participatory research and co-innovation processes for sustainable food production will be some of the elements of the debate and recommendations that will emanate from the Conference.
With the participation of highly relevant and knowledgeable speakers and participants and a programme that seeks to address the critical issues for the future of our planet, the 8th Global Conference on Family Farming promises to be a global call to action, a platform for collaboration and an opportunity for the most representative people in the field of family farming from all over the world to address together the most pressing challenges of our time.
The programme is now available on the conference website, where you can find out more details about each session and register (if you haven’t already done so).
For more information, go to the WRF website at www.ruralforum.org.
This article is reposted from WRF. View the original post here.
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