Zoominar IX: Role of Farmer Organizations in Agri-Food Systems Innovation

Background

In the context of COVID-19 outbreak, FAO RNE is organizing this Zoominar on Farmer organizations’ role in promoting innovation to increase food security, and sustainable rural development.  Since the early spread of COVID-19, FAO underscored the crucial role of farmer organizations in increasing resilience and rethinking priorities of food security policies to keep food supply chains alive and to achieve the SDGs. 

In this critical context, FAO is highlighting the merit of scaling up innovation in agriculture, including digitalization and e-commerce; producing more food, in a more sustainable way; safeguarding biodiversity and addressing environmental issues; and changing current business models, related to the food system. 

Farmer organizations are playing an important role to improve access to input and output markets, access and management to natural resources and improve knowledge and information as well as advocate for policy change through engaged discussions in policy-making processes, in review of legislative frameworks; and enhancing resilience and food security by building capacities, developing agricultural information systems and generating data.  

Speakers will address the following questions:

1. What are your key achievements in introducing innovation in your region and engaging your community to adopt technologies? 
2. How you are facing the COVID 19 pandemic and what are your main challenges and needs to build resilience and to access to inputs, advise, market, etc.? 
3. What are your expectations from FAO and other international organizations in order to access to innovation for building resilience to shocks and improve livelihoods especially for the period post COVID 19? 

Opening remarks:

• Abdessalam Ould Ahmed, Assistant Director General and Regional Representative for the Near East and North Africa – FAO RNE 
• International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) (TBC)
• Stephanie Barrial, Content Manager – World Rural Forum (WRF) 

Speakers:

• Nora Osama, Director of Planning & Programs Dept – Arab Women Organization (AWO).
• Saed Al Kharousi, President – Omani Farmer Association.
• Ahmed Sourani, General Coordinator – Gaza Urban Agriculture Platform (GUPAP).
• Samih Mostafa, Director – Union Producers & Exporters of Horticultural Crops (UPHEC) (TBC).
• Mohamed Alamouri, President – COMADER, Morocco (TBC)
• Abdel Majid Zar, President – The Tunisian Union of Agriculture and Fisheries (UTAP) (TBC). 

Facilitated by:

Nora Haddad, FAO Representative – FAO Oman  

HOW TO ATTEND

• Only registered participants will attend, please find the registration link here
• Please note that the session will start on time on 20 July 2020 at 14:00 – 15:30 (GMT +2)
• We invite all participants to kindly login 10 minutes before.
• We suggest using Google Chrome or the Zoom App, in order to join the session
• We suggest trying the Zoom before https://fao.zoom.us/test
• We also recommend you to check your time zone here. 

For further inquiries please feel free to contact: [email protected]