Though essential to food security on the continent, Africa’s small-scale farmers are often under-resourced and impoverished while also baring the brunt of climate change and biodiversity loss. With the Ukraine war raising fears about food insecurity and hunger, it’s never been more critical to help remove whatever barriers exist for this essential workforce. These include a lack of access to production finance and the continued fight for land rights, especially by the women in this sector who are responsible for 70% of Africa’s food. There’s not doubt that the small-scale farming community, hailed as the linchpin to economic success, could do with more support. So what essential role do small-scale farmers play in food security? How do we harness their expertise to fight climate change? Should we import less and buy local? We took our questions to the experts. Watch below the conversation organized by Debating Africa  with prominent environmental activist and geographer Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim, a member of the Mbororo people in Chad, and IFAD’s Sara Mbago-Bhunu, renowned for her work in the agricultural sector in Central, East and Southern Africa.