UNGA 76 Second Committee: Introduction of the Report on the Implementation of the United Nations Decade of Family Farming

Madam Chair,

Excellencies,

Distinguished delegates,

Ladies and gentlemen,

Farmers produce 70% of the world’s food in value terms and yet, many are among the poorest of the world, bearing the brunt of climate change and facing massive obstacles to develop their potential.

I have the honour to introduce the report on the implementation of the first biennium of the United Nations Decade of Family Farming 2019–2028 on behalf of the FAO-IFAD Joint Secretariat. It was a privilege for FAO and IFAD to have been called upon by resolution A/RES/72/239, to lead the implementation of the Decade, since the support to small scale, family-based agriculture is paramount to achieve our Organizations’ core goals and indeed, most of the SDGs.

The report was developed under the guidance of the Decade’s International Steering Committee through a very inclusive and participative approach. UN entities, Member States, Family Farmers’ Organizations, National Committees for Family Farming and other relevant stakeholders representing around 70 countries contributed 190 inputs.

The report informs on the implementation of the Decade’s Global Action Plan. It focuses on the key, family farming- related policy processes at international, regional and country levels; it describes the Decade’s overall contribution to the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development; and provides recommendations for the implementation in the following biennium.

The Global Action Plan -- launched in 2019 --  charts the path for the Decade based on seven, mutually reinforcing pillars of work. The report assesses the results achieved for each Pillar, showing that 80% of the biennium targets were met (and this is in spite of COVID 19). In addition, implementation is fully on track for 20 out of the Plan’s 28 outcomes.

The first two years of implementation have shown that the Decade is a robust engagement process to identify and implement concrete policies and measures in support of family farming. Almost 1600 relevant actors including 925 family farmers’ organizations and federations have been involved in dialogue processes. More than 65 intersectoral coordination mechanisms, such as national committees for family farming have been established or reinforced.

During 2019–2020, National Action Plans for family farming were approved in 8 countries (at ministerial level) and 37 countries are on track for this achievement.

The Action Plans are proving to be valid frameworks for tackling the immediate effects of the pandemic on family farmers, and for designing medium-term interventions to revamp rural economies and societies and strengthen sustainable agri-food systems.

The National Action Plans for Family Farming have demonstrated to be effective mechanisms to integrate agendas across the SDGs, such as climate change, resilience, gender equality, youth, inclusion and biodiversity among others.

In the last two years, 85 family farming-related laws, policies and regulations have been approved, mostly focused on mitigating the impacts of COVID-19 and on promoting family farming-centred approaches to address agri-food system issues.

We have laid the foundation for the full achievement of the Decade’s goals by 2028. Our aim now is to consolidate the results and take them to scale.

Specific recommendations for the way forward include

• the further promotion of inclusive and multi-stakeholder policy dialogue processes;
• the consolidation and effective enactment of the policies and frameworks already developed; and
• the mobilization of additional resources to adequately implement the Decade.

Madam Chair,

Distinguished delegates,

I want to thank all governments and actors who have enthusiastically contributed to the preparation of the report and, most importantly, are engaged in the implementation of the Decade. I trust that the positive results achieved so far will pave the way for an increasing support and commitment in favour of family farmers and thereby towards a more sustainable and inclusive world where no one is left behind. Thank you.