Final eDialogue on ‘Policy Implications’
On Wednesday, November 25, 12:15 – 14:00 GMT, we held the ‘Wrap-up and Policy Implications’, the fifth and final part of the eDialogue series: ‘What Future for Small-Scale Farming?’
Small-scale farmers are integral to food systems in much of the world. Many householders depend, at least in part, on agriculture for their livelihood. However, many small-scale farmers struggle, being among the poorest and most food-insecure people on the planet, who are furthest away from reaching SDG 1 (No Poverty) and SDG 2 (Zero Hunger). In addition, the COVID-19 pandemic highlights the importance of resilient food systems and the vulnerability of poor rural households.
To develop transition strategies and avoid future crises and suffering, perspectives on the future – 5, 10 and 20+ years -are needed. It is crucial to better understand how changing demographics, economies, food systems, natural resources and climates will impact on small-scale farmers.
Our final session took key messages and insights, and explored the implications for national policy, and development investments. The session asked what fundamental changes are needed to create a better future for small-scale farmers.
For more details on the session, click here.
Our panellists were:
David Nabarro, Strategic Director of 4SD, Convenor of the Food System Dialogues, Envoy of WHO Director-General on COVID-19, and Co-Director and Professor of the Institute of Global Health Innovation at Imperial College London
Thomas Jayne, Professor at the Department of Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics at Michigan State University
Meike van Ginneken, Associate Vice President for Strategy and Knowledge at IFAD
Rebbie Harawa, Regional & Research Program Director, Eastern and Southern Africa at ICRISAT
Ángela María Penagos Concha, Director of Agrifood Initiative and Vice- Presidency of Research, University de los Andes, Bogotá, Colombia
Avinash Kishore, Research fellow at IFPRI, India
Elena Lazos Chavero, Professor at the Institute of Social Research at the National Autonomous University of Mexico
Watch the full session, here:
Listen to the full session, here:
Previous eDialogues
Click on links for full session details:
Setting the Scene (Jul 16): emerging trends, challenges and opportunities for small-scale farming in the context of changing food systems – round-table discussion and question and answer session
Local Perspectives (Aug 27): grounding the dialogue in local experiences with Vlogs from farmers and young professionals – short visual stories and panel discussion and audience questions
Regional Realities (Oct 21-22): – exploring and comparing the dynamics of small-scale agriculture and food system change across Asia, Latin America, Africa and OECD country – parallel regional round tables with a synthesis panel
Transition pathways and strategies (Nov 10): assessing the options and scenarios for an inclusive transformation of small-scale agriculture with a focus on the specific challenges for different groups of farmers given their scale, gender, assets or geographic and market context – propositions presented by panelists, panel discussion and audience reactions.
Feature image credit: Media Club South Africa.