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Greetings from Budapest, Hungary. I am here as part of the Global Forum and Expo on Family Farming.<\/p>\n
Today, Food Tank is releasing a new research<\/a> report called Food Tank By the Numbers: Family Farming<\/em>. You can share an article about the report with a link to the complementary download by clicking\u00a0HERE<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n The report proves that family farms\u2014farms or ranches owned and operated by families\u2014are not only feeding the world, but also nourishing the planet. Family Farms are developing effective ways to address global food security, increase income, protect biodiversity, and conserve the environment for a growing population.<\/p>\n According to research in the Food Tank report, approximately\u00a070 percent<\/a>\u00a0of the world\u2019s freshwater goes toward agriculture, and it is estimated that this will increase by\u00a019 percent<\/a>\u00a0by the year 2050.\u00a0Soilsare being depleted 10 to 40 times faster than they are being replenished, and as a result, 30 percent of global arable land has lost productivity. And land use changes as a result of agriculture\u2014deforestation and land degradation\u2014are contributing to climate change.<\/p>\n But millions of family farmers are using agroecological approaches to combat climate change and create resilience to food price shocks, natural disasters, and conflict. Agroforestry, inter-cropping, cover crops and green manure, solar drip irrigation, integrated pest management, and utilizing orphan and indigenous crops are helping protect natural resources, improving nutrient density, and increasing farmers\u2019 incomes.<\/p>\n We need to bring more attention to what\u2019s being implemented by family farmers\u2014big and small\u2014on the ground in sub-Saharan Africa, Southeast Asia, Central America, the United States, and Europe because what they\u2019re doing is working. These innovative practices, which are grounded in farmers\u2019 knowledge, are nourishing communities and protecting the planet\u2019s resources at the same time. Smallholder and family farmers are the backbone of food production all over the world.<\/p>\n Seventy-five percent<\/a>\u00a0of Earth\u2019s plant genetic resources have been lost, but family farmers are protecting plant diversity across the world. According to the report, by planting diversified and indigenous crops, family farmers\u00a0can produce between 20 to 60 percent more<\/a>\u00a0yields than farmers who produce only one type of crop.<\/p>\n Supporting family farmers\u2019 livelihoods through facilitating access to markets can have a substantial and significant effect on increasing rural incomes, which includes 70 percent of the world\u2019s poor. Organic certification for family farmers has also\u00a0had a positive effect on their incomes<\/a>\u2014in Indonesia, the Boyolali Farmers\u2019 Association, Asosiasi Petani Padi Organik Boyolali [APPOLI], has shown a 40 percent reduction in production costs because of organic farming practices, and the market price of the organic rice that they grow is 20 percent higher than non-organic rice.<\/p>\n Family farming also drives economic growth and social stability by providing job opportunities. Small farmers\u00a0create a \u201cmultiplier\u201d effect<\/a>\u00a0that extends beyond the farm sector, spending a high share of their income in other sectors, including construction, infrastructure, and manufacturing, which creates demand for other goods and sectors in their communities. In Asia, for example, every dollar of income that the farming sector generates also\u00a0creates an additional US$0.80<\/a>\u00a0in non-farming sectors.<\/p>\n \u201cFamily farmers deserve to be recognized for the multiple roles they play\u2014as business women and men, innovators, teachers, and stewards of the land. Family farmers need our recognition and our support now, not later,\u201d says Caterina Batello, Senior Agricultural Officer FAO.<\/p>\n With increased support from research institutions and the funding and donor communities to invest in family farmers, global food security can be achieved, environmental resources can be protected, and national economies can grow.<\/p>\n Further highlights from the report:<\/strong> Also in cased you missed it last week, please watch Food Tank\u2019s new short video, \u201cFamily Farmers + You = Nourished World\u201d HERE<\/a>. Also please don’t forget to sign<\/strong><\/a> our global petition campaign.<\/p>\n Thanks for all that you do to build a better food system!<\/p>\n All The Best, Greetings from Budapest, Hungary. I am here as part of the Global Forum and Expo on Family Farming. Today, Food Tank is releasing a new research report called Food Tank By the Numbers: Family Farming. You can share an article about the report with a link to the complementary download by clicking\u00a0HERE. The report proves that family farms\u2014farms or ranches owned and operated by families\u2014are not only feeding the world, but also nourishing the planet. Family Farms are developing effective ways to address global food security, increase income, protect biodiversity,<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":30555,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[45],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/whisnews21.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30554"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/whisnews21.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/whisnews21.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whisnews21.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whisnews21.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30554"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/whisnews21.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30554\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whisnews21.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30555"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/whisnews21.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30554"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whisnews21.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30554"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/whisnews21.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30554"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n\u25cf\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Recent research by FAO shows that, in their global sample, over 98 percent of farms are family farms and these produce at least 56 percent of the world\u2019s agricultural production. In many countries, the contribution of family farmers to food production far surpasses their share of land holdings.
\n\u25cf \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0Family farming makes up the majority of agricultural production in sub-Saharan Africa,where approximately 33 million farms in the region, or 80 percent, are smallholder farms.
\n\u25cf\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 More than 80 percent of all agricultural holdings measure less than two hectares in size and are thus managed by smallholder farmers.
\n\u25cf\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 All farmers can have a direct impact on nutrition through the crops that they choose to grow and consume, as well as through post-harvest and preparation methods.
\n\u25cf\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Smallholder farmers utilize farming practices that preserve biodiversity\u2014not just for nutrition and taste\u2014but also because cultivating a wide variety of species helps insulate farmers against risk of plant disease, and crop diversity promotes soil health and increases yields.
\n\u25cf\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Diversified and indigenous crops are typically more resilient to climate change and extreme weather conditions.
\n\u25cf\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The use of organic fertilizers by family farms has been proven to be effective in reducing soil degradation.
\n\u25cf\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Smallholder farmers typically use innovative technologies to conserve resources. Drip irrigation methods used in Benin, for example, can save between 30 and 60 percent more water than conventional methods.
\n\u25cf\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Evidence shows smallholder and family farming can be the key to mitigation of the negative effects of climate change and improving food security.
\n\u25cf\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 If 10,000 small- and medium-sized farms converted to organic, sustainable production, the environmental effect in terms of carbon sequestration would be equivalent to removing over one million cars from the road.
\n\u25cf\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 In Vietnam, land tenure reforms that provide private land use rights to smallholder farmers have had a significant and positive effect on agricultural productivity, as well as increasing household incomes.
\n\u25cf\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Mobile phone technology has been instrumental in breaking down barriers that smallholder, rural farmers, especially women, face in accessing markets.
\n\u25cf\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0Despite growth of large-scale farms around the world, smallholder and family farming still make up the majority of global agriculture<\/p>\n
\nDanielle Nierenberg
\nPresident, Food Tank<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"