Lagos – The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), yesterday launched a new digital platform that aims to become a ‘one- stop shop’ for information, data and legislation on family farming.
This is contained in a statement made available to newsmen in Lagos.
The statement acknowledged the pivotal role family farming played globally as the sector that produced over 80 per cent of the world’s food.
“Family farmers feed our communities and take care of our health- they are crucial allies in the fight against hunger and rural poverty.
“By gathering digitized information on family farming from all over the world, including public programmes, national and regional legislation, up-to-date statistics, case studies and academic research the new family farming knowledge platform will allow governments to build stronger policies in support of family farmers and help policy dialogue with family farmer’s organisations.
The statement said that there was need to assemble every data related to family farming in one platform to serve the needs of local farmers.
It said the initiative stemmed from the legacies of the International Year of Family Farming (IYFF) celebrated in 2014.
It noted that IYFF 2014 beamed its spotlight on the contributions and struggles of family farmers in the global challenge to feed a growing population of nine billion by 2050.
According to the statement, the platform will benefit from the collaborations of governments, family farmers networks, UN agencies, NGOs and research organisations.
It noted that other branches of agriculture like fisheries, forestry and livestock would benefit from the platform, adding that the vast majority are smallholders or peasant farmers.
“Today, some 72 per cent of farms in the world are smaller than one hectare and only 6 per cent are bigger than five hectares.
“They are essential to local food security and balanced diets and play a key role in maintain biodiversity by preserving traditional food products.
“They support the sustainable use of natural resources and frequently seen as breaking cycles of rural poverty because of their potential to boost local economies and family incomes,’’ the statement added.
Meanwhile, it noted that beside climate change, family farmers globally were limited by access to land, credit and technology and poor basic services like water, sanitation and electricity.
