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'Farming First' Film Launched
'Farming First' Film Launched
Published 04-23-09
Submitted by Farming First
- April 23, 2009 - A coalition of scientists, business and farmers have launched the 'Farming First' website, a campaign to promote the cause of farmers in helping solve the world's most pressing development problems.
At the site www.farmingfirst.org interested individuals can register their support for returning agriculture to the centre of the international policy agenda. Visitors can also view a new promotional film highlighting the pressing need for change and setting out the action needed to address the threat of a future food crisis. The ‘Farming First’ plan is a set of six principles, which are interlinked and allow participation from groups across the agricultural supply chain, from farmers all the way to consumers.
The six 'Farming First' principles are:
1. Safeguarding natural resources
2. Sharing knowledge
3. Building local access
4. Protecting the harvest
5. Enabling access to markets
6. Prioritising research imperatives
Lindiwe Sibanda, CEO of the Food, Agriculture, and Natural Resources Policy Analysis Network (FANRPAN), says:
"Getting public support for improved agricultural policies is crucial. $100 of agricultural inputs is worth more to a small-scale farmer in Africa than $1000 of aid if their crops were to fail. What's more, much of the tools and technologies needed to make these farms more productive and profitable already exist, but they simply have not been shared with those who most need them."
Ajay Vashee, a Zambian farmer and President of the International Federation of Agricultural Producers (IFAP), says:
"Farmers grow our crops, manage our land and natural resources, and safeguard biodiversity. Yet they are under funded and under acknowledged. We all must begin to acknowledge the role that farmers play if we hope to prevent another food crisis. The time for action is now."
The website also provides a range of video interviews and an interactive news feed which highlight agriculture's various roles in sustainable development. It also includes case studies from around the world of how these principles are already being applied in practice. For example:
- The FICOM project in Uganda has helped rural farmers access crop growing tips and market prices through a network of local 'village phone centres'
- Tata Chemicals in India has set up a network of franchised retail outlets for agricultural inputs and services, supported by agronomists and community organisers and run by local entrepreneurs.
- A Malawi programme for groundnut farmers offered drought insurance contracts based on index-based weather patterns
- The Ghana-based TradeNet programme is a trading platform for small-scale farmers to help them sell their products more directly via the web and at market prices.
- The African Agricultural Technology Foundation is developing drought resistant maize, which is expected to produce 25-30% more yield in moderate drought conditions.
Dr. Lindiwe Sibanda, a member of the 'Farming First' global campaign, as she discusses the potential of a looming global food crisis, reflects on outcomes of the G8 agriculture ministers' meeting, presents new data from her organisation's work in Zimbabwe, and explains Farming First's ongoing work with the UN Commission for Sustainable Development and its impacts on the developing world, particularly in Africa. There will be time for questions immediately after the presentation.
WHAT is the event?
A media briefing with representatives of the 'Farming First' coalition to discuss how agriculture can help promote and defend sustainable development
WHEN/WHERE?
Thursday, April 30th at 10am BST (9am GMT) for a 10.30 start
The Farmers Club, 3 Whitehall Court, London SW1A 2EL (see map here)
WHO will be speaking?
Dr. Lindiwe Sibanda, CEO of the Food, Agriculture, and Natural Resources Policy Analysis Network (FANRPAN), based in South Africa and operating in 13 sub-Saharan countries
KEY TOPICS which can be discussed
Africa, Reactions to the G8 agriculture ministers meeting and the direction of agricultural and international development policy, the food crisis, food aid and food waste, food security, climate change, water security, rural livelihoods, rural infrastructure, biotechnology, poverty alleviation, biodiversity, energy security, market access, global supply chains, sustainable resource management, sustainable agriculture
Refreshments will be served.
Please RSVP to:
Michael Hoevel / 020 7079 9220 / michaelh@glasshousepartnership.com
NOTES TO EDITORS:
About the 'Farming First' Plan
'Farming First' provides a call-to-action for policy-makers and practitioners to develop a locally sustainable value chain for global agriculture. It emphasizes the need for knowledge networks and policies centred on helping subsistence farmers to become small-scale entrepreneurs. The framework proposes six interlinked imperatives for sustainable development. The 'Farming First' plan aims to inform the development of a global action plan to increase agricultural output in an environmentally-sustainable, economically-feasible, socially-responsible manner.
About the 'Farming First' Supporters
The founding members of the 'Farming First' group are the International Council for Science (ICSU), the International Federation of Agricultural Producers (IFAP), CropLife International (CLI), and the International Fertilizer Industry Association (IFA). Together, these groups represent three of the nine major groups with consultative status with the UN Commission on Sustainable Development, which will convene next in New York from May 4-15, 2009.
