Our mission

Our food system is broken. Climate change is damaging harvests, fuelling hunger and pushing up the price of food across the globe. Food and agriculture also accounts for a third of emissions and is the main driver of biodiversity loss.

Globally, we urgently need to create a more sustainable, resilient and equitable food system, but this can’t be done without family farmers. 

Small-scale family farmers produce up to 80% of the food consumed in regions such as Asia and sub-Saharan Africa and are at the heart of global supply chains for commodities like rice, maize, cocoa and coffee. Family farmers are also the backbone of rural economies with over 2.5 billion people dependent on family farms for their livelihoods globally.

As family farmers  we are pioneering diverse and nature-friendly farming practices, such as agroecology and organic, which the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) says are needed to safeguard food security in a changing climate, and that are key to protecting and restoring nature.

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No money, no voice

Despite the critical role we play, family farmers are often sidelined by decision-makers and funders: 

  • No access to climate finance: Decades of underinvestment and an unfair global food system, means millions of family farmers lack the infrastructure, technology and resources needed to adapt to an increasingly erratic and extreme climate. In 2021, just 0.3% of international climate finance was targeted at small-scale producers. 
  • No say in decision-making: Family farmers’ concerns and proposals are rarely acted upon by governments, while eligibility and financial constraints make it difficult for us to engage in international events like the UN Climate Summits.

Few funds for sustainable agriculture

Just a fifth (19%) of international public climate finance for agriculture, forestry and fishing was used to support sustainable and resilient agricultural practices in 2021. This amounts to  US$1.6 billion – a fraction of the estimated US$300-350 billion a year that is needed. 

What’s more, almost 90% of the $540 billion governments spend on agricultural subsidies each year supports practices which damage people’s health, fuel climate change, damage nature, and drive inequality, since they exclude smallholder farmers.

What do we want

At COP28, 159 governments pledged to transform our food system. Delivering on this promise will require:

  • More and better finance: More climate finance is needed to adapt the food system, and more of this needs to go directly to family farmer organisations where it will have the most impact. We need more grants, fewer loans and lower interest rates, plus longer-term investments that are tailored to our needs as farmers, not to donor priorities. 
  • A real say: Family farmer organisations must have a real say in decision-making on food and climate at the local, national, regional and international level from the outset, not just tagged on as end beneficiaries. This includes decisions around climate finance, adaptation planning, land reform and agricultural subsidies.
  • Climate resilient agriculture: More finance should be targeted at sustainable, resilient and equitable agricultural practices, including agroecology, that promote a more diverse range of crops, livestock, forestry and fisheries. These should include local varieties, and should reduce harmful chemical inputs to enhance soil health, and help build strong connections to local markets.