Family farms are key to food security

Under the theme "Family Farming: Feeding the world, caring for the earth" this year’s World Food Day was observed at the UN Headquarters on 20 October. The commemoration, co-hosted by FAO, IFAD and WFP, featured a thematic debate and interactive dialogue among UN Member States, civil society, UN agency representatives and other stakeholders.

As outlined in a recently released report by the FAO, Jakob Skoet, Economist from FAO, reminded the participants that family farms make up around 80% of all farms and that these produce more than 80% of the world’s food. "Family farms are key to food security," said Skoet.

The discussion focused on the many challenges to productivity and sustainability that these family farms face. Among these,  gender inequality, social exclusion, climate change, market access and access to finance and other business services present almost universal challenges. Although family farms globally have seen an improvement during the last two decades, they have still been unable to fulfill their potential.

The commemoration called on national Governments to increase their support to family farms in order to help address these issues . The creation and strengthening of farmer’s cooperatives was also discussed  as integral to improving the sustainability of family farms.

For more information on World Food Day and family farming, visit the World Food Day web page of the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations http://www.fao.org/world-food-day/home/en/.