We are working with others to get an International Year of Family Farming declared by the United Nations.

The declaration will go a long way towards making people aware of:

• the problems family farms are having
• the important role family farms plays in food security

Family farmers face many challenges

70% of the poor men and women in Africa live in rural areas and depend on farming for their livelihoods. For them, agriculture development is therefore the key engine to improving household food and income security and their livelihoods.

Family farmers in Africa face many challenges:

• Low investment in agriculture by African governments. For example, only five countries in Africa are allocating 10% of the annual budget to agriculture
• Lack of extension services (adult education taking place outside of schools)
• Inaccessibility to appropriate technology such as irrigation equipment and ox-ploughs
• Heavy dependence on rain-fed agriculture, a problem being exacerbated by severe and prolonged droughts resulting from climate change
• High illiteracy levels, especially among women
• Lack of financial intermediaries in rural areas and therefore lack of access to credit
• Complex land tenure systems
• Gender disparity
• High post-harvest losses
• Poor linkages in commodity chains/lack of access to markets
• Health hazards: malaria, HIV and AIDS, which affect availability and quality of labour
• Land grabbing

We need an international year of attention on family farming because the challenges are felt in all continents – and they require concerted, international efforts to fix.

PELUM helping to gather support for the campaign

The campaign is being spearheaded by the World Rural Forum. So far, more than 300 organisations are supporting the call for an International Year of Family Farming, many of them PELUM member organisations. We will continue to encourage organisations and governments to support the campaign.

Pelum organisations supporting the campaign:

Kenya
Community Mobilization Against Desertification
Community Sustainable Development EMPOWERMENT Programme
Inades Kenya
Kima Integrated Community-Based Programme
Network for Eco-farming in Africa
PELUM Kenya
Sustainable Agriculture Community Development Programme
Youth Action for Rural Development

Lesotho
Machobane Agricultural Development Association
PELUM Lesotho

Malawi
Churches Action in Relief and Development
Community Initiative for Rural Development
Greenline Movement
Lipangwe Organic Manure Demonstration Farm
PELUM Malawi
Regional Schools & College Permaculture (RESCOPE)

Rwanda
Inades Rwanda
PELUM Rwanda

South Africa
Abalimi Bezekhaya
Department of Agriculture and Environmental Affairs, province of KwaZulu-Natal
PELUM South Africa


Tanzania
PELUM Tanzania

Uganda
Agency for Integrated Rural Development
Center for Integrated Development
Community Development Resource Network
Environmental Alert
International Centre for Tropical Agriculture
Jinja Diocese Development Coordinating Organisation
Joint Effort to Save the Environment
Katende Harambe Rural and Urban Training Center
Organisation for Rural Development
PELUM Uganda
Rural Community in Development (RUCID)
Rural Community Development (RUCODE)
Send a Cow Uganda
Sustainable Agriculture Trainers' Network
Uganda Environmental Education Foundation
Voluntary Efforts for Development Concerns

Zambia
Organic Producers and Processors Association of Zambia
PELUM Zambia

Zimbabwe
Africa 2000 Network
PELUM Zimbabwe

It is easy for organisations to support this campaign.