After the second meeting of the support fund created by the project “The Legacy of the IYFF 2014 and the Way Forward,” the National Committees for Family Farming (NCFF) selected will have technical and financial support to meet the objectives outlined in their proposals. The Selection Committee, comprised of three members of the IYFF+10 World Steering Committee (AFA, PAFO, COPROFAM), a representative of the WRF, and the IFAD and FAO as observers, met on the 22nd of February 2017 in Bilbao.
Based on the best scores obtained, the Selection Committee at this second meeting decided to support the proposals made by the National Committees for Family Farming from Honduras, Burkina Faso, Senegal and the Philippines, as well as the initiative for the creation of new National Committee in Chad.
Among those selected for the strengthening of NCFFs, these are their main objectives:
Burkina Faso: Promote Family Farming via the implementation of the Agrosilvopastoral, Fishing, and Fauna Orientation Law in the country and that of the second phase of the rural sector national program.
Senegal: Improve the quality of the participation of Farming Organizations and Civil Society in the process of creating, implementing and evaluating the National Program for Farming Investment (PNIA in French), in addition to the firm intention of creating national guidelines for Family Farming and basic principles for the formulation and implementation of public policy that support this sector in the country.
Honduras: Facilitate Access to financing via the promotion of laws of mutual guarantees and trusts within the country that contribute to improving the standard of living and food security of men and women in Family Farming.
Philippines: Contribute to the establishment of a permanent trust fund of 1.4 million euros for coconut trees that will support 3.5 million youth, men and women dedicated to the coconut sector in the Philippines, raising their family income and level of food security.
In the phase for the creation of new NCFF, Chad was selected with the hope that, by establishing this body, public policy in favor of Family Farming will be improved.
PROGRESS AFTER THE FIRST CALL
The initiatives supported by the first call of the Fund in 2016 have already borne fruit in priority areas for IYFF+10, for example:
The reality of women in family farming: This the case in Paraguay, with the creation of the National Steering Group for women Family Farming organizations in order to promote the implementation of the National Law of Public Policy for Rural Women approved in 2015.
The creation of National Guidelines for the Promotion of Family Farming: In Indonesia, the NCFF has conducted the first dialogue workshops for the creation of a common framework that allows for the incorporation of the main needs of Family Farming in different public policies in the country, such as land governance, youth, gender, and rural development, among others.
Better knowledge of the characteristics of Family Farming in every context: The NCFF of Madagascar has started an important study on the characteristics and role of Family Farming in the country, in which the main organizations for Family Farming, research centers and the Ministry of Agriculture are involved. The participation of the Ministry of Agriculture is very positive with respect to a future commitment, as the study will be valuable input for the formulation of public policy favoring this sector.
Recognition of the Governments of the National Committees as spaces for political dialogue regarding Family Farming: In the Dominican Republic, the Ministry of Agriculture has signed a Resolution with which it adopts the concept of Family Farming, declares its promotion via specific programs a matter of major interest, and creates the Commission for Consultation on Family Farming, whose main task will be the creation of a National Plan for Public Policy on Family Farming.
Creation of new Committees: With the process of forming new National Committees in Fiji and Macedonia, progress is being made toward the recognition of Family Farming as a key topic in the political agenda of these countries.
The National Committees for Family Farming (NCFF) are multi-actor platforms that work at the national level to improve public policy in favor of Family Farming and to promote its implementation. They were a key part in the achievements made in IYFF 2014 and continue to work in the framework of IYFF+10.
This “Support Fund for National Committees for Family Farming” formed in 2016 in the framework of the project “The Legacy of IYFF 2014 and the Way Forward” is co-financed by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (FIDA), the WRF, the FIDA-MERCOSUR CLAEH and is being implemented by the WRF in conjunction with INADES-Formation International, AMARC and FIDA-MERCOSUR CLAEH. Its objective is to improve specific public policy at the national level via the promotion of the agenda of various National Committees for Family Farming.
The second meeting of the fund had a financial endowment of 340,000 USD.
This news originally appeared in a newsletter of the World Rural Forum, a Partner in GFAR.