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2. Working with farmers
In any agroecology transition, farmers are innovators, knowledge holders and change agents, and hence, risk takers. This section provides guidance on empowering farmers (and their organizations) and creating the conditions under which they can embark on agroecology transitions and be the central actors as stewards and managers of agroecosystems.
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Four guidelines are outlined to support working with farmers:
Guideline 2.1
Strengthen farmers’, women’s and youth organizations and their active engagement in agroecology policy processes
To achieve this, AMS may consider:
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Strengthening national and regional farmer networks such as the Asian Farmers Association for Sustainable Rural Development (AFA) and its member organizations at the national level.
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Identifying farmer, women and youth champions and improving their capacities for collective action (see Global Action Plan of the UN Decade of Family Farming).
To go further:
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FAO and IFAD. 2019. United Nations Decade of Family Farming 2019-2028. Global Action Plan. Rome.
Guideline 2.2
Create enabling conditions to support farmers in transition
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Better recognize and harness the potential of intercropping and farm diversification as well as diversified rural livelihoods and economies (see guideline 3 on local value adding)
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Contribute to an enabling market environment for farmers:
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enhance the accessibility of small farmers, including women and youth, to market information systems, and complement it with strategic information about subsidies and existing legislation.
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directly support market demand for local sustainable agricultural products via revisiting or reforming public procurements (see guideline 3).
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Provide tailored safety nets in welfare schemes and insurance schemes for farmers piloting the transition.
To achieve this, AMS may consider:
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In partnership with private companies, leveraging the potential of low-cost and low-tech approaches with a high level of penetration (e.g. SMS text) to send customized alerts on weather, crop diseases and infection risk, and agricultural rules and regulations.
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Supporting affordable mechanisms for small farmers’ access to timely and transparent market and price information through ICT, and small farmers-adapted market information systems, to enable informed decision making on what, when and where to produce and sell.
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Reviewing insurance schemes and social risk mitigating measures against the assessment of actual farmers’ risk situation when transitioning.
Guideline 2.3
Promote a safe legal and institutional environment
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Provide measures to respect the provisions of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Peasants and Other People Working in Rural Areas (UNDROP), where appropriate.
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Provide public policy and legal regulations to support farmers to conserve, sustainably use, exchange and dynamically manage agrobiodiversity.
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Promote and consider the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner on Human Rights guide A Human Rights-Based Approach to Data, in respect of farmers data management, where applicable
To achieve this, AMS may consider:
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Supporting awareness raising to public authorities and rights-holders on the principles and application of the UNDROP so that rights to natural resources and means of production are recognized and respected.
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Recognizing the roles and rights of farmers in the conservation and development of plant genetic resources (native seeds, landraces, neglected and underutilized species).
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Strengthening regulations on farmers’ control over their data, including how it is used, processed, and secured through levers such as education and regulation, as necessary. Ensure accountability for data privacy with appropriate penalties.
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Referencing to the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests in the Context of National Food Security (VGGT).
To go further:​​
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Farmers’ Rights under the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture
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FAO. 2022. Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests in the Context of National Food Security
Guideline 2.4
Harness the potential of digital technologies and data/knowledge management systems
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Leverage the potential of digital technologies to reduce the information gap on market and price, help reconnect farmers and consumers, inform on innovative practices from varieties of farmers and stakeholders on the ground, foster horizontal knowledge sharing and hybridization.
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Strengthen innovation platforms and promote digital technologies and applications that facilitate wider networking among farmers and wider participation in multistakeholder dynamics.
To achieve this, AMS may consider:
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Strengthening digitalization and open-source online platforms to support documenting, aggregating and sharing practices, innovation and local knowledge.
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Leveraging digital technologies to collect, store and share traditional and ancestral knowledge among farmer communities (hybridization of local and Indigenous knowledge with digital technologies fitting tech-savvy younger generations).
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Supporting cooperative data platforms that abide to farmers’ rights on data and facilitating collaborative farm data management by technology providers, researchers and other stakeholders together with farmers (see guideline 4).
To go further:​​