As part of the International Year of Family Farming (IYFF) declared by the United Nations for 2014, the research institutions of Montpellier’s hub (Agropolis International) have taken the initiative to organize International Encounters on “Family Farming and Research”.
This event was co-organized with the CGIAR Consortium, the Global Forum on Agriculture Research (GFAR) and the World Rural Forum (WRF) and supported by the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Development, the French Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Forestry and various national and international organizations.
235 participants from 70 countries, including representatives of farmers, NGO, decision makers from the political and private sectors, and trainers and researchers, gathered in Montpellier on the occasion of these International Encounters.
The introductory session which took place on Sunday evening gathered over 350 people including Agropolis community and the general public interested in the topic discussed “What research for what agriculture?”
The conference has been introduced by Hans R. Herren, 1995 World Food Prize, and followed by comments by six outstanding speakers representing the various stakeholders involved in family farming all around the world.
During the conference which took place over the 2 following days, the participants had the opportunity to share information and analysis about the state and the evolution of family farming, and to exchange opinions over the abundant and lively discussions in the workshops dealing with the 7 thematic issues related to major challenges:
Family farming in the territories
Family farming facing the challenges of agro-ecological intensification
In-house issues within family farming
Family farming facing the challenges of urbanization and employment
Family farming facing the challenges of climate change
Contribution of family farming to the food systems
Family farming as one of the players in the future of agriculture
These Encounters and their original programme, aimed at questioning and feeding the research agenda related to family farming issues and the challenges of global change. A short statement synthesizing the works will be submitted shortly to the signature of the institutions involved; this statement will be presented in Rome at the end of October 2014 within the framework of FAO global dialogue. A detailed document about the lessons and recommendations drawn from the discussions carried out in the workshops will be available on line and widely disseminated.
