Advocating for the Right to Food
We Effect aims to directly influence policy processes relevant for cooperative smallholder farmers in order to pave way for their right to food.
For decision-makers at national, regional and global level, We Effect recommends policy choices that strengthen the right to food, with supporting focus on increased resilience, gender equality, climate justice and anti-corruption. Smallholder farmers lead the fight against hunger and as such, supporting them is crucial for meeting SDG 2: Zero Hunger.
75 percent of the world’s poor live in rural areas and depend on agriculture for their survival.
Smallholder farmers are responsible for over 30 percent of the world’s food production. Despite good agricultural conditions, many countries rely to a high degree on imported food. Smallholder farmers receive a very low percentage of the total value of their produce. Agriculture growth is the most efficient way to increase food security, while also reducing poverty, according to the World Bank.
Our core demands are:
Increase support to smallholder farmers, especially women, through international development funding, national budget allocations, debt cancellations by decision-makers, as well as improved strategies and policies acknowledging the critical role of smallholder farmers for resilient food security.
Countries need to raise the degree of food self-sufficiency and make sure that smallholder farmers receive a fair price for their produce.
We support rooted advocacy. This means that we support our partner organisations in strengthening their own advocacy capacity and that We Effect’s advocacy actions
support our partner organisations.
We Effect has a common strategy with Vi-Agroforestry and the two organisations collaborate on the strategic and operational advocacy work in Sweden and globally. Our advocacy work is based on We Effect’s and Vi-Agroforestry’s joint Global Advocacy Strategy.
Smallholder Farmers Demand Climate Justice at the UN Climate Change Conference
With 80% of farmers globally being smallholder farmers, providing 30% of the world’s food production, a healthy, safe and predictable environment is crucial to continue to live off their lands and secure the right to food. Unfortunately, the impacts of climate change are becoming more and more evident for smallholder farmers, who bear the brunt of the crisis while having done very little to contribute to its causes.
In this position paper We Effect together with Vi Agroforestry demand climate justice for smallholder farmers.
