From May 9 to 10, the World Farmers’ Organisation (WFO), represented by Mr Daniel Mwendah M’Mailutha and Ms Brenda Sakong from the WFO Member Kenya National Farmers Federation (KENAFF), along with Ms Francesca Mancarella from the WFO International Secretariat, participated in the 2024 UN Civil Society Conference in Nairobi, Kenya.
The Civil Society Conference is the premier event on the civil society calendar at the United Nations. It brings together senior UN System officials, prominent international civil society organisations, youth changemakers, academia, public opinion makers, and international media to discuss issues of global concern.
This year’s conference was organised in support of the Summit of the Future in September 2024 at the UN Headquarters in New York to serve as a contribution for Member States as they work towards the Pact for the Future.
The conference was structured into two parts: The first day primarily focused on providing valuable insights to the co-facilitators of the Pact for the Future through engaging workshops. On the second day, the focus shifted towards fostering joint action, uniting partners with shared concerns.
During the second day, May 10, Daniel Mwendah M’Mailutha had the opportunity to address the session organised by the ImPACT Coalition on “International Financial Architecture Reform and Financing for Development,” giving the farmers’ perspective on one of the critical focuses of the coalition “Expanding Multilateral Financing for the SDGs, People, and Planet.”
During his intervention, Mr M’Mailutha highlighted that farmers, as people at the forefront of food production, strongly feel the weight of achieving food security. However, as remarked by the WFO representative, the responsibility of accomplishing this goal is not solely on farmers but on the entire global society.
(Daniel Mwendah M’Mailutha (KENAFF) at the ImPACT Coalition session)
Moreover, he added that access to financial resources and a fair policy system are a prerogative to face one of the biggest world challenges: “Farmers, particularly smallholder farmers, must be enabled to address these challenges by receiving robust financial support and benefit from conducive political and legal frameworks.”
For the WFO delegation, this event proved to be an invaluable opportunity to deepen collaboration with members of the Major Groups and other Stakeholders, as WFO plays a pivotal role in leading the Farmers Major Group.
The conference boasted participation from various sectors, including civil society representatives from several countries, as well as government representatives from Kenya, Norway, Costa Rica, Denmark, and notably, the UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres. Guterres has notably revitalised UN support for the critical involvement of civil society in international decision-making processes.
With the recent launch of the new draft of the Pact for the Future, our commitment to actively engage in the consultation process remains steadfast. We are determined to advocate for the inclusion of farmers’ voices and perspectives in the final text.