Highlights from the World Farmers’ Organisation at the International Symposium on Agriculture, Biodiversity and Food Security
The World Farmers’ Organisation (WFO) recently participated in the International Symposium “Agriculture, Biodiversity and Food Security: From Commitments to Actions” held in Québec from April 30 to May 2, 2024.
The WFO delegation included Tamisha Lee, President of the Jamaica Network of Rural Women Producers (JNRWP); Tamar Toria, CEO of the Georgian Farmers Association (GFA); Agustina Diaz Valdez, a young farmer and former president of the Ateneo Sociedad Rural Argentina (SRA); Maria Alkayed, Manager of Environmental Sustainability and Regulatory Affairs, and Pierre Lampron, Second Vice President, at the Canadian Federation of Agriculture (CFA); Francesco Brusaporco, the Officer in charge of Climate, Nature, And Biodiversity at the WFO International Secretariat.
From left to right: Pierre Lampron, Second Vice President (CFA), Tamar Toria, CEO (GFA), Maria Alkayed, Manager of Environmental Sustainability and Regulatory Affairs (CFA), Agustina Diaz Valdez, President (SRA), Tamisha Lee, President (JNRWP), Francesco Brusaporco (WFO)
The conference in Québec was co-organised by the Université Laval’s Graduate School of International Studies (ESEI), the Quebec government’s ministère des Relations internationales et de la Francophonie (MRIF), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity.
This was the first opportunity for the WFO and its members to engage in the global conversation on nature and biodiversity and show that farmers have always played, and will continue to play, a key role in protecting and sustainably managing biodiversity. If farmers receive adequate recognition and the right legal and financial incentives, agriculture can be a source of solutions for some key biodiversity-related challenges.
The WFO delegates contributed significantly to the engaging and insightful discussions at the Symposium. It is worth noting that Agustina Diaz Valdez took part in the Round Table “The Voice of Agriculture” on April 30 and Tamisha Lee addressed the panel discussion “National Policy and Instruments” on May 1.
(Colloque ABSA – WFO delegate Tamisha Lee, President of the Jamaica Network of Rural Women Producers, at the panel discussion “National Policy and Instruments” – Photo credit: ©Université Laval/ Dany Vachon)
The Symposium provided a platform for WFO members to share their experiences and discuss the challenges and opportunities of integrating biodiversity conservation and sustainable use into agricultural operations.
The perspectives shared by WFO members and the many other farmers attending the Symposium have informed the content and approach of its main outcome document, the Technical Roadmap, supporting the need for a new, action-based narrative on the inherent potential of agriculture to simultaneously provide healthy and nutritious food for the global population while supporting the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity and natural resources as critical enablers of farming operations.
It was also an opportunity to reiterate the commitment of the WFO and its members to be part of this conversation and present the work currently underway to develop a first-ever policy position on nature and biodiversity.
Work on the position was initiated upon a strong mandate from the WFO General Assembly, the Organisation’s highest decision-making body. After two rounds of consultations with all WFO members, the final draft will be discussed and presented for approval at the next Annual Meeting in Rome from June 17 to 21, 2024.
Once adopted, this policy position will enable the WFO and the world farmers to position themselves within the global conversation on nature and biodiversity and step up their efforts to ensure that discussions about agriculture reflect and respond to farmers’ experiences on the ground.