This year four-day conference held by the World Economic Forum in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland, provided WFO with a great venue to envisage new opportunities and partnerships to make progress in enhancing the position of the farmers in the most pressing issues on the global agenda.
Transforming the food systems under the changing climate was a crucial topic in the discussion and the WFO President, Dr Theo de Jager, joined the debate to represent the worldwide farmers’ community.
He didn’t miss out to highlight the role of farmers in the journey towards sustainability worldwide, reminding that every day the world’s farmers go to their fields to produce more and sustainably with less, trying to be resilient at the same time.
High-level meetings and workshops, forward-looking and constructive meetings with academics, politicians, business, and civil society leaders, offered an excellent opportunity to reiterate farmers’ willingness to contribute in defining the path for future sustainable solutions and partner with all actors in the food value chain towards a sustainable food systems transformation.
Including all the actors of the entire value chain is the only way to overcome the economic, environmental and social challenges of the 21st century and get win-win solutions for a sustainable future for all.
Farming is a business and business needs to be profitable and sustainable.
Sustainability includes environmental sustainability, as farmers are those who are most exposed to the climate change impact, social sustainability, as what farmers want is to improve the wellbeing of their families and livelihood, and of course the economic viability of their farms.
Every day, the world’s farmers go to their fields to provide nutritious food for their families and the global market, and to earn a living, ensuring that their families can experience decent livelihood. And more importantly than ever, to protect the environment they rely on, which is their vital ‘production factor’.