European Development Days: High level panel: Growing a Better Future for Farmers

On 16-17 October, the European Commission will be hosting EU Development Days, a two-day forum on international affairs and development cooperation that will see Heads of State, Nobel Prize laureates, business leaders, and development professionals meet to discuss some of the global issue that are at risk of slipping down the international agenda in the wake of the economic crisis.

16 October 2012. To improve information sharing and promote networking, the ACP-EU Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA) in collaboration with FAO, AgriCord and other partners organised a high-level panel in Brussels in the context of the European Development Days.

Various panelists gave their perspectives on how they see the future of farmers in the context of new drivers affecting food production, trade and the environment.Among the topics that were discussed are: how policy factors influence agricultural production and the nutritional status of the poor in developing countries, how small-scale farmers can increase their productivity to feed a growing population, the economic drivers behind key policy decisions, the new policy challenges affecting food production and the role of traditional and emerging actors in the food system.

The objectives of the panel were to 

1. raise awareness on existing and emerging challenges on food policies 
2. promote the exchange of information and expertise from various parts of the world, especially from developing countries 
3. feed into the debate various perspectives on policy options, which have the potential to improve the future of farmers.

Speakers came from different parts of the world, highlighting unique experiences: Graziano Da Silva, Director General, FAO, addressed the audience from Rome in the context of World Food Day; Richard Greene, Mission Director in Bangladesh, USAID; Ruth Rawling, Vice-President Corporate Affairs, Europe, Middle East and Africa, Cargill; Piet Vanhemtsche, President, Agricord; Kalilou Sylla, Executive Secretary, ROPPA, Panafrican Farmer's Organisation, PAFO; Elisangela dos Santos Araujo, Federação Nacional dos Trabalhadores e Trabalhadoras na Agricultura Familiar (FETRAF), Brazil.
The panel was webstreamed and is available to watch here.

• AgriCord factsheet - Farmers Fighting Poverty
• Geopolitics of food briefing
• Food price volatility briefing