PH Highlights UN Decade for Family Farming Strategies

Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol reaffirms PH commitment to implement the UN Decade of Family Farming during a Ministerial breakfast meeting held on 27 September 2018 in New York City. (RTVM photo)

NEW YORK 15 October 2018 – The Philippines reaffirmed its commitment to successfully implement the United Nations Decade of Family Farming during the Ministerial Breakfast Meeting on the Implementation of the Decade of Family Farming held at the UN Headquarters, New York on 27 September 2018.

“It is now an imperative to reinforce the political will and close collaboration among different stakeholders to form the bases for the development of family farming within the Decade and beyond,” Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol said during the meeting, noting as well that the political commitment in favor of family farming has risen at the highest level across the world.

The Secretary stated that the Decade also recognizes that family farmers, who manage over 500 million farms to produce over 80 percent of the world’s food, play a vital role in realizing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of ending hunger, eradicating poverty, and achieving food security and improved nutrition.

Secretary Piñol stated that the Philippines is implementing policies and initiatives to address rural poverty and to benefit from greater food productivity by investing in agriculture and fisheries in the countryside.

“As one of the countries in the world severely affected by Climate Change and highly vulnerable to natural disasters, such as the recent typhoon Mangkhut, we have learned our painful lessons and with our modest resources, our government has made adjustments. We are likewise grateful for the support to the Government’s emergency response efforts by the international community, including the UN organizations such as the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), World Food Programme (WFP), and International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD),” he stated.

Secretary Piñol shared that the Philippines adopted the Tree Crop Farming as an agricultural activity to encourage smallholders and family farmers to plant trees in watershed and water resources which they could grow along with coffee, cacao, and other permanent crops.

He also reiterated the Philippines’ support to the extended composition of the International Steering Committee (ISC), with representatives from regional family farmers’ organizations. This ensures that national and regional perspectives are considered through the Decade, underlining a clear link with the governing bodies of the FAO and IFAD.

Secretary Piñol called for an inventory of programs and projects on family farming across UN Agencies to provide a baseline of ongoing and planned activities that would be considered as contributing to the Decade’s implementation.

In 2011, the Philippines led the adoption of a UN General Assembly resolution declaring 2014 as the International Year on Family Farming. A few years later, the Philippines co-sponsored the UN General Assembly Resolution on the UN Decade of Family Farming (2019-2028). END

For more information, visit www.newyorkpm.dfa.gov.ph/ www.un.int/philippines or https://www.facebook.com/PHMissionNY/