On November 11th and 12th, IFAD HQ hosted an official meeting of the International Steering Committee of the UN Decade of Family Farming. A delegation, including the WFO Secretary-General Ms Arianna Giuliodori, participated in the event on behalf of the World Farmers’ Organisation (WFO).

The International Steering Committee (ISC) is the main governing body of the Decade, responsible for overseeing its implementation. It includes representatives of Member States and international Farmers’ Organisations, such as the World Farmers’ Organisation (WFO), the World Rural Forum (WRF) and La Via Campesina, regional producers’ groups such as the Confederación de Organizaciones de Productores Familiares del MERCOSUR (COPROFAM) and the Asian Farmers’ Association for Sustainable Rural Development (AFA).

In this meeting, the participants discussed the progress at the global, regional and national level on the implementation of the Global Action Plan of the UNDFF.

During her intervention, the WFO Secretary-General reminded that women empowerment and youth involvement are the most powerful instruments to accelerate the achievement of the Decade’s goals and called the audience’s attention on the importance to have young and women farmers represented in the ISC.

Overall, the meeting provided a venue to develop further the shared roles and responsibilities of the players involved and envisage new opportunities to make progress on the global action plan, as to ensure that the Decade delivers its outcomes.