Asian Farmers’ Association emphasizes the need to improve infrastructure and services in rural areas, as well as to ensure access to and control of family farmers over productive resources.
“The right investments can help lift millions of women and men farmers from poverty, attract youth into farming and unleash their potentials to contribute to the country’s food security and people’s nutritional wellbeing”
The Asian Farmers’ Association (AFA) general secretary, Esther Penunia, highlights the need to develop family farming in a recent message posted on the website of the World Economic Forum. In order to achieve this objective, in her opinion, the following conditions should be respected:
Securing small farmers’ access and control over productive resources (land, water, forests, seeds, energy).
Building the capacities of smallholder farmers to organize, network and engage governments for policy and program work; increase agricultural productivity through sustainable, agro-ecological production and post-harvest technologies; negotiate for and enter into more inclusive business arrangements with other parties so that these arrangements give farmers more ownership of their business, more influence in decision-making over business matters, and a fairer share of risks and rewards.
Improving physical infrastructures as well as services in rural areas (farm-to-market roads, irrigation, communication system, education, health care, advisory services, insurance, financial services).
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