In this opinion piece by Thomson Reuters, authors UN Special Envoy Dr. Agnes Kalibata, and Director of the International Land Coalition Secretariat, Michael Taylor, describe the critical role of smallholder producers in feeding our world.
Smallholder producers, including Indigenous Peoples and local communities are responsible for producing 60-80 per cent of the food worldwide. Better supporting their role in food systems allows a move away from models of intensive large-scale production predicated on cheap food with a great cost to local societies and ecosystems.
New research by the International Land Coalition shows that land inequality directly threatens the livelihoods of an estimated 2.5 billion people involved in smallholder farming. Giving an equal chance to smallholder farmers to play their full role in feeding our world means ensuring they have access to sufficient land – which may require redistributing land from large landholders.
The UN Food Systems Summit hopes to address the issues faced by smallholder producers.
Read the full opinion piece on Thomas Reuters here.
