This post originally appeared on the Farming First Website.
This post originally appeared on the Farming First Website.
2015 is drawing to a close – and what better way to celebrate this milestone year for development, than by highlighting the work of some of Farming First’s most hardworking supporters and partners! Take a tour through our activities this past year and help us celebrate some of our heroes.
Mark Rosegrant at The Economist Feeding the World Conference
We kicked off the year at The Economist’s Feeding the World conference in Amsterdam, where we acted as their media partner for the fourth consecutive year. Mark Rosegrant, Director of the Environment and Production Technology Division of the International Food Policy Research Institute, spoke the rewards of technology and showcased some future solutions. He summarised findings from a report released last year that tested the effectiveness of 11 technologies under climate change scenarios. Watch his interview with Farming First TV to find out more, and click here to read our summary blog of The Economist event.
Mildred Crawford at our February advocacy mission to the UN in New York
Our first Farming First delegation of supporters went out to engage with United Nations negotiators involved in the Post-2015 process in February. Mildred Crawford, a farmer from the Jamaican Network of Rural Women Producers and World Farmers Organization delivered a statement at the Interactive Session of UN Post 2015 discussions on February 19th, 2015.
Courtney Paisley at the Global Forum for Innovations in Agriculture
In March, Farming First was in Abu Dhabi for the Global Forum for Innovations in Agriculture. We caught up with several Farming First members to hear the latest about the great work they are doing on the ground. Courtney Paisley, Director of the Young Professionals for Agricultural Development was there, spreading the message on how to get young people involved in agricultural policy discussions. Watch her Farming First TV interview here, and check out the blog posts that young YPARD members have provided for us throughout the year.
Charlotte Hebebrand during the International Year of Soils
2015 was the International Year of Soils, and following our Twitter Chat in December, we spoke to several soil experts, including Charlotte Hebebrand, Director General of the International Fertilizer Industry Association, on why soils need to be put back on the global agenda.
Professor Zeyaur Khan at the CSA 2015 Conference
Farming First’s second media partnership of the year was with the Climate Smart Agriculture conference in Montpellier. We hosted a blog series that detailed the work of all the scientists shortlisted for the Louis Malassis International Scientific Prize and the Olam Prize for Innovation in Food Security. Check out the blog series here, and find out more about one of the winning scientists below.
Sue Carlson at the launch of “The Story of Agriculture and the SDGs”
In April we launched our interactive essay “The Story of Agriculture and the SDGs”, which highlighted the ways that interventions in agriculture can help reach several of the Sustainable Development Goals.
Emiliano Dominguez in the lead up to the SDG adoption
As the approval of the Sustainable Development Goals approached in New York, we worked with CropLife International, to tell the story of farmers in Honduras. The USAID ACCESO project saw farmer incomes in the second poorest regions of Latin America double. As part of a public private CropLife Latin America trained 30,000 farmers on good agricultural practices and proper use of pest control products that have had a significant impact on yields. Strawberry farmer Emiliano Dominguez has seen his business go from strength to strength since he received training on how to keep pests at bay. Read his opinion article on trust.org.
Chris Hegadorn at the Farming First Meet and Greet
In August, Farming First held a “meet and greet” session in Washington D.C. Supporters and partners were invited to an evening of discussion and debate with our guest speaker, Chris Hegadorn of Feed the Future. Many Farming First supporters such as Chemonics and Fintrac are involved in Feed the Future initiatives – you can read more about them in the 2015 progress report.
Halima Naiga at the launch of “The SDGs and Me”
When the Sustainable Development Goals were officially adopted in September, Farming First celebrated by releasing 10 farmers stories from around the world, entitled “The SDGs and Me”. Each farmer told Farming First what they hoped the SDGs would bring to their farms, and how are supporters are already supporting them. Halima Naiga, who grows coffee, beans and maize in Uganda told us that she had been able to overcome pests by becoming part of her co-operative’s savings scheme. She hopes that the SDGs will prompt more loan schemes for farmers. Read her story on ONE International’s blog.
Eric Polhman at the Borlaug Dialogue
Farming First supporter One Acre Fund was also honoured at the Borlaug Dialogue, held by the World Food Prize Foundation in Iowa in October. Rwanda Country Director and Senior Partner Eric Polhman was awarded the Norman Borlaug Award for Field Research and Application. Eric was inspired by Borlaug’s desire to expand the Green Revolution. He recognized a major barrier preventing its spread to Africa was the lack of access to credit for subsistence farmers. To that end, he was instrumental in framing the implementation of an innovative farm finance model, which currently serves 100,000 farm families in southwest Rwanda. Read more on the One Acre Fund blog here.
Denise Young in the lead up to COP21
It has been a long, hard process to get to the Paris COP, where a new climate agreement will be reached. The International Council for Science’s blog editor, Denise Young, has been bringing together a wealth of scientific information together on a brand new blog Road to Paris. Head to the site to get the latest expert commentary.