UN Decade of Farming Family celebrated

November 16, 2019, 8:00 am

Former DAR Undersecretary for Support Services Jerry Pacturan (right), now the Country Programme Officer of the International Fund for Agricultural Development, and Wopsyjenn Peñas, representative of peasant-based Pambansang Kilusan ng mga Samahang Magsasaka, presides over the ceremonial ribbon cutting, ushering the commencement of the International Decade of Farming Family.

SOME 350 representatives of farming organizations, civil society groups, academic institutions, government agencies and international development organizations celebrated last Wednesday the United Nations Decade of Farming Family (UNDFF) at the UP Bahay ng Alumni, University of the Philippines, Diliman, Quezon City.

Former DAR Undersecretary for Support Services Jerry Pacturan, now the Country Programme Officer of the International Fund for Agricultural Development, addresses farmers and members of civil society groups, members of the academe, and representatives of some government agencies and international development organizations about the significant role being played by the youth in the development and sustainability of the farming industry during the launching of the International Decade of Farming Family.

The Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) is one of the government agencies that fully supports the UNDFF. It was proclaimed in the 72nd Session of the United Nations General Assembly to help member nations develop and implement policies, programs and investments that are supportive of the holistic and inclusive development of family farming.

The DAR is at the forefront of promoting the welfare of family farming by empowering them through its twin mandates of distributing agricultural lands to landless farmers and providing them vital support services to enhance farm productivity and raise household income.

Gracing the two-day event were former DAR Undersecretary for Support Services Jerry Pacturan, now the country programme officer of the International Fund for Agricultural Development, Wopsyjenn Peñas of the Pambansang Kilusan ng mga Samahang Magsasaka, Department of Agriculture Undersecretary Natividad Caballero, Tamara Palis-Duran, officer-in-charge of the Food and Agriculture Organization, Caridad Corridor of the Philippine Partnership for Development of Human Resources in Rural Areas, and Veranica Papa of the UP Center for Integrative and Development Studies, among others.

Representatives of peasant organizations, peasant-based non-government organization, academic community, government agencies and international development organizations pose for a souvenir photo during the launching of the International Decade of Farming Family.

Highlighting the event was the presentation of the annual “Knowledge Learning Market and Policy Engagement,” which featured good practices and success stories of family farmers, innovative agricultural-based technologies and relevant public policies and programs.

Efforts are being galvanized to make family farming inclusive where the children of farmers are given due recognition, being the future land tillers, food providers and the backbone of the country’s food security program.

Caballero stressed, during the press conference, the need for the farmers’ children to have a say in what educational courses to take instead of letting the parents to decide for them.

She said the country’s aging farming sector needs a shot in the arm by encouraging farmers’ children to take agri-based courses to prepare them for the ever-modernizing farming technologies.

#AgrarianReformPH

2024 Department of Agrarian Reform.