Participate
Your message to Rio
Some of our readers may travel to Rio, but most of us won’t. Even so, we can all make an important contribution to the discussions. Your voice should be heard too. What do you say? Our main message is that small scale farmers deserve recognition. What would you tell those at the negotiating tables? Join us by printing out the A4 messages or make your own, take a picture of yourself holding it and send it to us!
Call for articles - Farmers and their organisations
Deadline: June 1st, 2012 - All over the world farmers work together, in both formal and informal settings. Collective action can help farmers to have their voices heard in the political and commercial arena, to minimise risks, to strengthen their capacities and to secure property rights – all extremely challenging things for individuals to achieve working alone. By grouping together, farmers can build strong track records which can help them obtain financial support. Farmers’ organisations can be instrumental in buying, selling or processing agricultural products in bulk – and they can do this in a sustainable way. Farmers’ organisations can play important roles in developing supply management schemes and various income insurance programmes. Farmers can learn from each other, about production, marketing, rights, etc., and join a platform to learn about others’ experiences. As a group, farmers can exercise more political pressure for change.
Share your own story on ‘securing the right to land’
What are your own experiences with land rights issues? How do you think you yourself could influence the process of securing the right to land? What support would you need to achieve this? Share your story!
What do YOU think of the land rights issue of Farming Matters?
Deadline: March 1st, 2012: Fill in our survey!
Call for article: Greening the economy
March 1st, 2012 - As Rio+20 reflects on the developments of the past 20 years, so do we. What have been the changes since the first Rio conference in 1992? Are we moving in the right direction? Throughout all these years we have been reporting on and sharing many successful cases of sustainable agriculture practices and approaches. How successful have we been in scaling them up and broadening their impact? What have been the enabling factors in the larger context?
Call for articles: Friends or foes? Our love/ hate relationship with insects
January 15th, 2012 - How do insects contribute to strengthening the functions, processes and resilience of ecosystems? How can farmers support their “successful integration”? Our March 2012 issue will look at these issues, focusing on the many ways in which small-scale farmers benefit from insects, and on the steps they take in order to increase these benefits.
Call for contributions: Land and land rights
Deadline: September 1st, 2011 - Land is a scarce resource. Large-scale land acquisitions by governments and companies – also known as "land grabs" – allow them to secure food supplies or simply make a profit.
Call for contributions: Regional food systems
Deadline: June 1st, 2011 - We invite you to share your experiences in strengthening local and regional food systems. How to create the conditions that can support their development? What role can farmers, consumers, farmer organisations, the private sector, field technicians, government programmes and the media play to (re)create regional food systems? How do they contribute to improved food and nutrition security?
Call for contributions: Trees and farming
Deadline: March 10th, 2011 - Trees are important to farming in that they provide fruit, fodder and wood products, but they also provide many other services, both in their immediate environment and elsewhere.
Call for contributions: The role of a new generation of farmers
Deadline: November 15th, 2010 - The March 2011 issue of Farming Matters will look at the specific role which youngsters play in family farming.
Guide for authors
Do you want to share an interesting story with our readers? Here's some ideas on how to do it.
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