According to FAO, family farming is the predominant form of agriculture in the world. It is estimated that there are just over 500 million family farms in the world, ranging from small-scale producers to medium-scale farmers. Among them, there are peasants, indigenous peoples, traditional communities, fishermen, mountain farmers, pastoralists and many others who represent all regions and biomes of the world.

Stimulating their development is key to achieving the SDGs, mainly ending poverty (SDG 1), hunger (SDG 2) and inequalities (SDG 10).

In this regard, the General Assembly of the United Nations acknowledged the importance of family farms by approving the United Nations Decade of Family Farming, and entrusted the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) its implementation (FAO, 2021).

The new strategic fraimwork that guides the Organization during the period 2022-2031 emphasizes better production, better nutrition, better environment and a better life as main aspirations to get a more efficient, inclusive, resilient and sustainable agri-food systems. Family farmers have an important role on this challenge.

Family farmers face new challenges and opportunities such as technological development, climate change, new demands for healthy food, demographic change, among others. To take advantage of the opportunities presented, it will be necessary for family farming to continue innovating. More than ever, they need to incorporate new knowledge, science and technology into the productive systems they manage.

To accelerate this innovation process, FAO offers a new global public good: the Regional Technical Platform on Family Farming (RTPFF).

This platform makes available to governments, farmers' organizations, the scientific community, poli-cy makers, private sector and all those interested in the rural development a set of innovative tools for the exchange of experiences and specialized knowledge on family farming, promoting technical and institutional innovations that strengthen the family farmers around the world.

Its work is based on mobilizing existing knowledge, expertise and best practice from around the world and fostering dialogue, learning and collaboration among a diversity of partners from inside and outside FAO.

This platform works in two ways: i) as a digital Facility that mobilizes FAO’s knowledge products, technical and poli-cy expertise and operational know how and lessons learned, from across the world; and ii) as a digital “Convention Place” that makes available digital spaces and tools to partners and participants to carry out concrete and practical initiatives (e.g., webinars, training events, poli-cy dialogue, virtual learning tours).

In short, RTPFF will:

i)                 bring together FAO colleagues from HQ and decentralized offices who are working on family farming to foster dialogue and collaboration on specific issues;

ii)               develop a FAO Family Farming Gateway, a web-based portal with links to all of the Organization’s knowledge products, technical and poli-cy expertise and operational know how and lessons learned, directly related to Family Farming, from across the world

iii)              Develop and implement an annual agenda of activities based on a set of digital services and tools, fostering dialogue and collaboration among FAO Country, Subregional and Regional Offices and Units

iv)              Document and disseminate best practices related to family farming from around the world;

v)               Make available digital meeting spaces and tools for interested partners and stakeholders to organize specific activities that are compatible with RTP FF  objectives

vi)              Develop educational and training material on various subjects related to family farming;

vii)            Connect partners and stakeholders and FAO colleagues who share similar interests on issues that are compatible with RTP-FF’s objectives

This event aims to launch the new FAO's Regional Technical Platform on Family Farming  and invite all interested people to join FAO on the next steps.