The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) organizes from 18 until 21 February the Farmers’ Forum in Rome. This forum brings together all international and local stakeholders in the field of rural development and poverty reduction. During this event, Vétérinaires Sans Frontières Europa will present its latest study on climate change and small-scale livestock farming.
 
IFAD is a specialized United Nations’ agency dedicated to the eradication of rural poverty in developing countries. Its aim would be impossible to realize without the cooperation of farmers’ organizations and rural associations: they need to have the necessary opportunities and capacities to develop better futures for themselves.

Through the Farmers’ Forum, IFAD brings together different actors who share this same objective. The forum is actually a consultation process between smallholder farmers and livestock keepers and their organizations, IFAD and governments. The forum is based on concrete partnerships and collaboration on different levels. It reinforces the engagement of rural organizations at the field level and it also stimulates dialogue at the regional and the international level. The Farmers’ Forum reunites every two years for a global consultation, in conjunction with IFAD's Governing Council.

Climate change and livestock
VSF Europa, the European umbrella organization of Vétérinaires Sans Frontières Belgium, considers this the ideal occasion to present its recent study on climate change and small-scale livestock farming. Small-scale livestock farmers in the South increasingly experience the consequences of climate change. They have to cope with environmental changes by adapting their production systems to different unpredictable events such as sudden intensive droughts and floods. Moreover, the occurrence and the geographic range of animal diseases are on the rise, mainly because insects and ticks prosper in higher temperatures.

Small-scale livestock keepers in the South could play an important role in adaptation and mitigation of climate change: they hold a valuable legacy of ecosystem knowledge combined with great flexibility and resilience. Throughout history, they have been able to employ very efficient practices to face different sorts of environmental and extreme weather conditions. The international community should pay more attention to this vulnerable group and support them in the adaptation and the development of their ‘coping strategies’.

Farmers’ organizations have an important role to play. They will increasingly be challenged to help livestock keepers respond to the present situation and to be prepared for future scenarios. VSF Europa and Vétérinaires Sans Frontières Belgium want to take advantage of this occasion to encourage NGOs, civil society and farmers’ organizations to step up and carry out an ambitious goal: to establish a focal point for gathering useful information, a shared ground for debate, and a common framework to take action in favour of small-scale livestock keepers. This will take place as a side event of the Farmers’ Forum on Thursday 23 February, at the headquarters of IFAD.
 
The agenda of the side-event of the Farmers' Forum:

Chair: Alessandro Broglia, President of Vétérinaires Sans Frontières Europa
14:00 Introduction and presentation of the panel
14:10 Presentation: Marta Guadalupe Rivera Ferre, Centro de Investigacion en Economia y Desarrollo Agroalimentario, CREDA – VSF Europa – The impacts of climate change on small-scale livestock farming: adaptation strategies and future scenarios
14:30 Panel comments

• Oumou Khairy Diallo, CNCR Senegal – rural womens’ perspectives
• Taghi Farvar, CENESTA Iran – Indigenous and mobile pastoral peoples’ perspectives
• Andrea Ferrante AIAB (member of  the Intercontinental Network of Organic Farmers Organisations, INOFO) –  organic producers’ perspectives

15:00 Open floor debate: How farmers’ organizations and their platforms can take the challenge posed to livestock and climate change: adapting strategies for better organization, advocacy, production systems, marketing, relations with consumers, decision makers, GHG trading systems
15:45 Summing-up of the main results of the event

More information on the website of IFAD