The World Farmers' Organization (WFO) is an international organisation of

farmer A farmer is a person engaged in agriculture, raising living organisms for food or raw materials. The term usually applies to people who do some combination of raising field crops, orchards, vineyards, poultry, or other livestock. A farmer ...

s with a focus on

agroecology Agroecology is an academic discipline that studies ecological processes applied to agricultural production systems. Bringing ecological principles to bear can suggest new management approaches in agroecosystems. The term can refer to a science, ...

farming Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

typologies,

food chain A food chain is a linear network of links in a food web, often starting with an autotroph (such as grass or algae), also called a producer, and typically ending at an apex predator (such as grizzly bears or killer whales), detritivore (such as ...

indigenous peoples There is no generally accepted definition of Indigenous peoples, although in the 21st century the focus has been on self-identification, cultural difference from other groups in a state, a special relationship with their traditional territ ...

, and mountain farming.

History

A former organisation, the International Federation of Agricultural Producers, was dissolved in 2010. It had been the subject of criticism for mostly middle-class to rich farmers from the

Global North Global North and Global South are terms that denote a method of grouping countries based on their defining characteristics with regard to socioeconomics and Global politics, politics. According to UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD), the Global S ...

. The World Farmers Organisation (WFO) was established in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

, Italy, on 12 July 2011, with the aim of representing and advocating for farmers around the world, and bringing farmers and cooperatives together to develop policies and programs to provide solutions to global

food security Food security is the state of having reliable access to a sufficient quantity of affordable, healthy Human food, food. The availability of food for people of any class, gender, ethnicity, or religion is another element of food protection. Simila ...

issues.

Description

The WFO has its headquarters in Rome. It is an international organisation of farmers with a focus on

typologies,

, and mountain farming. It aims to strengthen agricultural producers and farmers' positions within

value chain A value chain is a progression of activities that a business or firm performs in order to deliver goods and services of Value (economics), value to an end customer. The concept comes from the field of business management and was first described ...

s, with a particular focus on

smallholder A smallholding or smallholder is a small farm operating under a small-scale agriculture model. Definitions vary widely for what constitutes a smallholder or small-scale farm, including factors such as size, food production technique or technolo ...

farmers. It closely cooperates with the

Food and Agriculture Organization The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations; . (FAO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that leads international efforts to defeat hunger and improve nutrition and food security. Its Latin motto, , translates ...

, which is also headquartered in Rome. It also aims to improve the livelihood of producers and rural communities in general. Researcher Annette Schramm of the

University of Tübingen The University of Tübingen, officially the Eberhard Karl University of Tübingen (; ), is a public research university located in the city of Tübingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. The University of Tübingen is one of eleven German Excellenc ...

in Germany in 2017 voiced criticism of the WFO for acting as a successor to the now-defunct IFAP, with its focus on representing middle-class to rich farmers from the

, and a threat to the

Civil Society Mechanism Civil may refer to: *Civility, orderly behavior and politeness *Civic virtue, the cultivation of habits important for the success of a society *Civil (journalism) ''The Colorado Sun'' is an online news outlet based in Denver, Colorado. It lau ...

, (now Civil Society and Indigenous Peoples' Mechanism (CSIPM)), an autonomous part of the United Nations Committee on World Food Security. WFO cooperates with

Bayer Bayer AG (English: , commonly pronounced ; ) is a German multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology company and is one of the largest pharmaceutical companies and biomedical companies in the world. Headquartered in Leverkusen, Bayer' ...

in several projects (WFO Gymnasium, "Cattle4Care").

People

Robert Carlson of the United States was president of the WFO before the election of Peter Kendall of the United Kingdom in March 2014, but resigned in October 2014 owing to being appointed to a UK government post.

Evelyn Nguleka Evelyn Nguleka (1970 – February 5, 2017) was a veterinarian, farmer, and president of the World Farmers' Organisation from mid-2015 to mid-2016. Early life and education Evelyn Nguleka was born in 1970 in Zambia. Raised by her grandmother ...

, who was the first woman president of Zambia Agricultural Organization and the Zambia National Farmers Union, was appointed as acting president in October 2014, and president in 2015. After her resignation on 22 September 2016, WFO vice-president William Rolleston, president of the

Federated Farmers of New Zealand Federated Farmers of New Zealand is a lobby and advocacy group for farmers and rural communities. It has a network of 24 regional organisations and six industry groups. Federated Farmers lobbies on farming issues both nationally and within eac ...

, stepped into the acting role. On 13 June 2017, South African farmer Theo de Jager was elected president. He was the first South African to assume the role. He had led the

Southern African Confederation of Agricultural Unions The Southern African Confederation of Agricultural Unions (SACAU) is a not-for-profit farmer organization representing national agricultural unions in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region. SACAU was originally formed in 1992 by ...

since 2013, and had also had a stint as president of the

Pan-African Farmers' Organisation Pan-Africanism is a nationalist movement that aims to encourage and strengthen bonds of solidarity between all indigenous peoples and diasporas of African ancestry. Based on a common goal dating back to the Atlantic slave trade, the Trans-Sa ...

. In June 2022 Arnold Puech d'Alissac, a family farmer from the Normandy region in northern France, was elected president, and remains in the position . From 2017 until 2022 he had represented the European constituency on the WFO board. His term ends in 2026. In June 2024,

Fiona Simson Fiona is a feminine given name of Gaelic origins. It means white or fair, while the Irish name ''Fíona'' means 'of wine', being the genitive of 'wine'. It was coined by Scottish writer James Macpherson. Initially, the name was confined to S ...

, who had been first female president of the

National Farmers' Federation The National Farmers' Federation (NFF) is an Australian non-profit membershipbased organisation that represents farmers and the agricultural sector in Australia. The NFF has been a key player in a number of industrial relations disputes, includ ...

in Australia from 2016 until 2023 and was elected to the WFO board in 2023, was elected vice-president of the WFO. She is the first Australian vice-president.

References

External links

*{{official, https://www.wfo-oma.org/ Farmers' organizations 2011 establishments in Italy

History

Description

People

See also

References

External links