Food Security amid Climate Change: The Impact of Small-Scale Agriculture

Globally, over 500 million small-scale farms produce more than 80% of the food supply. While many of these small farms are vulnerable to the effects of climate change, they have demonstrated their crucial role in the fight for food security.

In Africa, small-scale agriculture is particularly exposed to extreme climatic events such as severe droughts. This trend is expected to worsen due to rising temperatures, dwindling water resources, and forecasts indicating a decrease in agricultural yields by 10 to 20% by 2050. In this context and considering the fact that Africa has more than 860 million people experiencing moderate to severe food insecurity (approximately 20% of the total African population) it is imperative to explore and promote innovative approaches to strengthen the resilience of small farmers and their contribution to the continent's food security.

Various approaches can be considered, inspired, and adapted to the specific contexts and challenges faced by each ecosystem and local agricultural community. Among these are: implementing endogenous and more integrated agricultural policies; adopting integrated practices of climate-smart agriculture and agroforestry; leveraging innovative technologies such as drones, the Internet of Things, and remote sensing; climate insurance coupled with agricultural financial services; capacity building through peer-to-peer learning; applied research and development; promoting professional agricultural organizations; and fostering public-private partnerships, etc.

In this context, OCP Foundation and the Policy Center for the New South are initiating this exchange, which aims to stimulate reflection and identify efficient strategies and approaches to strengthen the resilience of agricultural production systems, and the adaptive capacity of small farmers and rural communities in Africa, facing the multiple challenges posed by climate change. This Side Event therefore aims to be a space for inclusive dialogue between stakeholders, for sharing on-the-ground experiences, cross-referenced perspectives and advocacy for more resilient and sustainable agriculture.

The theme of the Side Event is well aligned with the general theme of SIAM 2024, which is “Climate and Agriculture: For sustainable and resilient production systems”. It will thus explore avenues and means for transitioning towards more sustainable and resilient agricultural systems. Furthermore, by inviting institutional representatives from Southern countries to share their experiences, this Side Event fits perfectly into the international dimension of the fair and its vocation to promote South-South exchanges.

Objectives:

• Highlight the importance and crucial role of small farmers in food security and their vulnerability to climate change.

• Share experiences and innovations that strengthen the resilience of small farmers and rural communities in an increasingly complex and uncertain environment.

• Encourage exchanges and the implementation of agricultural policies and projects with concrete, inclusive and integrated actions aimed at developing more sustainable agriculture.

Expected outcomes:

• Publication summarizing the discussions, particularly key actions to enhance the resilience of small-scale agriculture against the challenges of food security and climate change.

• Commitment of participants to further promoting adaptive and sustainable agricultural systems in response to climate change.