Farming for the Future: Communication Efforts to Advance Family Farming

This 70-page report discusses development communication as a key component of agricultural and rural development policies and programmes, particularly focusing on how communication can help support family farming. The report highlights the emerging concept of 'rural communication services'. This operational term gathers the wide range of communication activities to support family farming under one umbrella, with the ultimate common goal of enhancing rural livelihoods by facilitating access to knowledge and information, while fostering social inclusion and a greater role in decision-making. The report also discusses the need for communication for development policies and strategies that start at the national level, and are institutionalised among all development partners. This document was prepared by the World Association of Community Radio Broadcasters (AMARC) for the Office of Partnerships, Advocacy and Capacity Development (OPC) of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) to help guide discussions during the "Forum on Communication for Development and Community Media for Family Farming" held in October 2014.

Drawing on the perspectives and priorities of farmers' organisations, community media, and rural institutions, the document illustrates examples of the role of communication for development (ComDev) in empowering family farmers and rural populations, highlighting some good practices and successes, and identifying challenges. The first section of the document introduces concepts around family farming and the role of communication, while section 2 explores "the theoretical foundations of ComDev as a rights-based approach to advance family farming and rural livelihoods." The third section reviews how family farmers have used ComDev approaches to make impact in three key areas: participation and governance, advancing smallholder agriculture and rural livelihoods, and communication to improve rural services. The report shares diverse examples of a wide range of approaches - for example, using radio, mobile phones, video clips, online tools, etc. The fourth section introduces the concept of "rural communication services" and discusses the importance of creating new partnerships and new policy frameworks.

It is proposed that these policy frameworks should begin at the national level in order to provide all stakeholders involved in family farming with strategic direction while better coordinating communication interventions among development partners. FAO has proposed the concept of "Rural Communication Services (RCS)" which clusters different types of ComDev processes and activities that address the needs of the family farmers and rural population, regardless of the media they use (from information and communication technologies (ICTs) to traditional media). "Rural communication services are defined as sustained, two-way communication processes delivered regularly to the rural population. They are intended to enhance rural livelihoods by facilitating equitable access to knowledge and information, social inclusion in decision-making, and stronger links between rural institutions and local communities." Key to this is integrating communication that is people-centred and participatory.

Based on the experiences and issues outlined in the report, one of the key recommendations is to "make ComDev relevant and compelling to all development partners involved in family farming, such as agricultural and rural institutions, financial and development organizations, civil society organizations (CSOs), private sector, academe, and, importantly, the organizations and institutions representing family farmers and rural communities." It is also recommended to foster "national communication for development networks that involve practitioners, academicians, community media and other partners, thus connecting theory, research and practice and systematically improving the standards of programming designed to meet the information and communication needs of farmers as defined by farmers."