CFS Policy Convergence Products Database

Strongly promote responsible governance of land and natural resources with emphasis on securing access and tenure for smallholders, particularly women, in accordance with the Voluntary Guidelines on Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests in the Context of National Food Security as well as other country-led measures with similar objectives. Solutions need to be country and context specific and consistent with existing obligations under national and international law. A related need is to strengthen local institutions dealing with regulation of such access and use of natural resources, particularly by smallholders and women.

Strengthen participatory research, extension and farming service systems, particularly those that respond to the specific needs of smallholders and women farmers, to increase their productivity, diversify their production, and enhance its nutritional value and build their resilience, including with respect to climate change, according to the tenets of sustainable development. The approach is ideally that of combining farmers' and indigenous people's traditional knowledge with the findings of scientific research, as appropriate.

Prioritize public investment and encourage private investment, specifically in support of smallholders' own investments, in, among others; water management, sustainable management of genetic resources for food and agriculture, soil conservation, forests, transport and infrastructure such as feeder roads, energy, post- harvest handling infrastructure, rural electrification and telecommunication grids.

Build inclusive participatory processes that engage smallholders, women, youth, private sector, and other relevant organizations. Promote legal recognition and respect of the rights of smallholder farmers - including the right to organize democratically and to have voice in policy debates, with gender and age-balanced representation - and the need for farmers' organizations to be strengthened to achieve this.

Provide gender-sensitive public investment, and encourage private investments, in health-care, child care, nutrition, education and capacity development, social protection, water and sanitation, to enhance food security and nutrition, and reduce smallholder poverty.

Improve information management (the collection, transparency, communication and access to data, including sex-disaggregated data). Step-up evidence-based analyses to document the state of smallholder agriculture; its diverse typologies, its incentives and constraints, its evolution and its contributions to various outcomes in particular to food security and nutrition.

Promote access to assets, public goods, social services, research and extension and technology Access to assets

Access to public goods, social services, research, extension and technology