An initiative to reinvent family farming in Africa
The Livelihoods Fund, in partnership with the NGO SOS SAHEL, is excited to announce that it will organize a large international assembly of development practitioners in February 2015 in Burkina Faso during the Livelihoods Camp to come up with solutions regarding sustainable family farming, with a particular geographical focus on Africa.
Over three days, project developers, NGOs, farming cooperatives, financial institutions, development experts, researchers, heads of public bodies and government representatives, and members of the private sector will work together to design, build and propose solutions that rural communities can implement themselves in order to live in sustainable ecosystems which will serve as the foundation for their food and economic security.
TO FIND OUT MORE VISIT THE LIVELIHOODS CAMP 2015 WEBSITE HERE: http://www.livelihoodscamp2015.org/?lang=en
What will be the format of the Livelihoods Camp?
● The Livelihoods Camp constitutes a unique platform for exchange and collaboration, bringing together experts from different fields: The goal of this multidisciplinary event is to pool expertise across diverse sectors in order to find long term solutions for family farming. The 150-200 expected participants of the Livelihoods Camp will be invited according to their experience and the solutions that they put into practice out in the field.
● The main theme of the Livelihoods Camp 2015 will be: “Towards Thriving & Sustainable Family Farming.” Subthemes include: Adaptation to climate change, Sustainable Agricultural Practices, Access to Market, and the Empowerment of farmers, women and farmers groups.
Why the Livelihoods Camp in the Sahel in 2015?
● The Livelihoods Camp is part of an international movement: a growing global consensus has emerged on the importance of family farming to eradicate hunger and poverty, to achieve food and financial security, to improve livelihoods, to protect the environment, to manage natural resources and to create sustainable development, particularly in rural areas.
● The economic, social and environmental stakes linked to family farming are particularly high in Africa, notably in West Africa and in countries in the Sahel, which are particularly vulnerable to the challenges of adapting to climate change.
● Today, family farmers in Africa are faced with major obstacles: a weak average yield per hectare, the need for resilient agricultural models due to the impacts of climate change, the lack of general and technical training among producers, and the insufficiently structured commercial and development channels, etc. Now that both public and private investments are returning to family farming, it is essential that we remove these obstacles.
Why is the Livelihoods Fund and SOS SAHEL qualified to organize this event?
• Livelihoods is a voluntary carbon fund created by private companies that invests in large scale ecological, farming and agroforestry restoration projects as well as rural energy projects implemented by local communities in developing countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America. The Fund has made large investments in Africa, including the restoration of mangroves in Senegal where 100 million trees have been planted by 400 villages in the regions of Casamance and Siné Saloum, under the guidance of the local NGO Oceanium. In Kenya, to relieve the pressure on forested areas, Livelihoods is funding the production and distribution of improved cookstoves to 60,000 households, as well as programmes of reforestation. In 2014, Livelihoods launched a new energy and agroforestry project in Burkina Faso.
– Alongside its investment activity, Livelihoods has created an exchange network between field practitioners and experts via the Livelihoods Network. This exchange platform has been active online for three years, and two Livelihoods Camps have already been organized in Paris, France and in the Araku Valley, India in order to animate this network. The latest Livelihoods Camp, which took place in the Araku Valley, brought together 140 participants from 21 countries, representing 61 different organizations.
– For the Burkina Faso Camp, Livelihoods can call upon its international network of corporate members (Danone, Schneider Electric, Crédit Agricole, Michelin, Hermès, SAP, La Poste, CDC Climat, Voyageurs du Monde, Firmenich), local partner NGOs in the various countries where the fund is active, as well as leading international and national partner organizations (IUCN, the Ramsar Convention, ICRAF, CIRAD, etc.) to bring their knowledge and their expertise to the Livelihoods Camp.
● SOS SAHEL has a network that is present throughout the Sahel region of Africa. Its objective is to sustainably improve food security and living conditions for communities living in the heart of Africa. Thanks to its expertise and professional network, SOS SAHEL implements sustainable development programs with a perfect understanding of local situations, opportunities and risks. Working with over 1,000 local partners across the entire Sahel region, this network implements national and regional priorities for developing isolated rural areas where agriculture is a key economic sector.
– The strength of the SOS SAHEL network resides in its ability to mobilize actors from different backgrounds around actions led by Sahelian organizations themselves. In Burkina Faso alone, SOS SAHEL has over 100 member organizations and a technical team engaged in partnerships with local producer organizations. This strong local presence has allowed it to develop a stellar reputation as well as a far-reaching African network.
