I am a family farmer. I know my soil, my climate and how to make things grow, says Joan Brady. And as farmers, especially women and youth, we will deliver answers from our passions, our expertise and our resilience.
I am a family farmer. I know my soil, my climate and how to make things grow: plants, animals and soil fertility. I know how to harvest and prepare for market. I know how to feed my family.
I am a family farmer. I know my community and I help to feed it. I advocate and give a voice to those who don’t have an opportunity to speak or be heard. I take part in community planning and celebration, and in debates on what is best for our collective future.
During the International Year of Family Farming I became concerned about definitions of family farming that highlighted only labour, a purely economic designation, and not the social and environmental attributes. We family farmers live where we work, and we are embedded in our communities. We work where we live, and so have a high stake in assuring a healthy environment.
I am a family farmer. I work hard to represent the interests of family farmers, which differ very much from those of multinationals. I am a member of La Via Campesina and the National Farmers Union of Canada and it is my mandate to ensure the full participation of women in our organisation. I also support and champion our young farmers because they are our future. They revitalise us, hold us accountable, and teach us alternative approaches to investment, production and market development. We do not tell the youth what they need or how to farm. They tell us, and we learn together.
When we look at the family farm within the community at large, we understand much better the role of women and youth. Youth and women must have equal access to land and resources, including seeds, financing and markets. If they do not play an active part in our conversations and actions, in leadership and knowledge transfer, we must examine the situation and remove the barriers before it is too late. Above all, we must prevent violence, inequity and power imbalances that so often limit their participation. That is my message for policy makers during the International Year of Family Farming.
I am a family farmer and this is our year. After thirty years of farming, I understand some of the problems that farmers of the world face, and over time I have found answers that work for me. We can feed the world if we empower farming families to drive the solutions. And as farmers, we will deliver answers from our passions, our expertise and our resilience.
Joan Brady
Joan Brady is a family farmer in Ontario, Canada.
Email: jbrady@hay.net
This is adapted from a speech Joan Brady gave on 28 October 2014 at the Global Dialogue on Family Farming held at the Food and Agriculture Organization’s headquarters in Rome.
