The UN Food and Agriculture Organisation and the international Slow Food organisation agreed today to develop joint actions to improve the livelihoods of smallholders and others working in rural areas.

Under a three-year Memorandum of Agreement signed in Rome, home of the FAO, the groups pledged to join forces and promote more inclusive food and agriculture systems at local, national and international levels. The Slow Food movement, which was founded in Northern Italy in the 1980s as an alternative to the predominant 'fast food' culture of the time, seeks to encourage diversity and the support of local agro-ecosystems.  

As part of the co-ordinated work, the two organisations will promote local, regional and global networks to make food more sustainable and raise awareness of global initiatives such as the International Year Family Farming in 2014. Actions will highlight the value of local foods and neglected food crops, in a bid to return a measure of biodiversity to agriculture, while also targeting market access for small-scale producers, enhancing conservation, reducing food losses and food waste, and improving animal welfare.

Protection of traditional food products and the promotion of culinary traditions, emphasising their place in different communities' cultural heritage, will form part of the joint work. As part of this, Slow Food can help produce inventories of local, indigenous and underutilised species that are potentially important to food security, thus supporting FAO's role in revaluing and promoting neglected crops.

According to FAO figures, upwards of three quarters of the world's agricultural diversity was lost in the 20th Century as a result of the drive for more uniform and predictable agricultural production. This intensification was pursued without consideration for the effects on nutrition, biodiversity or potential effects on the resilience of the food system.

Upon agreeing to work with Slow Food on Wednesday, Director-General José Graziano da Silva said "Slow Food and FAO share the same vision of a sustainable and hunger-free world, safeguarding biodiversity for future generations. Today's agreement, providing for a number of important joint initiatives, brings us a step closer to that objective."

Slow Food President Carlo Petrini added, "Collaboration between FAO and Slow Food stems from our common purpose in promoting the wealth of local gastronomic traditions, in the defence of food biodiversity and in support of smallholder farmers and producers." 

Increased support for smallholders

FAO and Slow Food said they will work together to facilitate market access for smallholders through strengthened producers' organizations and cooperatives. Slow Food can support producers to better organize and shorten the food supply chain, including marketing, labelling and packaging, thus guaranteeing fair prices for both producers and consumers. 

FAO said that part of its work with Slow Food (the organisation has over 100 000 members worldwide and is active in 150 countries) could include collaboration in support of rural women, through the ongoing Dimitra project run by FAO, the European Commission and Belgium. The participatory information and communication project highlights women's key role in food production so that their interests are better taken into consideration. TFAO added that cooperations could also result in development of toolkits for the international Education of Rural People (ERP) Partnership, which aims to remove existing constraints and ensure education and skills training for all rural people.