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| Farming First | |
|---|---|
| Name | Farming First |
| Type | Coalition |
| Founded | 2008 |
| Headquarters | London |
| Area served | Global |
| Focus | Agricultural development, sustainable agriculture |
Farming First is an international coalition that advocates for agricultural development, sustainable agriculture, and smallholder support. It brings together a wide range of actors including non-governmental organizations, research institutes, private sector firms, and multilateral bodies to influence high-level policy processes. The coalition engages with summits, global fora, and national campaigns to promote investment in agronomy, rural livelihoods, and food systems.
The initiative emerged in the late 2000s amid heightened attention to the 2007–2008 world food price crisis, concurrent debates at the Food and Agriculture Organization and the World Bank Group, and commitments forged at the United Nations on hunger reduction. Founding participants included actors associated with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Rockefeller Foundation, and research networks linked to the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research and the International Food Policy Research Institute. Early public engagement coincided with events such as the World Economic Forum meetings and the United Nations Climate Change Conference discourse on agriculture, positioning the coalition within policy debates shaped by actors like the International Fund for Agricultural Development, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, and country delegations from Brazil, India, and Ethiopia.
Farming First’s stated objectives center on promoting investment, innovation, and policy reform to improve yields, resilience, and livelihoods. Advocacy targets multilateral processes including negotiations at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, funding decisions by the Global Environment Facility, and agenda setting at the G20 and the Committee on World Food Security. The coalition emphasizes technologies and approaches linked to institutions such as the International Rice Research Institute, the CIMMYT (International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center), and the World Agroforestry Centre, while engaging corporate actors like Syngenta, Cargill, and Unilever and civil society networks including Oxfam International, ActionAid, and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.
Programming has included campaigns to highlight smallholder productivity, climate-smart agriculture pilots, and communication efforts around sustainable input use. Initiatives draw on research from the International Livestock Research Institute, the International Water Management Institute, and the International Food Policy Research Institute while linking to innovation platforms such as the CGIAR research programs and projects supported by the Gates Foundation. The coalition has produced policy briefs, multimedia campaigns for fora like the United Nations General Assembly, and convenings that feature experts from the Royal Society, the International Institute for Environment and Development, and the World Resources Institute.
Farming First operates through a networked funding model combining support from philanthropic foundations, corporate members, and international agencies. Funders and partners associated with coalition activities include the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Rockefeller Foundation, bilateral agencies such as USAID, multilateral financiers like the World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund in analytical partnerships, and agribusiness firms including Bayer and Monsanto Company. Academic partnerships feature universities and institutes such as Imperial College London, Wageningen University and Research, and the London School of Economics. Collaborations have extended to advocacy bodies like Conservation International and philanthropic consortia including the Wellcome Trust.
Supporters cite the coalition’s role in elevating agricultural priorities at events such as the United Nations Climate Change Conference and in influencing investment agendas at the G20 and the World Bank Group’s agriculture programs. Reported impacts include increased visibility for smallholder issues in dialogues led by the Committee on World Food Security and uptake of scalable practices promoted by CGIAR centers. Critics, including analysts from Greenpeace International, Friends of the Earth, and academics associated with the Institute of Development Studies, have argued that alliances with multinational agribusiness risk privileging proprietary inputs and exclude agroecological perspectives championed by movements like La Via Campesina and scholars at SOAS University of London. Debates also reference policy controversies linked to intellectual property regimes such as the TRIPS Agreement and financing models critiqued in reports from the International Panel of Experts on Sustainable Food Systems.
Regionally, the coalition has engaged in programming across Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, and Latin America, aligning with national strategies in countries like Kenya, Bangladesh, and Brazil. Global engagement includes participation at the World Food Summit-related events, contributions to UNFCCC dialogues on agriculture, and collaboration with regional bodies such as the African Union and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Events and briefings have featured partnerships with research hubs including the African Research Consortium and the Latin American Water Center, and have sought to bridge policy communities from capitals like Nairobi, New Delhi, Brasília, and London.
Category:Agricultural organizations