ROLE OF FARMER ORGANISATIONS IN CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION Kyle Stice - Manager
What is a farmer organisation? PIFON Definition A group of farmers A group working for the benefit of farmers
Who is PIFON? Pacific Island Farmer Organisation Network A membership based network of farmer organisations across 8 countries in the Pacific Region
Where are we???
PIFON s Reach Active in 7 countries Fiji, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Samoa, PNG and Timor Leste Membership of 24 national farmer organisations Linkages with approximately 350 local farmer organisations with a total membership of 25,000 farmers
PIFON Strategic Plan (2014-2016) The role of PIFON for 2014-2016 will be to serve as an umbrella organisation for national FOs to: coordinate capacity building share success stories and the lessons learnt support regional exchanges of expertise between FOs and their associated private sector and donor agency partners.
Ongoing PIFON Projects 2014-2018 USD 922,000 2014-2016 FJD 400,000
What do we know about the likely impacts of climate change on agriculture in the Pacific?
The first comprehensive study on the impact of climate change on agriculture in the Pacific Topics covered: Observed and projected changes in the climate of the Pacific Islands Vulnerability of Pacific island agriculture and forestry to climate change Traditional food staples Export commodities Horticultural crops and spices Livestock Implications of climate change on contributions by agriculture to Pacific economies and communities Adapting Pacific agriculture and forestry to climate change - recommendations
KEY OVERALL MESSAGES FROM BOOK Severity of impact from CC will increase over time Extreme weather events will have most impact Significant threat posed by CC impact on global staples (grains) -therefore reliance on imported food threatens food security PI staple food crops are likely to be more resilient Strengthening production and processing of these staples will be a key element of adaptation efforts
KEY OVERALL MESSAGES FROM BOOK Agriculture has to be climate, environmentally and economically smart now and for the future there is no other option for sustainable livelihoods in the Pacific
Conclusions for farmer organisations Climate change will likely impact agriculture by amplifying pressure of existing threats, particularly climate extremes in undefinable ways. The problem with current approaches is they tend to ignore current threats and focus on ill-defined climate change issues per se. By enabling farmers to adapt to climate extremes in the short and medium term, future generations of farmers will be better placed to adapt to climate change The pragmatic approach is to improve our capacity to address existing threats while continuing to address knowledge gaps and identify future threats.
What is the comparative advantage of farmer organisations of farmer organisations in agricultural research and extension?
FOs and Agricultural Research Related to agricultural research, the policy brief concludes that a partnership between agriculture ministries, relevant public sector organisations and farmer organisations will increase the depth and quality of agricultural research as well as see more comprehensive and widespread adoptions of the results.
FOs and Agricultural Extension Related to agricultural extension, the policy brief stresses that farmer organisations can effectively and efficiently complement the work of government and aid agencies by extending the outreach of support to farmers.
Examples of farmer organisation involvement in successful climate change adaptation
Case study Nature s Way Cooperative
The effects of climate extremes on NWC fruit exports
NWC response to climate extremes How and Who? Industry led approach (Natures Way Cooperative) bringing together stakeholders (MoA, exporters, farmers, SPC etc.) Meet on a quarterly basis to discuss and prioritise work activities and identify who will do what.
Industry response to climate extremes What we can do now immediate response to the situation 1. Spreading the production area outside the Sigatoka Valley. 2. The calculation of natural disasters into papaya crop budgets (better planning). 3. Reducing the scale of planting (smaller blocks) and increasing the frequency of planting (plant more often). 4. Fiji Papaya Seed production scheme Selection of seed trees based on performance under local conditions Bulking of seed stocks to quickly recover from natural disasters
Industry response to climate extremes Exploring the knowledge gap 5. Research into pre and post-cyclone farm activities. Defoliation Ratooning Sunburn protection
Case Study PIFON PBSP
Pacific Breadfruit and Seeds Programme PIFON identifies enhancing domestic food production utilising FOs as a key policy response to addressing the dual challenges of CC and Food Security The PBSP is a farmer led initiative to operationalise this policy response
Pacific Breadfruit and Seeds Programme Currently working in 4 countries supporting national activities and regional exchanges. Seeking resources to scale up the PBSP
Improving access to seed for Pacific Island Farmers Regional scoping study and project design related to: Utilizing farmer organisations to improve the access to high quality seed for Pacific island farmers Pacific Briefing to MTCP II RSC - 2016
Improving access to seed for Pacific Island Farmers Learning exchange in Taiwan with FOs, NGOs, universities and commercial seed producers on open-pollinated and hybrid seed production.
Improving access to seed for Pacific Island Farmers Technical assistance in upgrading of seed production, processing and storage
Improving access to seed for Pacific Island Farmers New seed packaging sourced from China supplied to NWC (Fiji), FSA (Vanuatu) and KGA (Solomons) to extend viability.
Improving access to seed for Pacific Island Farmers PIFON Open Pollinated Seed Production Learning Exchange (October 2016) Part 1: Solomon Islands Open Pollinated Seed Learning Event Part 2: Australia learning exchange on Open Pollinated Seed Production
The development of breadfruit as an orchard crop for processing and fresh export
The development of breadfruit as an orchard crop for processing and fresh export
The development of breadfruit as an orchard crop for processing and fresh export
Tonga - Fiji Breadfruit Learning Exchange August 3 rd August 5 th 2016
http://globalbreadfruitsummit.com
Conclusion Farmer organisations are critical partners to help extend the reach of government and aid agencies to support Pacific Island farmers to adapt to climate change.
www.pacificfarmers.com Pacific Briefing to MTCP II RSC - 2016