Stronger Markets, Stronger Farms: Lessons from Kathmandu Dialogue

Farm Business School, digital literacy for farmers, and marketing training courses—these were just some of the inventive strategies against the climate crisis presented at the Interregional Dialogues on Family Farming in Kathmandu, Nepal.

“Family Farming and Inclusive Rural Transformation: Innovations for Sustainable Development in a Climate Change Context” was held on 12-14 August 2025. Experts from 12 Latin American, Asian, and Caribbean countries discussed the respective challenges of family farms, particularly in the context of the climate crisis.

The dialogue also fostered an exchange of practices and solutions, ranging from specialised training to agroforestry.

The event was hosted by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) Nepal and jointly organised by Nepal’s Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development and the Nepal Agricultural Cooperative Central Federation Ltd. IFOAM – Organics International, along with policymakers, researchers, and farmer organisation leaders, joined the three-day dialogue.

Family farms are typically small-scale, family-run farms covering less than two hectares of land. While seemingly small, they are major food producers, contributing between 27% and 67% of total production in Latin America and the Caribbean alone. Globally, there are 550 million family farms.