Get Involved
#IGrowYourFood invites everyone to the conversation. Organic and agroecological farmers share their first-hand experience to help decision makers do the right thing, and citizens help make their voices heard!
Choose Your Message
Farmers: pick a message that matters to you! Keep it clear, concise and engaging. Here’s some guiding questions:
- Why do you choose to farm agroecologically or organically?
- How has going organic affected your work, community, livelihood?
- What’s your call to action for policymakers and/or citizens? How can they support you?
Read a sample filmscript
“Did you know that smallholders provide up to 80 percent of the food supply in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa?
Hello, my name is Sara and I am one of the smallholder farmers, growing your food. I am from Namibia and I decided to use organic methods instead of chemical pesticides on my farm. The pesticides poison the soil and also kill other important living organisms living in it like the earth worms.
I chose to adopt organic methods because it improved the soil quality and made my crops rich in nutrients and healthier to eat. I now make sure to use natural methods like crop rotation and manure application to control pests and fertilize the soils. I also inform my customers about the benefits of eating organic food and encourage them to visit my farm to see where their food comes from.
I encourage more citizens to choose organic food because it is not only healthy for humans, but also for the environment; and it ensures that even our children and grandchildren will be able to benefit from the same land.”
Support Your Message: Facts & Figures
Biodiversity
Messages
- Habitat loss is the main threat to 85 – 90% of all species described by the IUCN as ‘threatened’ or ‘endangered’
- 75% of agricultural crop diversity (agrobiodiversity) has been lost in the last 100 years
- Organically farmed land has on average 30% more species than conventionally farmed areas
- Organic practices such as crop rotation and crop diversity promote agrobiodiversity
Call to Action
- Citizens can help protect wildlife by choosing organic
- Policymakers can support the use of more sustainable farming practices by rewarding farmers for nature-friendly farming practices.
Farmers & Livelihoods
Messages
- Smallholders provide up to 80 percent of the food supply in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa.
- There are over 570 million farms worldwide of which more than 90% are run by an individual or family
- Family farms generate 40-60% of rural income in developing countries
- Agriculture is a major source of income for rural livelihoods for more than 60% of the population in Sub-Saharan Africa
- There are about 500 million smallholder farming households
- Farmers are often the most affected by poverty, hunger and the impacts of climate change
- Organic agriculture can be a sustainable source of income for rural livelihoods
Call to Action
- Citizens can choose to buy organic food from their local farmers
- Policymakers can support smallholder farmers by providing training on how to farm organically
Soil
Messages
- 33% of the world’s farmland is highly degraded. Soils are a non-renewable resource on which 95% of our food supply depends
- One teaspoon of soil treated with chemicals has few helpful bacteria
- Organic agriculture does not use harmful inputs like synthetic pesticides that harm the soil and ecosystem
- Organic nourishes the soils. A teaspoon of soil that is organically treated usually hosts billions of microorganisms such as bacteria and fungi
- By applying practices that return carbon to the soil, we can increase the quantity of carbon stored in soils and slow down global warming
Call to Action
- Citizens can support their local farmers by objecting to policies that promote the use of harmful inputs within their communities
Food & Nutrition
Messages
- Poor nutrition affects our ability to learn at all stages of life, especially children who can have trouble concentrating in school
- Nutrition-sensitive agriculture, based on the principles of organic agriculture, is an effective tool to fight malnutrition
- Citizens can include fresh organic vegetables and fruits in their diet as a way to improve their health and prevent malnutrition
Call to Action
- Policymakers can include organic agriculture in school curriculums to raise awareness of healthy foods and diets
- Policymakers can link farmers to the markets so as to increase the availability of organic produce in the community
Climate Change
Messages
- One third of the world’s cropland area is used to grow food for animal feed
- Climate-driven effects like drought and famine can lead to food and livelihood insecurity
- 2.5 billion small-scale farmers and forest-dependent communities are the most vulnerable to climate change and natural hazards
- Agriculture is the sector contributing the most to nitrous oxide emissions which damages the ozone layer that protects us from the sun’s ultraviolet radiation
Call to Action
- Citizens can choose to buy seasonal, locally grown, organic produce
- Policymakers can discourage unsustainable livestock production by subsidizing organic farmers using organic practices, for example, free-range grazing
Harmful Inputs
Messages
- Pesticides are responsible for an estimated 220,000 deaths from pesticide poisoning each year, 99% of which occur in the global south
- Instead of spraying glyphosate, organic farmers use crop rotation as a weed and pest control method
- Eliminating the use of chemical fertilizers can avoid chemical runoff into water streams, rivers and lakes. This ensures that our water resources are safe to drink from and also for fish to live in
Call to Action
- Policymakers can ban the use of chemicals and pesticides that harm the soil like those containing glyphosate
Gender
Messages
- Only 12.8% of women are agricultural landholders in the world
- Due to a knowledge gap, women-run farms tend to produce 20 to 30 percent less than farms run by men, even if they work more hours than men annually
- Women’s full participation in agriculture is often hindered by issues such as access to land, education and financial resources
- Organic agriculture ensures that women have access to healthier, diversified and nutritious food
- When women work, economies grow. When you empower a rural woman, you empower the whole community.
Call to Action
- Policymakers can increase the access of women farmers to resources like secure land tenure. This could increase yields on their farms by 20 – 30 percent
Seed
Messages
- Communities are displaced by agribusiness expansion and lose plant varieties due to genetic contamination
- Farmers are not only denied the right to save seeds but can also be prosecuted for infringing seed patents
- Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO) seeds are genetically unstable and we do not know enough about them
- Organic agriculture promotes the use of indigenous seeds that are highly adaptive to changes in their environment
Call to Action
- Policymakers can support farmers in starting seed banks to preserve local or native seed species
- Policymakers can defend the farmers’ right to save seeds, recognizing farmers as the custodians of seeds and their vital role in conserving agrobiodiversity
Create Your Content
With your message in mind, time to record your video! We recommend you keep it simple and engaging.
Here’s some tips to walk you through the process:
Need some inspiration? The #IGrowYourFood library compiles 80+ videos from farmers who took part in the previous action day.
Want your video featured in the #IGrowYourFood library? Fill out this form!
Editing Your Video
If you don’t manage the perfect take when filming, download these free editing apps directly to your smartphone and edit your message.
Video Editing Apps:
Add this slide onto the end of your videos.
