Smallholder farmers are key actors in the global food system, producing roughly 80 percent of the food consumed in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia. Yet, the voices of smallholders are often neglected by policy makers when trade deals are negotiated or regulations established. Increasing the participation of smallholder farmers in agricultural trade has the potential to boost livelihoods, improve food security, and fuel economic growth.

Within an international trade regime marked by ever-more-stringent quality and safety standards, sophisticated value-chains, and byzantine contracts, the challenge of linking smallholders to markets is no simple task. Considering the increasing importance of agricultural trade to food security, it is also not a task that we can afford to ignore.

What is the role of smallholder farmers in the global exchange of agricultural goods? What barriers do trade regulations and standards impose for smallholders to access local, regional, and global markets? How can we build an enabling environment for trade in which smallholders can participate more fully?

There are 1.5 billion small family farmers, men and women, who live and work on around 475 million family farms, that are no more than 2 hectares in size. Monika reminds us up to 80% of all food consumed in the world are grown by these farmers, and these people are at the forefront of our fight for food security in the face of climate change.

Monika Barthwal-Datta is a Senior Lecturer in International Security in the School of Social Sciences, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, UNSW. Growing up, Monika lived and studied in a number of countries, including India (where she comes from), Japan, New Zealand, Uganda and ultimately the UK where she completed her postgraduate studies. While studying for her MScEcon in Security Studies (Aberystwyth University) and then her PhD in International Security (Royal Holloway College, University of London), Monika worked as a freelance broadcast journalist for the BBC World Service Radio. She moved to Sydney in late 2010 to take up a two-year research fellowship on Food Security in Asia at the Centre for International Security Studies, University of Sydney, and moved to UNSW Australia in mid-2012. Monika’s research focuses on international security from ‘non-traditional’ perspectives that prioritise the needs and concerns of those who are least powerful and marginalised.

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at http://ted.com/tedx

Regreening the planet looks at the profit that comes from the recovery of ecosystems in Spain, Egypt and India. Restoring ecosystems does not only generate ecological profit but also economic. In Regreening the desert, the makers of VPRO Backlight showed that the greening of deserts is very well possible. They followed the American-Chinese cameraman and ecologist John D. Liu.He filmed how an inhospitable dry mountain area as large as the Netherlands was transformed into a lush green oasis. The greening caused not only ecological recovery but also economic growth of the region. Since then, John D. Liu has traveled the world to inspire people in other countries to follow this example.Dutch ecologist Willem Ferwerda was inspired by Liu and decided to work together with him.

This cooperation has grown into a new organization, Commonland, a foundation with a clear mission: to restore the ecosystems on a large scale worldwide. The point of departure is that restoring landscapes not only yields ecological profits but also money, work and hope for the people living there.We can see that this works in Egypt: in 1977 Dr. Ibrahim Abouleish SEKEM, experimented to green the desert at Cairo. In 2014, SEKEM has grown to be the leading supplier of ecological products in Egypt and far beyond. Dr. Abouleish has built not only a flourishing business in the desert but a complete community with schools and their own medical and cultural facilities.

A better proof that greening and social innovation go hand in hand is almost impossible to find.That all areas can grow alive, even if they are completely eroded by erosion, also appears from the special story of Indian Jadav "Molai" Payeng. When he was 17, he worked for a replanting project in Assam province. After the project was completed and the other laborers had disappeared, he decided to continue propagating wood by hand. Now, Molai forest is 300 acres and populated by elephants, Bengal tigers, deer, rhino and numerous birds. Payeng is also called The Forest Man in India because he has been able to create a jungle singlehandedly.That is something that Spain might well use. Large areas in Spain are dry and abandoned due to misused agricultural subsidies, unintentional water and land use and large-scale erosion.

The population is turning its back on the countryside and moves to the cities, but there is also unemployment there. In Ayoo de Vidriales, a graying village in the middle of Spain, agricultural engineer Pedro Alonso Fernandez has begun to recover land. He wants to show that the Spanish silted and eroded soils are in fact Green Gold.Originally broadcasted by VPRO in 2014.

© VPRO Backlight Octobre 2014On VPRO broadcast you will find nonfiction videos with English subtitles, French subtitles and Spanish subtitles, such as documentaries, short interviews and documentary series.VPRO Documentary publishes one new subtitled documentary about current affairs, finance, sustainability, climate change or politics every week. We research subjects like politics, world economy, society and science with experts and try to grasp the essence of prominent trends and developments.

Credits:Directed by: Rob van Hattum & Gijs Meyer SwanteeProduction: Helen Goossens Senior editors: Henneke Hagen & Frank WieringEnglish, French and Spanish subtitles: Ericsson.French and Spanish subtitles are co-funded by European Union.

The Sahara is the biggest desert on earth. It takes its name from the Arab word for "emptiness". In the dead heart of that emptiness there's a place called the Tenere. The Tenere takes its name from the Tuareg word for "nothing". A nothing the size of France in the middle of an emptiness the size of the United States. It's no wonder the locals call this place "The Land Of Fear”. David Adams retraces the trade routes of the people who call this stove-hot corner of the planet home.

Filmmaker: Julia Dahr

Climate change is affecting all regions of the globe, but some places are more vulnerable than others.Parts of East Africa are already seeing the effects of climate instability, with those dependent on farming for their livelihood among some of the hardest hit.Refusing to fall victim to the weather, Kisilu, a Kenyan smallholder farmer, uses a camera to capture the human impact of climate change.Filmed over four years, he documents floods, droughts and storms that menace his and his community's farms, forcing some to stop tending the fields and seek work in towns and cities.In Kisilu: The Climate Diaries, we witness a groundbreaking portrait of a Kenyan family on the front line of climate change.

Foreign business investors are looking to buy farmland in Africa. One of the most profitable new agricultural hotspots is Ethiopia. [Online until: February 4, 2019]

Farmland - the new green gold. In the hopes of huge export revenues, the Ethiopian government is leasing millions of hectares of land to foreign investors. But there’s a dark side to this dream of prosperity.The results are massive forced evictions, the destruction of smallholdings, state repression, and a vicious spiral of violence in light of environmental devastation. Global institutions like the EU, World Bank and DFID are contributing to this disaster with billions of dollars in development money every year. Whoever gets in their way is met with severe consequences. The young Ethiopian environmental activist Argaw learned that the hard way when he tried to raise awareness for his country’s plight. Are transnational land investments bolstering the economy or selling out the country? While some hope for financial gains and development, others are losing their very livelihood. In pursuit of the story, we meet investors, bureaucrats, persecuted journalists, struggling environmentalists and farmers who have been evicted from their land. Swedish director Joakim Demmer’s shocking real-life thriller starts in apparently remote corners of Ethiopia and leads through global financial centers, right to our dining tables.

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DW Documentary gives you knowledge beyond the headlines. Watch high-class documentaries from German broadcasters and international production companies. Meet intriguing people, travel to distant lands, get a look behind the complexities of daily life and build a deeper understanding of current affairs and global events.

Across the globe, global commercial demand for arable land is on the rise. One of the most profitable new agricultural hotspots is Ethiopia. [Online until: February 4, 2019]

Farmland - the new green gold. In the hopes of huge export revenues, the Ethiopian government is leasing millions of hectares of land to foreign investors. But there’s a dark side to this dream of prosperity. The results are massive forced evictions, the destruction of smallholdings, state repression, and a vicious spiral of violence in light of environmental devastation. Global institutions like the EU, World Bank and DFID are contributing to this disaster with billions of dollars in development money every year. Whoever gets in their way is met with severe consequences. The young Ethiopian environmental activist Argaw learned that the hard way when he tried to raise awareness for his country’s plight. Are transnational land investments bolstering the economy or selling out the country? While some hope for financial gains and development, others are losing their very livelihood. In pursuit of the story, we meet investors, bureaucrats, persecuted journalists, struggling environmentalists and farmers who have been evicted from their land. Swedish director Joakim Demmer’s shocking real-life thriller ‘Dead Donkeys Fear No Hyenas’ starts in apparently remote corners of Ethiopia and leads through global financial centers, right to our dining tables.

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DW Documentary gives you knowledge beyond the headlines. Watch high-class documentaries from German broadcasters and international production companies. Meet intriguing people, travel to distant lands, get a look behind the complexities of daily life and build a deeper understanding of current affairs and global events. Subscribe and explore the world around you with DW Documentary.

This World Bank/TerrAfrica documentary showcases Ethiopia's success in sustainable land and water management. It highlights how a landscape approach was used to manage land, water and forest resources to meet the goals of food security and inclusive green growth. The lessons drawn are relevant for other countries in the region and other parts of the world fighting land degradation and climate change issues.

For more than 15 years, cameraman and ecologist John D. Liu has been working on his worldwide mission to green deserts and to restore biodiversity.It all started in 1995 when Liu filmed the Loess-plateau in China. He witnessed a local population who turned an area of almost the same size as The Netherlands from a dry, exhausted wasteland into one green oasis. This experience changed his life. From that moment on, Liu has been travelling all over the world to convince and inspire government leaders, policy-makers and farmers with his film material and knowledge. Liu diligently spreads the message that restoration of ecosystems is not only possible, but also economically very meaningful.Backlight accompanies Liu on his mission in Jordan and shows on the basis of Liu’s own film material that a green future is possible worldwide.Originally broadcasted by VPRO in 2012.

© VPRO Backlight April 2012On VPRO broadcast you will find nonfiction videos with English subtitles, French subtitles and Spanish subtitles, such as documentaries, short interviews and documentary series.VPRO Documentary publishes one new subtitled documentary about current affairs, finance, sustainability, climate change or politics every week. We research subjects like politics, world economy, society and science with experts and try to grasp the essence of prominent trends and developments.Subscribe to our channel for great, subtitled, recent documentaries.

Credits:Composition: Jeroen van den Berk / Gijs Meyer SwanteeDirected by: Rob van Hattum / John D. LiuResearch: Gerko WesselProduction: Marie SchutgensSenior editors: Henneke Hagen / Jos de PutterEnglish, French and Spanish subtitles: Ericsson.French and Spanish subtitles are co-funded by European Union.

Aduna is helping to grow The Great Green Wall: a ground-breaking initiative led by the African Union to build and preserve an 8,000km wall of trees across the African Sahel. The Sahel, where Aduna’s baobab fruit supply chain is based, is one of the world’s poorest regions. People rely on the land to survive but climate change is causing desertification, making it impossible for communities to grow crops and earn a living. Learn how we, together with our local partners ORGIIS, have transformed baobab from an under-utilised resource to a lifeline for local communities. And discover the crucial role Baobab has to play in The Great Green Wall - creating sustainable livelihoods, reversing the effects of climate change and providing communities with a reason to stay. Find out more at https://aduna.com or https://www.greatgreenwall.org. #greatgreenwall #baobab #makebaobabfamous #aduna
Film and edited by James Ward: http://www.jameswardfilms.com
Music by Osei Kwame Korankye: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kMhyohZ-6cY