Interview with Eloisa Frederking, Board Member for Latin America, World Farmers' Organisation (WFO)
World Biodiversity Summit, Cali, Colombia – 26 October 2024
In this interview, Eloisa Frederking shares her insights, highlighting the crucial role of farmers in addressing biodiversity loss and shaping sustainable agricultural practices. Eloisa participated as a speaker at World Biodiversity Summit in Cali, during the session ‘Feeding the Future: Harmonising Food Systems with the Natural World.’
1. How important is agriculture in halting and reversing biodiversity loss, and why is it so essential that farmers have a seat at the top table of negotiations?
On top of its intrinsic value, biological diversity is critical to the functioning and resilience of our agro-ecosystems. Farmers, who currently manage around one-third of the world’s land, play an essential role towards its sustainable use and conservation. This was recognised in the Global Biodiversity Framework, where the majority of its targets directly address the agricultural sector, making farmers’ engagement essential to their achievements. Yet, discussions in the CBD process are currently taking place without farmers around the table.
The World Farmers' Organisation (WFO), which I am honoured to represent today as the Board Member for Latin America, is a member-based association that brings together national farmers' organisations and agricultural cooperatives from more than 50 countries across all continents. We are a relatively young organisation born out of the belief that farmers are key actors of change and major stakeholders in multilateral affairs.
In 2022, a few months before the approval of the Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF), WFO Members gave the Organisation a mandate to step up its engagement around nature and biodiversity. As the then-President of our Organisation put it, biodiversity is a matter which is central to the reputation, legacy and sustainability of our sector. On the one hand, farmers showed they are ready to participate in a conversation which is critical to the future of our food systems; on the other, they called for greater consideration of their needs and solutions in all decisions that impact us.
2. Just as farmers' futures depend on climate change and biodiversity loss being addressed, tackling those dual crises also depends on farmers – how can the profession's vital contributions be amplified? Additionally, what are the three policy priorities the World Farmers' Organisation has outlined for COP16?
During our last General Assembly, held in June 2024 in Rome, Italy, our Members reached a consensus on our first-ever Policy on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Biodiversity and Natural Resources.
This document includes a comprehensive list of policy recommendations that help move away from the siloed, top-down, and confrontational style of some environmental policies towards a more integrated, bottom-up, and incentives-oriented approach.
Firstly, it is critical to recognise the ecosystem services provided by farmers through sustainably managed agriculture.
Secondly, farmers and their organisations must be actively engaged in global biodiversity efforts, including the revision or update of National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs). Making plans about agriculture without the farmers — often to avoid difficult conversations — may be a very improvident solution.
The lack of farmers' involvement is not only a question of inclusivity; it undermines the effectiveness of such exercises and the probability that they can result in actions on the ground. Involving farmers in policy development is part of a broader acknowledgement of the need for shared responsibility. Greater support is needed for farmers to implement sustainable and locally appropriate agricultural practices that enhance both biodiversity and food security.
Discussion on mainstreaming the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity across the agricultural sector remains at the theoretical level if it lacks a commitment to provide farmers with adequate means of implementation and create an enabling environment where farmers can sustainably manage and invest in their land.
To conclude, the message we brought to Colombia was very clear. If we want to achieve the GBF targets, we need to:
· Recognise the ecosystem services farmers provide through sustainably managed agriculture, particularly regenerative and agroecological approaches.
· Engage farmers as key actors and partners in global biodiversity efforts, with particular attention to the role of women and young farmers.
· Support farmers in implementing sustainable agricultural practices that enhance both biodiversity and food security.
3. How is the WFO working with farmers to adapt their business to align with the Global Biodiversity Framework goals?
As per the mandate our Members gave to the WFO, we are working hard to re-connect international fora with national realities, and vice-versa. On the one hand, this means bringing the voice of the farmers into the decision-making process, by ensuring discussions around agriculture reflect the experience of the people of agriculture at the farm level.
On the other hand, we help our Members familiarise with the outcomes of the multilateral conversations and support their efforts to implement them in their different contexts. This includes farmer-to-farmer cooperation and establishing solid partnerships with like-minded actors and networks.
4. How important is greater access to biodiversity finance for the sector, and what structures need to be in place to enable this?
Greater access to biodiversity finance is essential for farmers to implement sustainable practices that protect biodiversity while supporting food security. To achieve this, it is crucial to secure substantial financial backing for GBF goals, including under the GBF Fund and the Global Environment Facility (GEF). This means ensuring direct access for farmers to biodiversity finance through their organised structures and providing them with tailored financial tools and incentives, including through conducive policy frameworks and innovative schemes such as payment for ecosystem services, price premiums from certification schemes, and farmer-centric biodiversity markets.
About Eloisa Frederking, Board Member for Latin America, World Farmers' Organisation:
Eloisa Frederking is a third-generation family farmer. For more than 20 years, her professional and managerial career has closely linked her to the agricultural sector. She is an agricultural producer, primarily engaged in animal breeding, on three farms located in the provinces of Córdoba and Buenos Aires. She began her union journey with the Argentine Rural Society as a regional delegate, working at the local level. Over the years, she stood out for playing a fundamental role in fostering connections with the Board of Directors of the entity and other producer associations, as well as with government organizations. She is a CREA Group member and has had a close connection with the institution, serving as President and as part of the business and vocal board of the southeast region. Eloisa was part of the Executive Committee of the Argentine Rural Society Foundation, which oversees the Realicó Agricultural College (La Pampa), a sectoral educational center renowned for its comprehensive training, youth labor integration, and productive research. She has held the position of Secretary of the Board of Directors of the Argentine Rural Society since 2021 and has been a member of the Board of Directors of the World Farmers’ Organization (WFO) since June 2024.
About the World Farmers’ Organisation (WFO):
The World Farmers' Organisation (WFO) is a member-based international association bringing together over 80 national farmers' organisations and agricultural cooperatives from more than 50 countries across all continents. WFO's mission is to represent and give voice to the diverse community of farmers worldwide in key international policy processes and multilateral fora, ensuring that global decision-making on agriculture and food systems issues reflects and integrates farmers' knowledge and experience on the ground.
Lean more: www.wfo-oma.org