GROW - food justice campaign

Finding space to grow food in poor countries has always been an issue, but now the situation is getting out of control. Land used by poor families to grow crops is being sold to wealthy companies or foreign governments looking for cheap agricultural space. These families are often evicted without their consent, with little or no warning and no compensation.
 
It's time to get land grabs under control. Appropriate compensation must be paid and rules put in place to govern the actions of local, national and international players. These rules should ensure local communities see the benefits of investments and help to ensure governments provide secure access to land for smallholder farmers, especially women.

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As temperatures rise, crop yields will fall - to as much as half their current levels in some African countries according to some predictions. At the same time, extreme weather events like heat waves, droughts and floods are getting more frequent and severe, and the seasons that people rely on to grow crops are getting even more unpredictable.  

The world's governments have dragged their feet for too long. We're keeping up the pressure on rich countries to make vital progress on reducing their carbon emissions and support people living in poverty to protect themselves from the devastating effects of climate change. It's time to stop stalling, and start dealing with a situation that's only going to get more urgent.

After decades of progress, the number of people without enough to eat is actually increasing, and food price spikes are a big part of the problem. That's because, when you spend up to 75% of your weekly income on food - as many poor families are forced to do - sudden rises have an especially destructive effect. 

Price spikes have many causes - the changing climate, oil prices, dysfunctional commodities markets, biofuels policies that mean crops end up in cars and not on plates - but what's clear is that we are facing a whole new challenge. It's time for governments to work together to deal with food price crises effectively - and to tackle the problems that mean millions of people can't afford enough to eat.

Following a century of increases, crop yields are flatlining - because intensive farming can only go so far. It's time to focus on the huge untapped potential of small-scale farmers in developing countries - especially on women, who often do most of the work for little reward. 

Already, 500 million small farms help to put food on the plates of two billion people - or one in three people on earth. With effective government support and a focus on sustainable techniques, productivity could soar. In Vietnam, for instance, the number of hungry people has halved in just 12 years - a transformation kick-started by government investment in small farmers. It's time to change the way the world thinks about growing food.