International Cooperation

According to the latest United Nations data, almost one third of the world’s population does not have access to enough quality food to meet their basic needs. This situation, known as food insecurity, is affecting a growing number of families. Around 800 million people worldwide suffer from hunger. Paradoxically, the majority of them are small-scale farmers.

How to ensure the right to food while preserving the environment? The agro-industrial model is showing its limits in the face of these challenges. Numerous scientific studies and our field experience demonstrate the potential of the agro-ecological transition to ensure the right to food and a dignified life for farmers, while respecting the environment.

To support this transition, we are working on a long-term basis with farmers’ and consumers’ families and groups in West Africa, East Africa and Latin America. For a sustainable impact, we combine three complementary areas of work:

• We support small-scale producer families so that they can improve, increase and diversify their production. In this way, they have enough to eat throughout the year.
• We support farmers’ families and organisations to improve their capacity to store, process and market their production. These families can thus improve their living conditions, send their children to school, pay for their health care, reinvest in their farms, etc.
• We mobilise the authorities and raise awareness among consumers so that they can take part in the agro-ecological transition in their region.

To achieve these goals, we work with competent local organisations that have a thorough knowledge of the context and share our vision.

And what about Luxembourg?

In Europe too, our food system is facing its limits. The number of farms is decreasing every year, leading to a concentration of land and means of production. Producers are exposed to more and more frequent droughts and floods. Soil quality and biodiversity are being eroded as a result of the impact of our food habits on our environment. Furthermore, a significant part of the population does not have access to a healthy and balanced diet.

In Luxembourg, we therefore act on several levels: informing and raising awareness of individuals in favour of global citizenship and solidarity, and by extension, in favour of sustainable food systems.

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