Background and information on Farmers’ World network
Farmers World network (FWn) was set up in the aftermath of the Ethiopian famine in 1984 to promote development education amongst UK farmers. A Northumberland stock farmer, Aidan Harrison, had written an article for Farmers’ Weekly (November 1984) commenting on the absurdities and inequalities of the worlds food and farming systems. This engendered a response from UK farmers which culminated in the establishment, in 1985, of a network of UK farmers interested in ‘Third World’ development issues. Over 15 years later, FWn continues to promote the economic and social well-being of vulnerable rural communities throughout the world by:
- promoting awareness, in UK rural communities, of the problems of developing countries, and of the relationships between agriculture in Europe and the South.
- establishing a group of farmers, and other members of the land-based industries, with a good understanding of the issues behind world food production, distribution and trade.
- providing information and resources to enable rural community members to engage in policy debate at national and international levels, and contribute to the design and implementation of policies geared more towards more sustainable methods of food production, distribution and trade