The world “agriculture and food systems” rely heavily on “family farmers” said UN General Secretary Ban Ki-moon in a statement he delivered to mark World Food Day yesterday October 16.

He said they run the vast majority of farms in the world and they are the “cornerstone of inclusive and sustainable” agriculture and food system.

Yesterday in Tonga the Prime Minister Lord TuÊ»ivakanƍ along with Minister for Food and Agriculture Hon. Sangster Saulala were at Vuna Wharf to view a dispaly of varieties of food ranges from vegetables to root crops and to locally manufactured food products by locals.

This year’s theme is “Family Farming: Feeding the world, caring for the Earth, and has the stated goal of drawing attention to the world’s 500 million smallholder farmers in an effort to help eradicate poverty and help safeguard the environment”.

At the same time last year, the FAO awarded FAO’s World Food Day Model Farmer Award to Malia Guttenbeil of Vava’u, Tonga,  for “her success as an agriculture entrepreneur and leader of women’s handicraft groups”.

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