It's a well-known fact that 70% of farmers globally have less than 1.5 hectares of land. But the lives of those smallholder farmers are rarely advocated for. In fact, the people who have contributed the least to the climate crisis are now facing its worst effects, alone.
For a farmer like Grace, drought and flooding caused by rising CO2 emissions have threatened her livelihood, and the future of her children. The weather in Kenya has changed dramatically since the industrial revolution.
Planting seasons are disrupted and rainy seasons come late, in a deluge that destroys seedlings. Desert locusts have responded to rising temperatures by entering cooler regions on the African continent in huge swarms, destroying all crops in their path.
Building resilience, in a climate like this, will take a global effort.
The We are the 70% campaign aims to shine a spotlight on smallholder farmers from all over the world, whose lives are currently standing on a knife-edge. The upcoming COP26 climate negotiations, planned for November 2021 and hosted by the UK, provide hope that CO2 emissions can be cut drastically, and that the environment can be protected for future generations.
Join the campaign
If you represent smallholder farmers, sign the open letter
Sign the open letter to COP26 leadership here
To support the campaign as an organisation, download the toolkit
Follow this link for resources you can use to raise awareness
To support the campaign as an individual, sign up to our climate bulletin
Join in with days of action, twitter storms and get updates from the field here.