Why we need a Just Rural Transition

The Challenge

While more food is being produced today than ever before, food systems are failing to deliver for people, nature, and climate.

Two billion people lack access to sufficient, nutritious food.
Agriculture workers and their families make up two thirds of the 740 million people facing extreme poverty.
Over a billion tonnes of food is wasted each year.
Indigenous peoples and rural communities manage 65% of the world’s land, yet governments recognise their rights to only 18% of this land.
Rural and indigenous communities, food production, and key ecosystems are under growing stress from climate change.

Providing nutritious food to a growing global population while protecting natural systems which sustain life is a key challenge of this decade.

But efforts to transform food and land use systems will falter if they neglect the social implications of this transformation and fail to deliver equitable outcomes and alternative livelihoods for food producers.

The Opportunity

Food producers are at the heart of our food systems. They play an essential role in shaping solutions to scale up sustainable agriculture and a just rural transition that enhances resilient livelihoods and rural communities.

Launched at the 2019 UN Climate Action Summit, the JRT supports and amplifies innovative and ambitious policies, investments, and multi-stakeholder solutions that deliver positive outcomes for people, planet, and economies. We aim to transform food and land use systems by:

Building an action-oriented evidence base
Mobilising stakeholders and catalysing partnerships
Strengthening collective purpose

Vision and Endorsers

A wide range of countries and organisations endorse the work and vision of the JRT. Together, we are transforming the way we produce and consume food to be healthier, more sustainable, and more equitable.

2030 Vision Statement
Endorsements and Statements of Support

2030 Vision Statement

The JRT Vision Statement was launched at the 2019 UN Climate Action Summit and remains open for endorsement by governments and other key stakeholders as a way of supporting the COP26 Nature Campaign focus on Sustainable Agriculture and a Just Rural Transition. Endorsers will join our growing community to promote learning, build momentum, and forge new partnerships that accelerate just rural transitions around the world.

To get involved, please submit an application here or contact the JRT team for more information.

JRT Vision Statement

Endorsements and Statements of Support

Over 70 entities have endorsed the JRT Vision Statement to date and joined our growing community of governments, food and agriculture value chains, knowledge and implementation partners, stakeholder associations, and financial entities.

See below for our current list of endorsers and their statements of support.

Endorsers and Statements of Support

International Engagement

The JRT helps forge a common vision and collective leadership. We engage leaders at national, regional, and international levels to increase awareness and accelerate action by a broad range of stakeholders.

We will highlight sustainable agriculture and the principles of a just transition within international forums such as the UN Food Systems Summit and COP27.