An FAO e-mail conference on agricultural innovation systems and family farming: The moderator’s summary

From 4 June to 1 July 2012, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) hosted a moderated email conference on "Ensuring the full participation of family farmers in agricultural innovation systems: Key issues and case studies". It was a highly successful global dialogue, with a very stimulating discussion. About 560 people subscribed to the conference, of whom 114 people (20% of the total), from nearly 50 different countries, wrote at least one of the 242 messages that were posted. This document first describes the background to the conference, why it was held and the process leading up to it, and then summarizes discussions on the issues that received most attention in the conference.