About Family Farming, Lifestyle and Health in Small Islands, Countries and Territories

Small islands, countries and territories are the spaces most vulnerable to global changes such as socio-economic transitions, climate change or sanitary risks. Small-scale farming known as “family farming” ensures not only food production for families, but also fundamental social, environmental and cultural functions. Family farming represents 90% of farms in the world and produces 80% of the world's food in value. The lifestyle of family farmers embodies the concept of “from garden to fork”, with families enjoying good health as a consequence of their active lifestyle through gardening or fishing and eating garden produce. However, in small island countries and territories the environment is subject to rapid transformations, which affect urban, peri-urban and rural spaces as well as natural environments. These transformations have major consequences on food systems and regional livelihoods to local specificities and varieties of consumption, limiting the achievement of a healthy diet and influencing decisions about what to eat in small island communities. Similarly, industrialization and mechanization along with limited physical activity in daily life have greatly reduced regular activity, influencing human health. As a result, there is an urgent need to have a comprehensive understanding of family farming and the associated lifestyle to provide solutions to the most vulnerable populations in the world and to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, in particular "zero hunger" (SDG2) and “good health and well-being” (SDG3).

This collection aims to provide Horizon 2020 and Horizon Europe beneficiaries with a space to rapidly and transparently publish their work within the broad area of family farming, lifestyle and health in small islands, countries and territories.

The scope of the collection includes but is not limited to:

• Family farming, markets, food systems and food security
• Lifestyle, diet, nutrition and physical activity
• Health and wellbeing, obesity and non-communicable diseases  
• Remote sensing, GIS, spatial data and modelling
• Urban environments and rural areas
• Intergenerational differences and experiences
• Socio-economic transition
• Climate change
• Traditional practices and knowledge
• Education

All article processing charges will be covered centrally by the European Commission.

Open Research Europe requires open access to research data supporting articles under the principle ‘as open as possible, as closed as necessary’. All articles should include citations to repositories that host the data underlying the results, together with any information needed to replicate, validate, and/or reuse the results/your study and analysis of the data. We recognise there may be exceptions due to ethical, data protection, or confidentiality considerations, or because the data have been obtained from a third party and access restrictions apply.