“Small scale farmers have been excluded from the conference and remain marginalised, although they are part of the solution”.

Already at the World Food Summit back in 1996 the farmers were  outside,  in the streets. At that first summit they were allotted only 4 minutes of speaking time (of the entire 5 days of the duration of the conference). When will  they finally be given a hearing? When will they  have a seat – in their own right – at the FAO?

This time again small producers left Rome in anger, disappointed at the outcome of the FAO summit meeting on the food crisis. They felt “marginalised” and “excluded” from the discussions and the decisions, which will only send them crashing into the wall.

Some hundred representatives of NGOs, fishermen’s and farmers’ organisations,  civil society and indigenous peoples’ associations,  set up a 4 day parallel conference called Terra Preta  (Portuguese for black soil) , during the FAO food crisis summit .

Having seen the draft final declaration proposed by the 193 FAO Member States, to be announced to the press on the afternoon of Thursday, the organisers of the parallel summit declared their anger and disappointment over the fact that they had not been listened to.

“The small scale producers were excluded from the summit and remain marginalised, in spite of the fact that they are part of the solution” said Flavio Valente, one of the leaders of the international NGO FIAN fighting against hunger,  giving vent to his criticism. 

“Our demands for more protection and more support to small scale production, agrarian reform and radical action against financial speculation were totally ignored by the governments", added Herman Kumura from the World Fishermen’s Forum.

“The policies that were outlined have not produced results and there are more and more people who go hungry. We do not want the same mistakes to be repeated now in 2008", said Henry Saradigh, one of the senior leaders of the Via Campesina international farmers’ movement.

The solution lies in more power and decision-making opportunities for small-holders, because it is they who can take us out of poverty. They must have a chance to produce for the local market. We are asking the FAO to review its food programmes and stop the liberalisation of the agricultural markets he emphasised.

In their list of proposals the organisers of the parallel summit are asking for the setting up of a Food Sovereignty Committee under the United Nations,  with representatives of governments and of farmers’ and fishermen’s organisations.

They also demand the go ahead for legal action against those whom they see as being responsible for the present food crisis.

See also LIBERATION,  daily (France) of June 6th .

For over two months all those who speak up on the food crisis continue to repeat:

“We are paying the price for 20 years of mistakes” .

Many recommend investment in agriculture. But who would invest in milk production without an assurance that  (imported) powder milk will not be back to its previous low price levels in the months to come ? Who is going to invest in tomato processing, as long as the Government does not put an import tax on Chinese tomato pulp, canned in Italy  and omnipresent in West Africa?

What is yet needed in the  present food crisis and hunger riots that will make the farmers’ voice heard and bring about true change and get the process towards food sovereignty started?

Paris, June 6th 2008
Maurice Oudet
Director, SEDELAN