Statement of the 2014 Farmers’ Forum

(Rome, February 21, 2014 - Posted by La Via Campesina) 

We, delegates to the 5th Farmers' Forum, the representatives of small-scale producer organizations, speaking on behalf of millions of small-scale farmers, artisanal fishers, pastoralists, livestock breeders, and indigenous communities, hereby communicate our opinions and proposals to IFAD and its governing bodies.

The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) was founded in 1977 to work on behalf of the rural poor. With the creation of the Farmers' Forum in 2005, it began to work in collaboration with the rural poor. At that time, it was way ahead of the rest of the UN system in opening up to systematic dialogue with organizations representing the intended beneficiaries of its action. Since then, the partnership between IFAD and small-scale producers' organizations (POs) has brought significant benefits to both sides. IFAD's image, its working methods and the effectiveness of its programs have profited from its association with our organizations. On our side, we have had some opportunities to bring our concerns to the governing bodies and the staff of IFAD, as well as to gain access to funding for our capacity building programs.

But the world has not stood still over the past decade. Since the food crisis of 2007, agriculture has climbed to the top of the international agenda, and small-scale producers are now the object of everyone's attention. Climate change, environmental degradation, conflicts, agrarian crises and numerous suicides in many regions, desertification and water scarcity, food-related health issues, toxic chemicals, the scandal of land grabbing, food waste and commodity speculation - All of these factors have exposed the unsustainability of a food system based on industrial agricultural production and globalized value chains that reward all of the actors except for food producers and consumers. At the same time as this is happening, we continue to strengthen our organizations' capacity to advance alternative proposals for sustainable agro-ecological production models and equitable local, national, and regional food systems. We have multiplied and capitalized on the countless resilient farming practices that our members are conducting in all regions of the world. On the governance side, the reform of the Committee on World Food Security has set a new standard for the participation in the process of decision-making of those most affected by food insecurity and malnutrition.

New challenges and new opportunities have opened up for the Farmers' Forum partnership that IFAD established with us almost a decade ago. If we do not grasp them, our collaboration risks stagnating. However, If we take

advantage of these challenges and opportunities, together we can make significant contributions to addressing some of the most serious issues that the world faces today. This year, the International Year for Family Farming, is the time to act. It is with this intention that we put forward the following proposals.

Smallholder family farming should be recognized as a pillar of local, sustainable development and a substantial guarantee for food sovereignty and peace and stability in the world. This vision has to be expressed at every level and implemented in national actions That have positive effects for every community. The International Year of Family Farming 2014 should constitute a significant step forward in improving the quality of life of hundreds of millions of smallholder family farmers, fisherfolk, livestock breeders and indigenous communities. We expect concrete initiatives and policies that will include mobilizing resources and improving access to land, water, oceans and other inputs and natural resources. Agroecology and organic agriculture should be promoted, and farmers' control over their production, especially With regard to their seeds and indigenous species of

livestock and fish, should be strengthened; their rights of use should not be violated.

*We call upon IFAD to work with us to:*

Enhance the image of small-scale family farming, pastoralism and artisanal fisheries as the source of 90% of the food consumed in the world; obtain formal recognition in each country of the status and profession of small-scale family farmers, pastoralists and artisanal fishers ; and, through specific proposals, technical assistance and exchanges between countries and continents, engage in the formulation of more effective policies and support for smallholder producers and strengthen the involvement of smallholder producers' organizations at the

country level and in operational activities*

- Facilitating policy dialogue between smallholder producer organizations and governments is the top priority at the country level. IFAD should provide increased support for the implementation at the national level of the Committee on World Food Security's recommendation calling on governments, small-scale producers and other actors to develop a national vision for the future of smallholder production. This would provide a concrete occasion to establish national multi-actor dialogue platforms in which all genuine small-scale producer organization are included.

- Although there has been progress in involving our organizations in the national programmes (COSOPs) and in providing grants for our own organizations, we are still excluded from the design, implementation and evaluation of too many of the projects/loans which constitute the bulk of IFAD operations. The existing examples of such projects being implemented in a tripartite arrangement, involving IFAD, the government and the farmer organisations, need to be multiplied.

- IFAD should more systematically inform and involve farmers' organisations with regard to all of the initiatives it undertakes in a country. IFAD country offices and missions should systematically make contact with Farmers' organizations. Farmers' organizations should be endowed with more capacity for independent analysis, critical assessment and monitoring. Rather than calling on external consultants, each project should earmark

specific resources to allow farmers' organizations to provide inputs into the design and supervision process. We are willing, in all countries, to engage in IFAD Country Programme Management Teams.

- More attention should be given to issues of concern to FOs, such as risk management in agriculture, the guaranteeing of funds in order to facilitate access to credit, and the resolution of conflicts over natural resources.

- IFAD should extend its fisheries programmes to more countries and provide an inclusive space for small scale fishers' organizations. IFAD should ensure the integration of small-scale fishery organizations into its on-going grants programmes. It should support the implementation of the International Guidelines on Securing Sustainable Small-scale Fisheries and facilitate dialogue between small-scale fisher organisations' and national governments.

-More attention should be given to livestock breeders and pastoralists. We recommend that a special session on livestock issues and pastoralism be held at the next Farmers Forum.

- A global grant programme should be established to provide direct support to organizations of farmers and fishers, in order to increase their capacity in policy and economic areas as well as to strengthen their initiatives. It should contain specific programs for women and youth, including their leadership and capacity development and the establishment of women and youth wings. It should also provide support for farmers' schools and training centers for smallholder sustainable agriculture, and for the inclusion of training modules on agroecology in the agricultural school system.

*Strengthen the interaction between the Farmers' Forum and IFAD governance*

- A more continuous and autonomous functioning of the Farmers Forum and its Steering Committee is necessary. This would allow a qualitative leap in the functioning of the Forum, improving its analysis and its interactions with IFAD at different levels, and would lead to a more effective contribution on the part of farmer organisations to IFAD programs and initiatives. Taking into account the changes that have taken place since the founding of the Farmers' Forum, a reform of the Steering Committee is necessary in order to clarify its mandate, composition and working methods. We expect that IFAD will accompany this next step in our deepening collaboration.

- Enable the Steering Committee to provide the Board with information and opinions that can enrich its discussions, through such means as inviting a Steering Committee representative to sit as an observer on the IFAD Executive Board, or establishing an advisory group to the Executive Board.

- Set up a dialogue with IFAD governing bodies on key issues related to IFAD's mission and concepts, such as value chains, adequate technologies and investment, and market access. 

*Strengthen collaboration in other global policy forums*

- IFAD and our organizations should strengthen our coordination in support of the interests of small-scale producers in international forums/institutions, such as the Committee on World Food Security, and in programmes such as the Global Agriculture and Food Security Programme.

- IFAD governing bodies should adopt CFS policy instruments such as the Guidelines on land tenure and the recommendations of the roundtable on investing in smallholders adopted at CFS40. It should apply them to IFAD

projects and programs, and support their implementation at the national level, promoting the participation of small-scale producers' organizations.

-IFAD should also align its goals with the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and with the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety. 

*We call upon the governments to:*

- Resolve the agrarian crises in their countries. The measures to do so include making effective use of the resources made available by IFAD, implementing the CFS guidelines on land tenure and the FAO guidelines on

small scale fisheries, as well as undertaking agrarian and aquatic reforms and investing in smallholder production - including appropriate infrastructure and credit facilities.

- Continue to support IFAD as a key institution that channels resources to the smallholder, food producing sector, and to make the necessary resources available in the coming years for an ambitious agenda that will be launched in this International Year of Family farming,

- Implement the decisions taken in the CFS and in the International Conference on Agrarian Reform and Rural Development (ICARRD), as well as the findings of the International Assessment of Agriculture, Science, and

Technology for Development (IAASTD), calling on IFAD support when it is appropriate, and use these decisions as central guideS for the elaboration of IFAD programs and projects,

- Involve producers' organizations in the design and implementation of all IFAD programs and projects and in the IFAD Country Program Management Teams.

- Give special priority to women and youth, as both women and youth are key for smallholder food production.

*We call upon our organizations to:*

- Make a commitment to working together in solidarity and mutual trust, and to promoting our common agenda on smallholder food production,

- continue to build our organisations, enhancing our capacity to participate effectively in dialogue and collaboration with national governments and regional and international institutions including IFAD, and strengthening our capacity to provide services to our members.

- create room for women and youth in order to ensure that they gain an effective space in our organisations and that their concerns are given a high priority in our work,

- strive to achieve a participation of 50% women and 30% youth at the next global meeting of the Farmers Forum.

Letter by SICCFM secretary to the editor of The Hindu

The Hindu recently published an Opinion hailing the outcome of the WTO conference at Bali, echoing the words of other corporate sponsored mainstream media. The article can be found here.

We wonder what P. Sainath, their acclaimed rural affairs editor, would comment on this viewpoint, as it is glaringly evident that the WTO Bali Package is only going to benefit the rich trading corporations while snatching away the livelihoods of scores of poor farmers across the developing world. S. Kannaiyan, the dynamic secretary of the SICCFM has written a letter to The Hindu editor, in response to their editorial article. Here is Kannaiyan's letter. We hope The Hindu acknowledges its responsibility towards educating the classes and the masses by publishing Kannaiyan's letter.


Letter to the editor, The Hindu

To,
Editor in Chief,
The Hindu.

Dear Sir,

It was disappointing to see The Hindu editorial dated 13th,
December,2013 , “A good start in Bali” celebrating the results of the
anti people Bali Package adopted at the 9th ministerial of the WTO in
Bali recently.

The Hindu editorial is misleading because it tries to portray both the
signing of the Bali package and India's giving in to US demands to
accept the terrible interim Peace Clause as victories. This is not a
victory at all but a great loss for humanity, because the deal stops
any future affirmative action by governments to carry out food
security programs or farmers' subsidies. The US on the other hand, will
continue to legally pay massive farm and food stamp subsidies.

India had been opposing the Peace Clause until the very end, defending
not just Indian farmers and the hungry, but taking a firm stand for
the 4.2 billion poor peoples of the entire world. India's Food
Security Act and the PDS system are a good model for all other
developing countries to follow. It is unfortunate that India finally
gave in to US demands to accept a very restrictive Peace Clause
and one that applies only to current legislation, preventing any
future food security programmes for all developing countries. Now it is
completely dependent on further negotiations what type of a permanent
solution will be found and if current subsidies or food security
programmes can even exist at the present scale. Lastly, developing
countries will have to accept their guilt in violating WTO rules
before they can even apply the peace clause. No country's government
should have to beg the WTO or any other institution to support its
citizens right to food because that is the right thing to do.
Regards,
Kannaiyan
 --
*S.KANNAIYAN.*
*South Indian Coordination Committee of Farmers' Movements (SICCFM)*,
Panakahally ( Village and post ),
Thalavady (Via),
Sathyamangalam Taluk,
Erode District,
Tamil Nadu,
India.
Pin code: 638 461.
*Mobile: +91 9444989543*
Skype: S.Kannaiyan
http://kannaiyan.blogspot.com/
http://siccfm.blogspot.com/

Worldwide media coverage of the protest by farmers and civil society groups against the WTO

The World Trade Organization's 9th Minesterial currently underway at Bali, Indonesia has attracted enormous attention, not just because it is a WTO event but also because of the widespread opposition by farmers across the world.

The WTO, being controlled by the biggest multinational companies, is forcing developing and least developed countries to open their markets to allow dumping of cheap goods. They also want agricultural subsidies to be reduced in these countries. Cheap imports will eat into the local markets, ensuring farmers are forced to sell their produce at rock bottom prices; reduction in subsidies will make their cost of production sky-rocket, pushing them down the spiral of debt. These issues and more are being highlighted in the ongoing protest at Bali.

Below are some of the media coverage it has received across the world.

India:

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international/business/wtos-global-role-hangs-in-the-balance-at-bali-summit/articleshow/26776528.cms

http://climate-connections.org/2013/12/03/breaking-news-action-by-indian-movements-inside-wto-meeting-in-bali/

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/in-bali-sharma-to-pitch-for-food-security/article5411239.ece?ref=relatedNews

France: 

http://fr.news.yahoo.com/video/activists-protest-wto-conference-bali-134625080.html

http://fr.news.yahoo.com/video/bali-manifestation-en-marge-la-133309844.html

Egypt: 

http://www.dailynewsegypt.com/2013/12/03/wtos-global-role-hangs-in-the-balance-at-bali-summit/

South Korea 

http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20131203000516&mod=skb

USA: 

http://www.onenewspage.us/video/20131203/1520699/Activists-protest-at-WTO-conference-in-Bali.htm

http://www.seattlepi.com/news/world/article/Bali-summit-may-be-last-chance-for-WTO-trade-deal-5029428.php

http://www.wsbtv.com/ap/ap/business/bali-summit-may-be-last-chance-for-wto-trade-deal/nb9JP/

UK:

http://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/news-photo/activists-protest-against-the-wto-conference-in-denpasar-on-news-photo/453247751

Qatar:

http://www.gulf-times.com/Mobile/Business/191/details/373389/WTO-faces-fight-for-survival-at-make-or-break-summit

Canada: 

http://ca.finance.yahoo.com/photos/top-news-photos-1370239005-slideshow/protester-youth-movement-indonesia-caravan-wearing-guy-fawkes-photo-041245729.html

Around the web 

http://www.popularresistance.org/seattle-wto-collapsed-14-years-ago-lessons-for-today/

http://www.salon.com/2013/12/03/bali_summit_may_be_last_chance_for_wto_trade_deal/

http://bigstory.ap.org/article/bali-summit-may-be-last-chance-wto-trade-deal

  

http://business.inquirer.net/154937/wtos-global-role-hangs-in-the-balance-at-bali-summit

Breaking News from the WTO 9th Minesterial at Bali: Defending the Poor and Hungry is Non-Negotiable!

On the occasion of the Ninth Ministerial Meeting of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in Bali, Indonesia, several farmers’ organisations, trade unions, mass organisations and peoples’ campaigns resolved to support the Indian Government’s position to not trade away national food security.

Protest at the 9th WTO Minesterial, Bali, Indonesia

The group welcomes the decision of the Indian Cabinet on 28^th November to reject any peace clause that does not guarantee a permanent solution.  The peace clause has been widely opposed by the Chairs of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Commerce and Agriculture, several political parties including the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Left parties, and mass organisations.

Kannaiyan (wearing the green cap), secretary of the SICCFM, at the WTO conference venue

 However, the group cautioned the Indian negotiating team headed by Commerce Minister Mr. Anand Sharma, not to bow to any pressure to weaken India’s position on defending and upholding national food security as a sovereign right. The group declared that the safeguarding and promotion of the country’s food security, rural employment and livelihoods are non-negotiable, and that food security cannot be ensured without supporting agricultural production by small and marginal farmers

Nandini Jayaram, women's coordinator of SICCFM, also defending the rights of farmers, at Bali

The group reminds the WTO members that no country needs to be on the defensive about protecting the right to food and fighting hunger in their countries.  And that aggressively upholding the rights of its citizens is not tantamount to collapsing the ministerial talks.  On the contrary, such pressure tactics must be exposed as a conspiracy to keep people hungry and poor.

It was decided that the group would closely monitor the negotiations during the ministerial meeting to ensure that the interests of the poor and hungry are not compromised in any way.

The following groups are currently in Bali, as the voices of millions of Indian farmers.

Action Aid India

Bhartiya Kisan Union

Bharatiya Krishak Samaj

Bharatiya Majdoor Sangh

Focus on the Global South India

Great Mission Group Consultancy

Public Services International

Right to Food Campaign

Shram Seva Nyas

South Indian Coordination Committee of Farmers’ Movements

Swadeshi JagranManch

Third World Network India

News article published in Indian media against the WTO conference at Bali

Farmers to picket Mangalore port against WTO conference - The Hindu - Nov 29th 2013

Members of the South Indian Inter-State Coordination Committee of Farmers’ Organisations will stage a protest by picketing the harbour operated by New Mangalore Port Trust in Mangalore on December 3 against the 9th Ministerial conference of World Trade Organisation (WTO) that will be held in Bali in Indonesia, working president of the Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha (KRRS) K.T. Gangadhar has said.

The policies of WTO are against the interests of the farmers and below poverty line families in India. A meeting of farmers’ organisations of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Goa and Maharashtra was held in Bangalore on November 17 and 18 and it decided to stage protest against WTO Ministerial conference. More than 2,500 farmers will take part in the protest, Mr. Gangadhar told presspersons here on Thursday.

India has recently passed Food Security Bill which guarantees foodgrains at subsidised prices for the poor families. India also procures foodgrains under minimum support price (MSP) from the farmers when there is fall in the price of agricultural produce. The food grains procured at MSP are distributed among the poor families at subsidised prices through the food security programmes. The cap imposed by WTO on its member nations on offering food subsidies and extending MSPs are unscientific, he said.

When the agriculture subsidy in the member nation crosses the permissible limit, WTO can impose fine. Under the Food Security Bill, India will provide 5 kilo subsidised foodgrains for 67 per cent of its population. If the Act is fully implemented, the cap on food subsidy offered by WTO will be breached. Prior to the Bali conference, WTO is pressuring India to withdraw the Food Security Bill passed by the Parliament and thereby has insulted the sovereignty of the nation, he said.

As per the direction of WTO, India has lifted quantitative restrictions on import of agricultural produce due to which there was a sharp in the price of foodgrains grown by the farmers here. The import of sugar, silk, pulses and milk powder at cheap price that has harmed the interests of the farmers here should be stopped immediately, he said.

The farmers will also take out a protest march from the railway station in Mangalore city at 11 a.m. to the Mangalore port, he said. Functionaries of KRRS Yashwanth Rao and D.V. Veeresh, Umapathi were present in the press conference.

Ninth Ministerial Conference of WTO will be held in Indonesia from December 3 to 6.

‘The policies of WTO are against the interests of the farmers and BPL families in India’

What every Indian should know about the World Trade Organization

As the leaders of the world gear up for the 9^th Minesterial of the World Trade Organization (WTO) at Bali, small farmers and peasants across the world await the outcome with heavy hearts. They are convinced that the horror unleashed by the WTO since its inception in 1995 was going to multiply manifold. The extreme apathy of the developed world towards the hunger and suffering of the developing and least developed countries (LDCs) has never been more evident. For the insatiable profit of a few giant multinational corporations (MNCs), the Global North is about to sacrifice the livelihood of every poor family in the South.

The governments of developing countries are being arm-twisted into agreeing to one-sided policies and agreements, fooled by the carrot of development being dangled yet again by the First world. It is now an indisputable fact that poverty and income inequality have only increased since neoliberalistic policies made their way into the Third World. Mainstream media being controlled by politicians and big corporations are determined to keep the public in the dark about the devious WTO policies which have killed more than 3 lakh farmers till date. Hence it is up to civil society and farmers’ groups to prevent the 9^th Ministerial from sounding the death knell to small farmers and the economically weaker sections of society.

The South Indian Coordination Committee of Farmers’ Movements (SICCFM) is spearheading the fight against the WTO’s biased policies, in South India. They arranged a Round Table of all the farmers’ unions in South India and invited representatives from two important organizations, Focus on the Global South, a think-tank in New Delhi working to secure just and equitable policies for the South, and GRAIN, an international farmers’ movement fighting against the atrocities committed by large agribusinesses on small farmers and peasants.

Kannaiyan, secretary of the SICCFM briefing the gathering

Afsar Jafri, Senior Research Associate with Focus on the Global South threw light on a few crucial issues. The WTO’s importance had waned in the first decade of this century because there were nil benefits for developing countries. Since the economic crisis of 2008 which plunged the rich world into depression, their companies are looking towards emerging economies to maintain their exponential rates of growth. There is a new push for free trade agreements which will allow MNCs from a few rich economies to sell their government subsidized products cheaply in the international market. Developing countries and LDCs cannot afford to provide even a fraction of this subsidy to their farmers, leading to higher pricing and hence no buyers of their produce, pushing them into debt. Yet developed countries claim their subsidies are not trade-distorting, and instead want developing countries to reduce their already minimal subsidies and import tariffs, to facilitate dumping.

Afsar Jafri explaining the grave consequences of the 9th Minesterial of the WTO

Why should Indians be especially interested in the 9^th Minesterial at Bali? Certain countries in the WTO, especially USA is threatening to sue India if we implement the National Food Security Act (NFSA). Under existing WTO rules which are inherently in favour of developed countries, India is allowed a de minimus subsidy of 10% of the total value of its food production. With the NFSA, India will cross this limit. In order to allow implementation of the NFSA, the WTO wants India to accede to two conditions: the first is Trade Facilitation i.e. modernization of all our ports to allow for the easy and hassle-free entry of foreign goods. This will cost a substantial sum for which India needs technical and monetary support; the developed countries refuse to give any. The second condition is the Peace Clause. Under this deceptively named clause, India will not be allowed to sue any country if their company violates Indian laws. This clearly negates India’s sovereignty and we must vehemently oppose both these conditions.

The other option the WTO gives India to cut its agricultural subsidy is the reduction in the Minimum Support Price (MSP) given to our farmers. A few countries with vested corporate interests claim it will allow our farmers to sell their produce more cheaply in the international market. In reality, the MSP is in fact minimal and many times, does not even cover the cost of production. It is the minimum guarantee that a farmer can get for investing his life into his crop, withstanding the vagaries of the market and nature. Most importantly, this amount remains a miniscule fraction of the bounty showered by developed countries on their farmers who make up less than 5% of their population. If India agrees to this, it will have to construct a mass grave to accommodate the lakhs of farmers’ bodies which will make their way there. The WTO and its agribusiness giants will then pretend these farmers never existed on the face of this Earth. Indeed, for farmers in developing countries, WTO could stand for World Terror Organization.

Farmers and student activists listen intently

If the threats associated with implementing our NFSA are bad enough, the Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) being discussed on a number of products will ensure the small farmer has nowhere to go but the mass grave. Kartini Samon, a senior activist from GRAIN enlightened the audience at the Round Table about the new FTA between the European Union and India which will allow free entry of European dairy products into India. It is well known that the EU generously subsidizes its dairy industry. With the new FTA, they will flood India with cheap milk and dairy products, cheaper than what our local milk cooperatives are offering.

The EU’s big dairy companies will acquire land, set up their own farms to source their milk. This will affect more than 70 million families in India who practice dairy farming for their livelihoods. The 93,000 local cooperatives which collect milk from small dairy farmers and sell it to towns and cities will become bankrupt with no hope of a bail-out. The milk that we get from our local farmers is not only fresh but also environment friendly due to the very low transport related carbon emissions. With climate change induced cyclones and typhoons wrecking havoc in many parts of the world, these giant MNCs will only exacerbate the crisis.

Since the economic reforms in the early 90s, hundreds of thousands of farmers have committed suicide because of the government’s exclusive preference for industrialization. The upcoming WTO Minesterial conference at Bali could kill many many more. Urban India needs to realize we cannot exist without our farmers who provide our most basic necessity – food. Patriotism goes beyond supporting India in a cricket match. If we do not come out of our cubicles to support our farmers, we will in effect become Resident Non-Indians. Since your voice carries more power than the farmer’s, please raise it against this impending genocide. You will not see these issues highlighted in mainstream media. Care searching on the internet and you will gather that genocide is what it is.

Join the protest by SICCFM in Mangalore on 3^rd Dec 2013 to protect your farmers and the food they grow for you.

-Pannaga Prasad
Media relations
SICCFM