Regional Paper - Latin America

Global good sufficiency - a Brazilian Perspective


Food and nutritional security is intimately linked to development, in which the agri-food system, particularly the small and medium-sized producers, play a significant role

1. Analysis of the situation in Brazil: two projects in dispute:

• The hegemony of agri-business which controls production, processing and marketing of food; the high concentration of land ownership; enjoying government incentives; export-orientated monoculture; technological model which is causing rapid degradation of natural resources.
• Rural Brazil is also the Brazil of family agriculture and traditional population groups, which are seeking to affirm their specific cultural and historical identity and are responsible, in an absolute majority of the country's rural establishments; for driving the local economies, producing most of the food consumed by the Brazilian population, and applying the most sustainable (agri-ecology) and solidarity-based production systems.

2. Measures taken to improve food security:

• The ZERO Hunger programme,....
• Family farms have won significant victories at the level of the federal government's public policies, which have made viable and strengthened alternatives which have in turn boosted and encouraged family-based ways of life and production: increased resources of the PRONAF (National Programme for strengthening Family Farms) and diversified its line of action; creation of food and nutritional security-oriented programmes; implementation of programmes designed to ensure agricultural production and marketing (harvest-guarantee and price guarantee, acquisition of foods – PAA (Food Acquisition Programme)); establishment of a new policy on technical backup and rural extension; the law on Family Farms and the law on the SUASA (Single System for Dealing with Agri-Stockbreeding Health Issues). Extending these achievements means a chance of moving forward in the direction of strengthening 'family agriculture'.

3. Position of Family Agriculture and the CONSEA (National Council on Food Security):

• We advocate that in establishing the sustainable, solidarity-based development project, the State should intervene in the economy with all instruments available, establishing demands and conditions to boost the internal market.
• Family agriculture is a constituent element for developing a policy of sustainable, solidarity-based development and food sovereignty, and should be subsidised so that it can affirm itself and ensure control of all stages of the production process, with particular priority being given to production for own-consumption and the domestic market, encouraging cooperation between producers and consumers, on the basis of a new technological approach capable of responding to the growing social and environmental demands, and ensuring the supply of healthy, quality food.
• In all international negotiations, including and prioritising 'non-commercial considerations with regard to agriculture', ensuring the sovereign exercise of policies of supporting food production and supply to the detriment of strictly commercial logic.
• Following the example of the REAF (Commission on Family Agriculture) within Mercosur, to create international institutional spaces bringing together representatives of government and of civil society, with a view to coordinating the putting forward of proposals for technical and political measures, so as to guarantee special, differentiated treatment conditions, e.g. food security and nutritional policies, the preservation of the environmental goods and services production capacity of family agriculture, traditional communities and indigenous peoples.

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Regional Paper - North America

The U.S. Charts a New Path


Overview of the U.S. Problem

The U.S. has been a main driver in promoting global food and agricultural markets. It heavily influences the direction of the world market and is host to some of the major transnational agribusiness corporations and commodity exchange markets. U.S. agricultural policy may have created new global markets but it has had certain negative impacts. U.S. agricultural production is based on energy-intensive approaches such as monocropping, confined animal operations, use of pesticides, GMOs and fertilizers, which have been shown to have damaging effects on biodiversity and the environment. U.S. policy has allowed it to dump its products into other countries at below the cost of production. Dumping has led to problems such as food insecurity, unemployment in the rural sector as well unsustainable migration patterns. U.S. investment has prioritized increased food production and new markets rather than more comprehensive long-lasting healthy solutions for food and agriculture. This approach contributes to market volatility and allows U.S. agribusiness to consolidate operations around the world at the expense of consumers and producers.

What are possible U.S. solutions to the problem?

The U.S. has a responsibility to acknowledge that this approach is not working at home or abroad. It is time to make a change. Moving in a more positive direction, the U.S. should adopt the Right to Food and incorporate it as a guideline for its policymaking. It should create a new Farm Bill in 2013 that is mandated to ensure that all people have access to healthy food, farmers receive a fair price for their production, and that climate-friendly agricultural practices are implemented. It should promote more effective food aid and investment in agriculture. The U.S. should be a leader in addressing market volatility by supporting food stocks and regulations to deter excessive commodity speculation. It should also redirect its trade policy to eliminate dumping practices and allow developing countries to protect their domestic agricultural markets. Finally, the U.S. has a particular challenge to reign in agribusiness from setting national and foreign policy. No tax payer money should be directed to support agribusiness from having any unfair advantage over prioritizing local, resilient food and agricultural systems.

Change we can believe in

The global crises have opened the U.S. public's eyes to the fact that markets need to be regulated so as to serve social and environmental goals. This, along with the rhetoric and action of the Barak Obama administration to re-engage in the world and to strengthen democracy at home, opens an important window for new rules and actions that meet the needs of the time.

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Regional Paper - Asia

Global Food Sufficiency: The Asian Perspective

Agriculture continues to contribute to the engine of growth for the economy of the countries of ASEAN. With rice being the common staple food for the people of ASEAN, the sector is closely linked to food security situation in the region.

Rice is also the most important crop to millions of small farmers who grow it on millions of hectares throughout the region, and to the many landless workers who derive income from working on these farms. At low levels of income, when meeting energy needs is a serious concern, people tend to eat coarse grains and root crops such as cassava and sweet potato. At that lowest stage of economic development, rice is considered a luxury commodity. With increasing income, demand shifts from coarse grains and root crops to rice. At high levels of income, rice becomes an inferior commodity, and consumers prefer diverse foods with more protein and vitamins, such as vegetables, bread, fish and meat

Call for Food Sufficiency for ASEAN

In this context, and in the light of the food crisis, food security requirements and the issues of climate change, sustainable , organic, ecological friendly agriculture becomes the key strategic response that governments may take, as also emphasized by the report of the International Assessment of Agricultural Knowledge, Science, Technology Development (IAASTD), signed by 60 countries and the World Bank.

With food surpluses being traded at local, national, regional and international markets, trade agreements that should be entered by ASEAN should preserve member state's capacities to exempt sectors important to food security, livelihood security, rural development and poverty alleviation and ensure the benefit for smallholder producers; as well as provide sufficient safeguard measures and remedies.

We ask ASEAN governments, both at national and the regional level to promote sustainable agriculture by redirecting its agricultural investments, funding and policy focus. Specifically, we ask that ASEAN and their member governments to:

• develop a common agricultural policy and action plan that aims to improve access of small poor rural people to land, water and other natural resources, increase their productivity and incomes through sustainable, ecological-friendly agriculture for the benefit of small-scale men and women farmers, fishers and indigenous peoples. The policy and action plan can contain clear objectives, targets, timeframes, and can use participatory processes involving lead agencies and departments and organized groups of small scale men and women farmers, fishers and indigenous peoples. Corollary to this, establish a common agricultural development fund that will help carry out the action plan.
• emphasize the promotion of Sustainable agriculture in ASEAN's SPA-FS and AIFS framework. The development of this Plan can include workshops with various sectors to provide specific details to the SPA-FS.
• review / revise the ASEAN Rice Reserve/Food Reserve Scheme to help stabilize rice supply and prices in the region; since the true spirit of economic cooperation and integration should be reflected in the way ASEAN addresses the issue of food security in the region.
• regularly consult an advisory council composed of representatives of small-scale men and women agricultural producers (farmers, fishers, indigenous peoples) across the region on policies, programs and initiatives affecting, or has the potential to impact on agriculture.
• provide continuing processes and sustain mechanism that will strengthen social accountability towards realizing the vision for a people-centered ASEAN.

Solidarity with global action for food sufficiency

We, as civil society groups working for sustainable rural development, for the promotion of sustainable, ecological friendly agriculture, and the development of small scale men and women farmers, fishers and indigenous people can cooperate with global action for food sufficiency. We can share our own experiences and technical expertise. Furthermore, we can help study and monitor how much governments allocate for agricultural programs and services benefiting small scale men and women farmers, fishers and indigenous peoples.

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Regional Paper - Africa

Africa's quest for productive, wealth-creating, income-generating and sustainable agriculture

Specific features

Africa still has a significant amount of land that it can use and a variety of natural resources, but does not produce enough to meet its food requirements. 20 billion worth of food imports per year. African agriculture is based on two production systems:

1. Family farms account for more than 85% of agricultural production. Most of them are medium-sized. They are multifunctional and produce for their own family consumption, local markets and export markets (cotton, peanuts, bananas, palm oil, etc.). The millions of farmers in Africa, most of them illiterate, are spread out across the continent and poorly organised. Producing food in difficult conditions, these farmers are responsible for the lot of so many affected by poverty and food insecurity (40%). Structural adjustment between 1980 and 1985 made life more complicated for rural communities by forcing privatisation and liberalisation of the economy on governments through the dismantling of development companies! This situation developed against a background of drought and economic crisis (1973-1984,…). Rural areas suffered from a lack of public investment and of consideration for the living patterns of populations in the programmes designed to assist them. Young people left the land to swell the populations of towns and cross the seas. They became providers of assistance to farmers, their parents.
2. Farms producing goods for the export market (coffee, cocoa, bananas, pineapples and maize) occupy fairly extensive areas in only a few countries (Kenya, Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, Tanzania and a number of countries in Central Africa). They are mechanised and use a poorly paid labour force.

Significant changes over the past ten years

Farmers have set up and structured groups at various levels, from village to national and subregional level. African states have reinvigorated subregional organisations with a view to promoting further integration. Agriculture is a priority again in development policies and programmes. The AUO has become the AU and has been active in defining and implementing NEPAD, of which agriculture is a priority. The WTO and EPA negotiations have provided farmers with an opportunity to make representations and consolidate their structures. Climate change has become more visible, in addition to soaring prices and food crises. Networks of farmers' organisations have joined forces with social movements to fight for food sovereignty, respect for lifestyles, supply management and market regulation.

What we need to do

Hold elected representatives at all levels to account. Develop consensual agricultural and agrifoods policies that will promote our crops and develop culinary values. Develop protected subregional markets. Invest in agriculture, stockfarming, fisheries and forestry. Take on board sustainable management of natural resources. Join forces with social movements which share our values. Be more self-critical and prepare our own development strategies.

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Regional Paper - Europe

Europe redefines its agro-food policies

What is the European piece of the problem?

The European Union is a global player in production, processing, consumption and trade of food. However, its 27 member states are all together net- importers of farm and food products. A very high percentage of feedstuff consumed in the EU is imported. Based on these imports and on various forms of subsidies, exports of processed meat, milk and cereals are encouraged. Feedstuff imports and subsidies both favour specialization and concentration of production in just a few areas of the EU. The food system of the EU is therefore not sustainable. It highly depends on imports and public aid, it splits rural regions and farmers into a few winners and many losers and it undermines the food systems in other regions of the world.

Even though the historic objectives of the Common Agriculture Policy (CAP) of the EU stressed food security for consumers and sufficient income for farmers, the EU food system is today dominated by the principle of global competitiveness of its agro-industry. As a consequence, the biological and economical diversity of small scale farming systems, slaughter house facilities and dairy industries which can offer local food supply disappears. An increasing part of food consumers buy is processed. Ever increasing food miles between farm gate and plate disconnect farmers from consumers. This allows retailers and supermarkets to accumulate market power and increase their share of value added to food. On top of this, up to 30 % of food is wasted- although the number of hungry people increases even in Europe.

What are possible European contributions to the solution?

The sufficiency principle would set the priority in a sustainable farming and food distribution system which provides enough and wholesome food for all citizens, a fair income for farmers, and which includes the best possible management of water, soil, biodiversity and landscapes. Reform of the CAP due to be prepared before 2013 therefore must include environmental, employment and public health criteria into the food system and integrate new challenges like climate change into policy objectives and instruments.

On the global level the EU must use its weight in multilateral negotiations like the Kyoto process, trade negotiations and biodiversity convention to go for more ambitious goals to establish global food sufficiency systems. Non-trade concerns like environmental and social standards as well as food sovereignty of the states must be included into these negotiations. Standards for qualified market access, CO2-saving methods in food production and consumption must be promoted both in research and daily practice. Export subsidies have to be abandoned immediately and replaced by efficient and flexible internal demand orientated systems of supply management.

European stakeholders go for global action

We should put our own house in order - while working globally on a food system which is sufficiency based. Food should be carried as a common good and value by producers and consumers. Food prices should internalise all externalized social and environmental costs. Local markets should be the main provider of food. International trade should be based on a fair and climate-friendly organization.

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