The world food crisis is a major threat and one of the main political challenges for the next years. Famines and subtle hunger appear on a regional level, but the causes for the crisis are globally connected and solutions must be found on a global level.
To help search for regional and local solutions to the crisis, the Asian Farmers’ Association for Sustainable Rural Development (AFA) will join other civil society organizations in a global discussion on sustainable food policies through a satellite conference on April 29 that will be moderated from the European Parliament in Brussels, connecting parallel regional conferences in Asia (Manila, Philippines), West Africa (Dakar, Senegal), Latin America (Brasilia, Brazil), and the USA (Washington DC).
Co-organized by the European Platform for Food Sovereignty, Collectif Strategies Alimentaires, and the European Union, the conference aims to discuss with stakeholders from Asia, Africa, North America, as well as Latin America, the main problems and possible solutions, leading to a global strategy for sustainable food production and consumption.
(AFA and AsiaDHRRA will co-organize the regional conference in Manila. The results of the conference will be posted in the conference website, to be announced later.)
The challenge
The World Food Crisis – a major threat
The world food crisis is a major threat. Now almost one billion people go hungry. Most of them live in rural areas or in slums around cities. Lacking land and jobs, they cannot feed themselves. Global food stocks are at the lowest level in forty years. On top of that, climate change will make harvests insecure and the threat of famines will become more severe, mainly in the global South.
Growing populations and competition for land – an explosive mixture
With globally growing populations and emerging consumer economies in China, India and Brazil, competition for land between food and energy production is rapidly growing. Production costs for oil-dependent agriculture increase, while soils, water and biodiversity are depleted in many regions of the world. With the global economical crisis still ahead this is an explosive mixture.
No fair share of global energy and food resources
North America and Europe today consume about 70 % of the world’s available energy and 40% of the world’s food, representing 19 % of the world’s population. In Europe, about 30% of available food is thrown away. Industrial processing, long distance transport between farms and consumers, as well as wasteful production patterns and consumption habits contribute to this extreme loss. This is unethical and unfair.
Challenging the agro-industrial model: enhancing local food security
Furthermore, agro-industrial meat production, based on feedstuffs which are mainly imported from developing countries or emerging economies compete with sustainable, low input local food systems. The recently published world agriculture report of the United Nations (IAASTD) points out that small scale and organic farming is more productive and less resource consuming as compared to agro-industrial production. However, the Common agriculture policy of the EU still promotes industrialised, high input and export-oriented agriculture.
A Green New Deal for global food sufficiency
In order to avoid rising conflicts on access to energy and food, a GLOBAL GREEN DEAL must tackle these unsustainable and wasteful patterns of food production and consumption and support people in changing lifestyles. In order to achieve a sustainable food system and a fair share of global food resources, the growing pressure on natural resources for food, feed and fuel must be substantially reduced.
Beyond food security and food aid – common food sufficiency
Discussing the concept of common food sufficiency will go beyond the often technical debate on global food security, which does not challenge the problems linked to global food trade and food aid. The conference will focus on the human right to sufficient and healthy food, and it will challenge wasteful food production and consumption patterns. It will include the relevant stakeholders and actors from around the world in this debate.
Draft programme for the Video Conference
29. April 2009
9.30 – 13.00 and 15.00- 18.30 (Central European Time)
(Brussels 9.30, Dakar 7.30, Manila 15.30)
9.30 Welcome by the co-president of the Green Group in the European Parliament, Monica Frassoni, and by Friedrich Wilhelm Graefe zu Baringdorf, Vice-President of the Committee on Agriculture at the European Parliament
9.45 (Dakar 7.45, Manila 15.45) A key note message from Mamadou Cissokho, Farmer leader, facilitator of the Pan African Platform of Farmers organizations
10.00 Manila (16.00): An Asian perspective on food sufficiency
(With specific comments on food governance, local food stocks, farmers empowerment and rural development infrastructure and environmental sustainability)
10.30 (Dakar 8.30, Manila 16.30) Comments from Dakar and Brussels
10.45 Feedback from Manila
11.00 (Dakar 9.00): An African perspective on food sufficiency
(With specific comments on domestic and regional food culture and market; sustainability and sufficiency criteria; food stocks and food supply management including the regional and domestic agriculture and trade policy)
11.30 Comments from Manila (17.30) and Brussels
11.45 Feedback from Dakar (Dakar 9.45)
12.00 Welcome of the participants from Brasilia
12.00 (7.00 Brasilia) A Latin-American perspective on food sufficiency
(With specific comments on the “zero hunger” program in Brazil: Challenging the agro-industrial model: perspectives to increase food security from sustainable family farming, how to link urban food sufficiency with family farming and rural development)
12.30 Comments from Dakar (10.30) Manila (18.30) and Brussels
12.45 Feedback from Brasilia (7.45)
and final comments before leaving the conference
from Manila
13.00 Lunch break
15.00 Welcome of the participants from Washington
Dakar 13.00, (Washington 9.00), Brasilia 10.00
Short summary of results of the morning session
15.15 Brussels: A European Perspective on food sufficiency
(Imports of feedstuff and re-integration of crop and meat production, food sufficiency and agro-fuels, food waste, sustainability and sufficiency criteria for public support; reconnection of farmers and consumers)
15.45 Comments from Washington 9.45 and Dakar 13.45, Brasilia 10.45
16.15 Feedback from Brussels
16.30 (Washington 10.30) A US-American perspective on food sufficiency
(With specific comments on sustainable production and consumption practices, how to control speculation with food commodities and agro-fuels; internal and external food aid)
17.00 Comments from Brasilia 12.00, Dakar 15.00, Brussels
17.15 Feedback from Washington
17.30 Towards a global action plan to achieve global food sufficiency
Final round of debate with regional conference participants
18.15 Conclusions
18.30 End of video conference
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