|
A breakthrough for food sovereignty at the United Nations Peasant farmers in Burkina Faso and in the rest of the world now have a staunch ally even at the United Nations. The UN Special Rapporteur on the right to food, Mr Olivier de Schutter, sees food sovereignty as absolutely vital to solving the world food crisis.
Lecturing in Montreal on the 8th of this month, Mr De Schutter referred to the fact that there is nearly one billion people suffering from hunger in the world, 80% of whom are those who produce our food: small peasant farmers, landless labourers and livestock herders. “The food crisis is the last drop, the ultimate evidence that the present system no longer works”, he said, speaking to an audience of about 200. “And it is irresponsible to pretend that the solution to this crisis lies in free trade” he said, rejecting the arguments of WTO (World Trade Organisation) Director General, Pascal Lamy, in favour of open markets. “India exports farm products for a value of 2.4 billion US dollars, whilst 235 million people in that country suffer from hunger” Mr De Schutter pointed out. Hunger in the world is not attributable to a lack of food, but to a lack of access to food, because of insufficient purchasing power among the population or because of government policies that lead to a violation of the right to food. Therefore the priority must be to guarantee small scale farmers a stable and decent income. Dead end Food is not a negotiable item like other products, Mr De Schutter emphasised, and it would be “sheer folly”” to apply the same WTO rules to food as to other products”. In his view a re-appropriation of the WTO is necessary. The organisation was set up in 1994 outside the fold of the UN in order to give world trade an independent status. Now the WTO must be subjected to the rule of human rights, which takes priority over the rights of world trade. “ Mr De Schutter also criticised the lack of co-ordination between international agencies, such as the FAO and the World Food Programme on the one hand and the WTO and the International Monetary Fund on the other. The idea of world governance, that many countries have called for, deserves to be explored. Opening up agriculture to free trade has many hidden costs, this expert on international law declared. It would leave many countries exposed to world market price fluctuations. In case of a food crisis, net importing countries will no longer be able to pay the bill to feed their populations. International trade sharpens competition and widens the gap between the smallest farms (less than 2 hectares), which make up 85% of the world total, and those of over 100 hectares. “I refuse to accept the economic argument of comparative advantage, it would mean the end for rural populations in developing countries, where 80% have agriculture as their livelihood.” Free trade enhances the power of the multinational agri-business companies to set the price on farm inputs (pesticide, fertiliser) to be paid by peasants, who are often badly organised. Business corporations can buy anywhere on the planet and prevent farmers from getting a fair share of the price taken out on consumers. Food sovereignty Throughout his address Mr De Schutter stressed the correlation between the right to food and food sovereignty. Sweet music to the ears of the defendants of supply management! “The right to food is not limited simply to the right to eat, but implies a sufficient income for farmers and affordable prices for consumers. It hinges on the adoption of strategies by the nation-state to make this happen, in particular through framework legislation. The nation-state must even protect the right to food of other countries, by controlling their own private actors, so that they do not cause harm by dumping products across the borders.” Mr De Schutter reiterated the thrust of the Montreal Declaration on food sovereignty signed by approximately forty organisations a year earlier. It lays down the right of a country to determine its modes of food production and consumption. It enjoins states to protect their agricultural sector against dumping and against price volatility. “Food sovereignty does not necessarily require self-sufficiency, but it excludes the option of choices dictated by the needs of international trade”, he said. Supply management To live up to the right to food, “nations must first of all have a chance to regulate prices, by supply management in the hands of national boards of commerce, the Special Representative declared. Supply management stabilises market prices, ensures a decent income for producers and spares consumers from having to bear the brunt of price volatility. Milk in the United States costs less than in Canada. This approach means that a country abstains from reducing tariff barriers as programmed by the WTO.” This is a line the people of Quebec has heard before! In addition, it will be necessary to strengthen market access for small scale farmers and regenerate agriculture in developing countries with a shortage of food crops. Mr De Schutter suggested boosting the solidarity between importing and exporting countries by creating a virtual international grain reserve. The hitch Mr De Schutter was certainly not as aggressive in his tone as his predecessor, Jean Ziegler of Switzerland, but the shape and substance of his message were just as knife-edged. His job is to report to the UN General Assembly and to the Council of Human Rights, which has 47 member states. The only hitch is that he does not have the power to enforce his recommendations. What becomes of them is largely dependent on the pressures generated by the media and the civil society. And, as he himself admits, his line of vision is still marginal within the UN Excerpts from an article by Jean-Charles Gagné, La Terre de chez nous, November 13, 2008. |
