The right to  strong agricultural policies must be defended in the North as in the South

 At a time when the number of people suffering from hunger has risen from 854 to 923 million in less than a year, it is no longer enough to say that we are sorry and that the situation is serious, but it is time to change our farm policies.

There are 17 deaths from malnutrition every minute, in particular among infants in rural areas. The ultimate outrage is that those hardest hit by hunger are precisely countries where agriculture is the main occupation and where the means to produce food exist.

We would wish to see as much energy spent on finding solutions to this tragedy as the efforts now under way to mitigate the effects of the financial upheaval. This however, requires political choices which would deeply challenge the present economic system. 

Indeed, in all countries where food riots have exploded in the past months, there is an extreme food dependence on other countries. The majority of them used to be self-sufficient before the international food trade took over from local markets and before their governments were forced to withdraw. The real causes of the food crisis lie in the preceding policy choices.

Who will hold to them to account?    

·        Those who bowed to the preachings of the international market: “Do not try and produce what the open market can provide at a lower price as a result of competition” are biting their nails at present. During 2007 the cost of  food imports in developing countries went  up by 33%.

·        Those who pushed governments to abandon the public management of food stocks, on the grounds that it is too expensive, ought to check the cost in human lives following financial speculation on products such as wheat, maize and rice. European and world food stocks have hit their lowest level in 25 years, so that markets have become extremely tense and exposed to speculation.

·        Those who have insisted on giving up strong agricultural policies for the benefit of “the market”, have been the agents of disinvestment in the agricultural sector, falling productivity in entire regions, poverty and rural exodus to city slums, while fincancial interests take hold of fertile land, in order to satisfy the appetites of the rich. Who will hold them to account?

The food crisis epitomises the glaring failure of an economic model. And it is not the temporary fall in food prices that will have us believe that the worst is over. Not only are the causes of price instability still there, they will continue to hit the weakest citizens each time: the farmers when prices fall and the poorest consumers when they go up.

The food crash can be prevented, but not by any half-hearted measures! Policy makers have to take action.

The right to adopt strong farm policies, in the North as well as in the South, must be defended. Every nation is entitled to protect itself against cheap imports and to support its own agriculture. There is a remarkable enthusiasm in some quarters for financial regulation at present, but the need for regulation is just as necessary in agriculture.

The market alone can not dictate farm policies. There must be support for sustainable family farming and farmers’ organisations keen on developing their agriculture. This requires policies which will guarantee access to land, water and seeds and which will deliver rapid and strong allocation of public funds to agriculture and  will review international agreements on a product by product basis, for coffee, cocoa, cotton in order to ensure fair profit margins and limited price volatility.

Tomorrow there will be no agriculture and no farmers able to supply us with quality food and preserving the environment, if we cannot make sure that they will get fair and stable prices. There must also be strong policies, which will encourage sustainable production techniques that will save natural resources and reduce climate change. We call for a project for a new policy and a new society. Because the end – to hunger – justify the means!

You will find the proposals of NGOs and other associations at

www.oxfamsol.be, www.sosfaim.be, www.cncd.be

Brussels, December 6^th 2008

Thierry Kestelroot – OXFAM Solidarité

Virginie Pissoort- SOS Faim

Stéphane Desgain – CNCD-11.11.11