2nd IFAP World Congress of Young Farmers, Buenos Aires, Argentina, 26-28 July 2007
“Today's actions for tomorrow's harvest”
FINAL DECLARATION
Together in Buenos Aires (Argentina), 150 young farmers from more than 30 countries declare:
- Agriculture plays a crucial role and should be recognized as a tool to maintain family unity all over the world.
- Young farmers will advocate and lobby policy makers to overcome problems and will take responsibility to work harder in trying to find the proper solutions.
- Young farmers need access to resources such as land, information, finance and public policies to be successful. Incentives should be delivered to young farmers and help create the conditions to stay in rural areas.
- Sustainability and a decent income derived from farming are critical for young farmers. This can only be achieved if there are fair and adequate prices for our production, which will act as a very powerful incentive for the renewal of farmer’s generations.
- Young farmer programs and organizations should be strengthened through every possible means. The development of human capital through education and training is an important solution. IFAP plays an important role in this area by allowing young farmers to share their knowledge and provides a forum for discussion.
- Young farmers should learn how to better influence their policy makers, as well as improving their negotiation skills by working together to find solutions.
- Consumers should be made aware of the contribution by young farmers and recognize the value of their work in providing food to the world.
- There should be better communication between farmers of all ages, with young farmers working within both farm organizations and in young farmer movements.
- Young farmers recognize the role IFAP plays in improving the livelihood of all farmers across the world and the value of sharing information and our experiences with each other. We agree to participate in more IFAP activities.
- Research and development in agriculture, together with extension and delivery supports young farmers in adopting new farming methods.
- Young farmers value fair trade, through decoupled support from non trade distorting payments.
- We believe IFAP should keep developing and strengthening relationships between countries in order to facilitate risk management systems.
- Institute policy that allow for adequate food production while reaching a balance between fostering projects of bio-energies that improve the income of young farmers as suppliers of input (biomass).
- Ensure that WTO policy takes into account those producers who are detrimentally impacted by trade policy.
- Global food security and farm profitability depend on a multilateral rules based trade agreement that addresses the issues of both developed and developing nations.
- Continued exchange of information, on a world wide scale, is crucial to the sustainability and profitability of global food production.