Press Releases

2nd Euro-Mediterranean Conference on Agriculture

The urgent need to develop a sustainable agriculture in the Mediterranean

Strasbourg, October 2, 2006 –  Farmers leaders of the Mediterranean Basin, members of IFAP, adopted a declaration underlining the urgent need to develop a new vision for a sustainable agriculture in the Mediterranean area, during the 2nd Euro-Mediterranean Conference on Agriculture held in Strasbourg on September 28 and 29 2006. This meeting was attended by a number of members of the European Parliament and government representatives and organized in partnership with the International Center for Advanced Mediterranean Agronomic Studies (CIHEAM). In this Declaration, farmers’ organizations resolve to pursue collaboration with the European Parliament and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe in order to promote together a prosperous rural development of the Mediterranean region.

The Declaration contains a number of proposals, including: 

• Setting up a discussion forum to coordinate Mediterranean agricultural policy which would involve farmers, national governments, European institutions representatives and the research community.
  
• Ensuring that the process of trade liberalization within the framework of partnership agreements is preceded by studies of impact on farmers’ livelihoods.
  
• Financing agricultural modernization, particularly in the Eastern and Southern parts of the Basin.
  
• Promoting research and development through funding to support the development of sustainable and innovative technologies accessible to farmers.
  
• Enhancing the “typicity” of agricultural products through the implementation of promotion and recognition policies of local farming products.
  
• Placing farmers’ organizations at the center of development policies. National governments in the region, in partnership with European authorities, should facilitate access of farmers’ organizations to EU funds to strengthen their capacities, and they should also involve them in the negotiation process under the European Neighborhood Policy (ENP).
  
• Controlling food safety by implementing measures supporting the harmonization of sanitary and phytosanitary standard throughout the Basin.
  
• Developing participatory water management methods given the scarcity and importance of this resource.

Rapid population growth, economic and territorial challenges, the need to better manage natural resources and, mostly the need to ensure the region’s sustainable economic and political stability are strategic challenges that can be addressed through agriculture of the region. “If nothing is done for agriculture, regional disparities are likely to widen. We need to establish a common identity by giving agriculture the priority it deserves. The magnitude of the challenges demands that we succeed.  I encourage all my farmer leader colleagues to work together towards this end in their respective countries” said the President of IFAP’s Mediterranean Committee, Mr. Guy Giva.

The objective of the Conference between European parliamentarians and Mediterranean farmers’ leaders was to take stock of the Euro-Med cooperation and to prepare a common vision of agriculture for the region.  Discussions around the issues of trade, sustainable resource management and the enhancement of Mediterranean product identity gave new impetus to the partnership with a strong farmer’s involvement. During the Conference, the European Union Agriculture Commissioner, Mariann Fisher Boel, affirmed her willingness to give priority to the Euro-Med Partnership in the context of the European Neighborhood Partnership (ENP).

Note:  The Declaration adopted by the farmers during the Conference is available at www.ifap.org  For further information, please visit the Conference web page at http://www.europarl.europa.eu/conferences/20060928/agri/default.htm