World farmers to Mr. Stuart Harbinson

Don’t let the farmers down!

Paris, 16 December 2002 – In an open letter addressed to Mr. Stuart Harbinson, Chairman of the Special Session of the WTO Committee on Agriculture, the President of IFAP, Mr. Jack Wilkinson, stressed the farmers’ interests. "Farmers from throughout the world call on you not to forget the special nature of agriculture and its vital contribution to the survival and development of the rural communities”, wrote Mr. Wilkinson, urging the Chairman to not let the farmers down in his “Overview paper on Modalities” that he must prepare by December 18th 2002. "We are now counting on you to take farmers’ views into account”, said Mr. Wilkinson.


Note: See below for the IFAP Open Letter to Mr. Stuart Harbinson.

Open letter to Mr. Stuart Harbinson, Chairman of

the Special Session of the WTO Committee on Agriculture

Dear Mr. Harbinson,

As you prepare your "Overview paper on Modalities” to draw the agricultural negotiations to a conclusion, farmers from throughout the world call on you not to forget the special nature of agriculture and its vital contribution to the survival and development of the rural communities. This Overview Paper, that you will prepare by 18th December, summarising the work accomplished in the agricultural negotiations over the last three years, must take into account the interests of the farmers.

During the IFAP trade Conference, which you attended, entitled "Making a Success of the Doha Development Round", on 7th November in Geneva, farmers explained their views to WTO negotiators and presented to you the IFAP Consolidated Statement on Agricultural Trade and WTO Negotiations. You are aware of our views, which have the support of many WTO member governments. We are now counting on you to take these views into account in your Overview Paper.

Our ambitions for the Doha Round are simple. These are:

1. to ensure that farmers everywhere are able to achieve a reasonable standard of living for the work that they do, in both exporting and importing countries.

2. to develop WTO trade rules that accommodate the diverse situations of agriculture in different countries, and the diverse aspirations of the people of those countries

3. to rectify the serious imbalances in the agricultural trading system against farmers in the developing countries.

Farming is fundamentally different from other economic sectors in that it is composed of millions of independent, small family enterprises. These small enterprises are very vulnerable to instability problems. Most of these problems are beyond the control of the farmer, for examples, weather conditions, currency fluctuations that can have a dramatic effect on world market prices, and the consequences of corporate concentration in the agri-food chain. Farmers need to be assured that the Doha negotiations are not used as an excuse by governments to no longer assure sound domestic agricultural policies adapted to specific country conditions. It is therefore important that further opening of world markets be carried out in a balanced fashion, which grants equitable opportunities to all countries in their exports of agricultural products, and gives due regard to the needs of importing countries.

Farmers’ livelihoods are at stake and so it is important that they be fully involved and consulted at all stages of the negotiations, so that their views are heard by national governments and their interests are represented in the WTO Round.

You have said on many occasions that it will be difficult to envisage a positive result of the Doha Round without a positive result in agriculture. Achieving this result will depend on what prospects your Overview Paper will offer to farm families and the rural communities as an outcome of this Round.


Yours sincerely,

Jack Wilkinson
President
International Federation of Agricultural Producers