Message of the IFAP President Jack Wilkinson

Delivered by Mr. Carlos Simancas

Congress of COOAGROCAMPO, Bogota, Colombia, 16-17 November 2006

 

Dear Colleagues of the COOAGROCAMPO Congress,

 

It is a pleasure for me, as the President of the International Federation of Agricultural Producers (IFAP), to bring greetings to this Congress of COOAGROCAMPO. IFAP is the world farmers’ organization that brings together 115 national farmers’ organization’s from the five continents of the world. Our network represents 600 million farm families throughout the world. And we are very proud that COOAGROCAMPO is part of this network.

IFAP believes that sustainable agriculture and rural development must be given the priority it deserves in resource allocation to lead the fight against poverty, hunger and economic stagnation especially in developing countries.

But investing in agriculture is not enough. We need to invest in our farmers for it is they who are the central actors driving the development of rural communities. Farmers need investment that gives them access to credit and land, access to local markets, access to risk management instruments, access to good regulatory systems, strong farmers’ organisations, and strong agricultural cooperatives. As farmers, we are convinced that the only effective way to eliminate hunger and poverty is to adopt this “farmer-centred approach”. Development efforts must be focused on people and their organisations

Unless farmers are organised they will remain politically powerless and economically disadvantaged. One of the keys to a successful fight against under-development is therefore having well-organised partners to work with, especially farmers’ organisations. Increasing the capacity of farmers' organisations must therefore constitute a central pillar in any future agricultural development strategy. This is critical to ensure social and economic empowerment of the family farmers

Mr. Carlos Simancas, Executive President COOAGROCAMPO, Colombia

Farmers not only produce food, but they also to play a pivotal role in sustainable development. When farmers organise themselves in the market, they are able to improve the incomes of their families. Two pillars, sustainable production and sustainable income, are required to make progress. The facts speak for themselves: when farmers work together, we have progress, when they do not we do not have progress. In this sense we see your organisation as one that is making progress: you are taking the challenge to strengthen your farmers’ network by improving your competitiveness, strengthening the organization and assuming a clear entrepreneurial vision for the management of your agro-business.

However, farmers cannot achieve food security and rural prosperity alone. They need to their government and public institutions to support them in the fight for market opportunities, fair prices for agricultural products, appropriate technical support to meet quality and traceability standards, and a favourable political, agricultural and commercial environment.

IFAP fully supports your vision and your new initiatives. Issues like globalisation of the market, empowering farmers in the agro-food chain and developing the benefits of bio-energy for farmers are common themes among our members worldwide. By meeting in IFAP, farmer leaders can share knowledge and experiences and build the basis for actions of mutual support.

At the last World Farmers’ Congress held in Seoul, Korea in May of this year, where incidentally we had the honour to elect Carlos Simancas as the representative of Latin America in IFAP’s Development Cooperation Committee, IFAP adopted a World Farmers’ Charter It is a statement of 10 principles to facilitate the full contribution of farmers to society. With this Charter, farmers from all over the world call on national governments, donor agencies, international institutions and other stakeholders to join with them in a spirit of solidarity to work together to implement these 10 principles for the development of family farm agriculture worldwide. 

We take this opportunity of your Congress to renew this call in Colombia to remember these principles and work together for them:

1. Recognize the importance of agriculture and the central role of farmers.
2. Involve farmers’ organisations as essential partners.
3. Create opportunities for farmers to earn a fair income.
4. Provide equal treatment for rural communities and urban areas.
5. Promote diversity and sustainability in agriculture.
6. Eliminate hunger, malnutrition and rural poverty.
7. Establish fair and equitable rules for agricultural trade.
8. Balance power in the agri-food chain, and ensure that markets work competitively.
9. Address the special needs of women farmers and young farmers.
10. Promote international cooperation.

 

This is our way to be with all of you here with all of our respect and excusing us for not being present in person.

We wish you fruitful discussions and the best results for farmers from this 1st Congress of the “Grupo Empresarial del Campo”, and I shall be looking forward to hearing the conclusions.

 

Jack Wilkinson, IFAP President