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Farmers Group Statement

UN CSD-13 Intergovernmental Preparatory Meeting

Opening session

New York, 28 February- 4 March 2005

by Mr. Jack Wilkinson, President of IFAP



Mr. Chairman, Ladies and Gentlemen,


My name is Jack Wilkinson, I come from Canada and I am President of the International Federation of Agricultural Producers (IFAP). Our Federation has in membership 107 national farmers’ organizations from 73 countries, representing 600 million farm families worldwide.Last year, we presented the constraints and obstacles facing farmers in access to, and management of, water resources, and we put forward some proposals to overcome these obstacles. Today, CSD-13 is focusing on policy options, and on how to generate the necessary political will to implement them.  In this exercise, civil society organizations must be key partners.  How to manage water supplies is rightly a concern for all of society, but it is especially important for farmers since they are users of 70 per cent of the worlds freshwater. As farmers, we face the challenge of having to double world food production to feed an additional 1.5 billion people in 2050, and to do this from the same resource base and without harming the environment. This will require investments in new technologies and knowledge transfer, particularly in the developing countries. This is not something that we can escape. Farmers need to have access to the best practices available to produce “more crop per drop”.

Farmers are an easy target for the UN to accuse of wasting water in its documents. However, as stewards of most of the world’s land and water resources, farmers are aware of their responsibilities. Severe poverty does lead some farmers to exploit resources unsustainably, but the correct answer is to put in place program to build their capacity so that are in a situation where they are able to apply the best farming practices. Also, we must not forget that the majority of those in need of basic access to clean drinking water and water for sanitation live in rural areas and are those same poor farmers.

Mr. Chairman, as elected farmers leaders, we have a direct interest in being proactive on this issue, since the lives and livelihoods of million of farm families are at stake. Farmers want to assume their responsibilities and be involved in co-management of river basins and watershed areas. However, farmers are not the only player since the needs of water for agriculture must be balanced with other human needs and the needs of water for the environment.All the stakeholders have a responsibility for the co-management of the water resources, including governmental, inter-governmental, private sector as well as civil society organizations. Therefore, establishing voluntary agreements between local/regional authorities or water stations and the farmers, are a key element in ensuring rational use of water and the maintenance of the infrastructure.

Mr. Chairman, for farmers and farmers’ organizations to stay on board, they must also participate in decision making processes. This requires a climate of trust between farmers’ organizations and public authorities, and it also requires farmers’ organizations to have enough capacity to get actively involved. Participatory processes and capacity-building should therefore be the cornerstones of any water development policy adopted by the CSD.

Mr. Chairman, the farmers’ major group has developed a clear agenda of what should be the priorities for action to change mentalities in the way to manage the water resources throughout the world, and this has been transmitted to the UN CSD.  We have high expectations for this negotiation year on water issues that these priorities will be taken into account in policy formulations as well as in implementation processes.  The main points of the proposals can be summarized as follows:

  • At the global level, water should be considered as key to poverty alleviation, and therefore be systematically included in Poverty Reduction Strategy papers and other development projects. Investment in water for agriculture should be a priority in national, regional and international budgets.
  • At the national level, water management should be systematically integrated into all agricultural policies.
  • An integrated approach should be adopted to deal with water issues. National and regional water resource policies should be linked with other, and they should be linked to international agreements and processes related to environment, development, finance and trade.
  • All stakeholders must be included in water management processes, including farmers. Awareness programs are therefore important, in particular directed to women in agriculture given their crucial role in food production and family health.
  • Management of water resources should be demand driven. The human face of water management has for too long been overlooked compared with technical and economic aspects. Traditional water management methods are “supply driven” and do not integrate the social dimension. Managing the water resource more efficiently is about changing mentalities, and for this demand driven methods are more appropriate. This involves communication, raising awareness and effective participation.
  • Access to water should be on a secure basis. Farmers, including women farmers, need secure water supply rights and transparent legal frameworks taking into account local socio-economic, cultural and hydrological contexts. Control of water should remain a public responsibility and access to it a basic human right.
  • Water supplies should be a public responsibility. While the private sector has a role in water delivery, it will not be cost-effective to do it in remote rural areas. This should be a government responsibility.
  • Innovative partnerships are key to overcoming constraints and obstacles for both accessing and managing water resources.  Public/private partnerships should finance the working and maintenance of distribution networks. Control over access to water should be in the hands of the public authorities, especially for the poor.
  • Water research and extension services should be strengthened through partnerships between researchers and farmers using appropriate technologies. Scientists must build on farmers’ traditional and indigenous knowledge, by involving them systematically in the formulation of research projects so that they address real needs. Donor agencies and industry should cooperate more closely for transfer and adaptation of best technologies to farmers in developing countries.

Mr. Chairman, the farmers’ group hopes that these policy priorities will be viewed favourably by the CSD. However, in closing I would like to stress the importance of policies being adapted to the specific situation at country, regional and local level. The needs of the different user communities vary and appropriate means must be found to achieve a fair balance without putting any of them on the fringe of decision-making processes.


Thank you for your attention.