World Summit on Sustainable Development

Johannesburg, 29 August 2002

 by Mr. Gerard Doornbos, Immediate Past-President of IFAP

 

The Farmers’ group is pleased that the Johannesburg Summit is focusing on achieving results on the ground. We know what is necessary to achieve sustainable development, and I hope that this Summit will be the stimulus for taking action that is now long overdue.

 
For farmers, the first priority is to recognise that agriculture is the key to sustainable development for most developing countries. Thus, the drop in priority for agriculture from national budgets, donors, and international institutions must be reversed. It is just not possible to promote sustainable development without committing more resources to sustainable agriculture.

Agriculture is the key to food security for a healthy population. It is key to conserving biodiversity. It is central to international action in cross-cutting areas such as trade, and investment. It is the main user of the freshwater resources of the planet, and is central to producing bio-energy.

As the result of the dynamic created by this Summit, farmers have taken the opportunity to strengthen partnerships and seek to create new partnerships in several areas.

One area for partnerships covers access to, and management of, resources, especially water, land, genetic resources, and energy.  

Farmers are also strengthening partnerships in the area of research and technology, particularly with several centres in the CGIAR system.

Knowledge on the best farming practises, as well as appropriate, affordable technology is essential for the development of agriculture. Thus, IFAP is pleased to be a partner with FAO and other major groups in the SARD initiative. Our Federation will also strengthen its links with institutions like the Codex Alimentarius Commission, on food safety and quality issues.

Partnerships are good, but in order to be effective, they have to be supported.

First, they must be supported by capacity building. Effective partnerships are partnerships among equals, and farmers are unequal players. Building capacity of farmers’ organisations in essential so that they can participate as equals with governments, business, experts and others.

IFAP is pleased to be strengthening its links with IFAD to build capacity in organisations of small farmers. However, the UN as a whole should set up in each region a capacity building fund for major groups in order to enable effective stakeholder participation in partnerships.

The second element need to support partnerships is good governance. Successful development of agriculture requires democratic, consultative processes that involve farmers’ organisations in the development, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of farm programs e.g. representation on water councils, research institutes, marketing structures, etc. The UN system has a responsibility here too. It should consolidate the multistake holder dialogue by establishing an institutional structure to facilitate the building of partnerships.

The third element that is essential to promote effective partnerships is providing the right environment to attract investment into agriculture, and to encourage young people to choose a carrier in farming. Farmers need to be able to live from their work. They need access to markets that are functioning properly free from distortions caused by certain types of government policies and certain actions of the highly concentrated business sector upstream and downstream of agriculture.

Finally, Farmers need peace and stability. And in this area, the UN should work with civil society in partnerships for peace.

In closing, I repeat the concern of many major groups that civil society partnerships must not be used by governments as an excuse to do even less for sustainable development.

Farmers will intensify not only their partnerships with governments but also their networking with other major groups in order to promote this implementation process – but it must be supported by governments at all levels.