What are the IFAP Young Farmers’ Committee missions and objectives and how does it feed in IFAP structure of work?
By Nora Ourabah, Secretary for IFAP Young Farmers’ Committee
1. Some background information
How did IFAP come to the creation of a Platform of discussion dealing with issues and matters related to the specific needs and conditions of young farmers?
Long before the International Federation of Agricultural Producers has decided to establish a Committee responsible for focusing specifically on issues pertaining to young farmers, a number of international young farmers’ congresses were held in different countries at the instigation of various young farmers’ organizations.
Following the World Young Farmers’ Congress held in Brazil in 1990, 10 years elapsed before another event of this importance took place. It was only in February of 2000 that the World Young Farmers’ Congress was convened in Orlando, Florida, under the auspices of the American Farm Bureau Federation (Young Farmers and Ranchers Committee), one of the leading American professional farm organizations.
Debate focused, by and large, on professional training for leaders in the agriculture sector guided by cooperation and understanding instead of political decision-making.
At the conclusion of the gathering, several young farmers’ groups took the initiative to meet informally in order to seriously consider the establishment of a permanent organization through which young farmers from around the world could meet regularly to ensure follow-up to debate and discuss at each international meeting.
In the wake of a discussion with IFAP Secretary General David King, they proposed that, given the International Federation of Agricultural Producers (IFAP)’s experience in the realm of international agricultural policy and as an established international forum recognized by international organizations, it is the most credible, appropriate organization to provide such a structure.
IFAP has been designated as the organization in the best position to enable young farmers from around the world to meet every three years, pool their experience and discuss general international agricultural issues and questions of specific interest to them.
In fact, the first Congress organized under the aegis of IFAP, and Les Jeunes agriculteurs français, the event’s host was held in Paris, France, 11-14 June 2003 under the theme “The Price of Our Future.” The deliberations of this Congress focused on themes such as inequality in agricultural development, international issues, production methods, and generational renewal in agriculture. The principles of solidarity, fairness and complementarity instead of competitiveness were highlights of the discussions. Farmers agreed on the urgent need to find solutions to food security even before market liberalization is discussed.
2.
Establishment of the IFAP Young Farmers’ Committee
In conjunction with its 34th World Farmers’ Congress held in Hanover, Germany in May 2000, IFAP reiterated the proposal made by young farmers in Orlando to establish within the organization a permanent body for young farmers. The Congress unanimously adopted a resolution submitted by the Centre National des Jeunes Agriculteurs (CNJA), a French organization, to establish as part of the IFAP specialized committees the Permanent Young Farmers’ Committee. This resolution was followed immediately by a proposal from the CNJA, recently renamed Les Jeunes Agriculteurs, to hold the next World Young Farmers’ Congress in Paris from June 11 to 13, 2003, in conjunction with the IFAP and CEJA congresses.
Since then, the IFAP General Secretariat, Jeunes Agriculteurs in France and CEJA have set out to organize a young farmers’ network by asking all IFAP member organizations to submit general information on young farmers’ organizations with which they are familiar and by directly contacting young farmers’ organizations in countries where IFAP does not have members.
To date, an encouraging number of young peoples’ organizations have been included in the IFAP database and have expressed an interest in participating in future activities of the IFAP Young Farmers’ Committee. More over, each of the IFAP Young Farmers Vice-Presidents, coming from a different continent, have been assigned to build contacts with Young Farmers organisations from their respective continents.
Amongst the main themes at stake for this newly created young farmers committee:
First and foremost, attract young people to farming, halt the rural exodus and promote a strong primary sector. In other words, there is a need to polish the image of farming by restoring its noble roots, since it is essential to the survival of humankind.
The Young Farmers’ Committee is a forum for exchanging ideas and experience. Young farmers, especially from the developed countries, are proposing to get involved in agricultural development agencies in their own countries in order to foster agricultural development in the southern hemisphere and thus achieve economic balance between the developing and developed nations.
Young farmers feel that all countries should have a policy to facilitate the entry of young farmers into agriculture, and so assure transmission of farms to new generations.
Therefore, this IFAP Committee aims at strengthening the ability to act of young farmers at different levels through:
- institutions (encourage young farmers to group together at the national, regional and local levels);
- the training of future agricultural leaders who are able to defend their interests when dealing with various governing bodies;
- technical and financial means.
The strengthening of the ability to act of young farmers’ organizations is one of the poverty elimination objectives set by the IFAP Development Cooperation Committee (DCC). In his next session to be held during the IFAP World Farmers Congress in Washington, May 31st, the Young Farmers Committee will discuss ways of collaboration with this committee in order to develop concrete actions on the ground towards young farmers in developing countries.
Besides, the IFAP Young Farmers Committee is currently strengthening its relationship with the Rodale Institute, an American NGO, to set up a Young Farmers' Exchange Program, with specific participation in the Global Young Farmers Leadership Development program. This program a joint initiative of the Rodale Institute, IFAP and the Citizens Network for Foreign Affairs Inc, seeks to bridge the gap between sustainable agricultural research and its practical application by small farmers. The IFAP Secretariat and representatives of the Rodale Institute have visited the two pilot countries for this project, Viet Nam and Senegal. This project has been submitted to potential partners for funding.
IFAP’s contribution in this program includes the Exchange of complementary mutual learning and the building of organisational linkages between program participants in the 3 pilot countries of Guatemala, Senegal and Viet Nam , participation of Young Farmers from the three pilot countries in IFAP international meetings as well as the capacity building of Young Farmers institutions
Finally, the IFAP Young Farmers Committee aims to complement other IFAP Committees and initiatives by contributing a specific viewpoint. The questions that the Committee examines will be specific to young people but will also reflect horizontal concerns in light of the international context. Those horizontal questions include food security and sustainable development, trade issues (access to markets, international negotiations, marketing, and so on) and environmental questions (access to and management of natural resources, environmental protection policies) and so on.
The IFAP Young Farmers Committee seeks to build the capacities of young farmers who will become the leaders of tomorrow. It is only under this conditions that future generations of young farmers will enter agriculture and the farm population be maintained across the world.