April 15, 2008
IFOAM expresses moderate satisfaction for IAASTD report and
for its attempt to rethink the approach to agriculture, giving
farmers a central role.
The International
Assessment of Agricultural Science and Technology (IAASTD)
held its intergovernmental plenary meeting from 7-14 April in
Johannesburg, South Africa. A final report was approved by
governments at that meeting. Ms. Prabha Mahale, member of the
IFOAM World Board – i.e. the governing body of IFOAM – headed
the IFOAM delegation at the meeting, demonstrating IFOAM’s
highest and long-term involvement in promoting a new sustainable
paradigm for agriculture.
Conceived in 2002 by the World Bank and the UN’s Food and
Agriculture Organization, the IAASTD began to work in 2004 with
the objective of improving life, health and prosperity for
millions of poor farmers. Over three years (2005-2007), a group
of scientific experts selected by IAASTD evaluated the
relevance, quality and effectiveness of agricultural knowledge,
science and technology, as well as the policies and
institutional solutions to these questions. The 400 experts
reconvened last week in Johannesburg to agree on a final text to
be approved by governmental delegates.
The IAASTD report underlines the necessity of a deep rethinking
of the approach to agriculture. It admits the market’s lack of
capacity to deliver prosperity and food security to the poor and
it states the need to review some unfair trade rules. The report
also emphasizes the need to reform some intellectual property
laws on patents on novel crops, as to not let them jeopardize
new research and agriculture innovation. The report is also
critical towards the domination of multinational companies on
seed and fertilizer markets. It calls for an implementation of
agroecological strategies, in particular to realize
environmental sustainability, and spotlights the doubts and
controversies concerning genetically modified crops. The report
is definitely asking for a new agriculture paradigm, focused on
the role farmers and especially on poor farmers.
The development of a healthy, ecological and fair agriculture,
following the principles of Organic Agriculture (health,
ecology, fairness and care), has always been IFOAM’s major
commitment over its whole history. The presence of Ms. Mahale at
the IAASTD plenary meeting reaffirmed such a commitment at the
highest level. IFOAM is therefore supporting IAASTD in its
effort to encourage a fundamental rethinking of agricultural
policies. IFOAM considers the IAASTD´s report an acceptable
compromise and calls for a preservation of its very content
during the IAASTD plenary meeting. |
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