---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Wed, 27 Mar 2002 14:40:01 -0800
From: charlotte utting <[log in to unmask]>
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Subject: [WASAN] FW: ADNA Update: African NGOs Mobilize for Community &
Farmer Rights
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From: "Nunu Kidane" <[log in to unmask]>
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Date: Wed, 27 Mar 2002 09:39:41 -0800
To: "ADNA E-mail List" <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: ADNA Update: African NGOs Mobilize for Community & Farmer Rights
ADNA Update: 020327
Message from: Africa Faith & Justice Network
http://afjn.cua.edu/
For contact information see also:
http://www.africapolicy.org/adna
This is an article I've written for AFJN's April newsletter. It serves as
an overview of the recent meeting I attended in South Africa of over
40 participants representing more than 30 NGOs from 12 African
countries. The meeting was held to discuss community and farmer
rights and draw up advocacy plans for national legislatures and
regional policy-making bodies. Participants also discussed ways to
influence the upcoming Earth Summit in Johannesburg.
I hope it will give you a flavor of what took place at this very
important gathering of African NGOs and grassroots groups, and
what they have to say about sustainable agriculture, food security
and sovereignty, and community rights to agricultural resources in
the face of present trade rules and practices.
AFRICAN NGO'S MOBILIZE FOR COMMUNITY & FARMER
RIGHTS
By Larry J. Goodwin
On 01-08 March 2002, I was privileged to represent AFJN and the
Africa Trade Policy Working Group* (ATPWG) at a meeting on
community and farmer rights, which was held at the Valley Trust,
1,000 Hills, Kwa Zulu Natal, South Africa. Forty-three participants
took part, representing 31 NGO and professional groups from 12
African countries, and Asia, Latin America, North America and
Europe. We met to support the rights of African local communities
and farmers to sustainable agriculture, food security
and sovereignty, bio-diversity, indigenous knowledge and
technologies.
Background: As Around Africa readers know, AFJN has helped
lead a 2-year effort to persuade the US Government (USG) to back
the rights of African farmers to freely access, use, save, exchange
and sell their seeds, plants and food crops. Global trade policies
that mandate the patenting of these agricultural resources threaten
African farmers’ food security and livelihoods. Multinational
pesticide and agribusiness companies, many from the US, have
already laid claim to seeds and plants that Africans developed
and have used for generations. By asserting exclusive rights over
these agricultural resources often termed “biopiracy” the
companies are in a position to deny local farmers access to them,
or to exact fees for their use.
In another twist to the issue, international trade rules favor
multinational companies introducing genetically altered seeds and
plants (Genetically Modified Organisms, or GMOs) into developing
countries. This raises serious concerns for Africa about GMOs’
effects on biodiversity (contamination/replacement of local
species), development (cost to farmers of using these untested
technologies and their chemical inputs) and land ownership (GMOs
induce large-scale industrial agriculture, which spurs land
consolidation to the detriment of small holder farmers).
The USG aggressively backs the patenting of living organisms
(including seeds, plants and crops) and the dissemination of
GMOs, where US companies hold the international research and
marketing edge. The USG is the chief opponent of Africa’s
attempts to overturn WTO provisions requiring the patenting of life
forms.
Africa’s response: One of Africa’s most innovative responses to the
threats its sustainable agriculture faces is the formulation of African
Model Legislation for the Protection of the Rights of Local
Communities, Farmers and Breeders, and for the Regulation of
Access to Biological Resources, or simply African Model Law. This
instrument, initiated by the African Union (formerly Organization of
African Unity), seeks to introduce the principle of community rights
over agricultural resources into international law in contrast to the
present sole recognition of individual/corporate rights.
The African Union has reaffirmed its commitment to the African
Model Law at two high-level meetings, and it is urging individual
African countries to incorporate it into national law.
AFJN and its colleagues in the Africa Trade Policy Working Group,
backing this critically important African initiative, have launched a
series of efforts to bring African farmers’ rights to the USG’s
attention. In 2000, we organized an on-going international sign-on
campaign for the Declaration of Support for African Smallholder
Farmers that now has nearly 400 endorsers [see
<http://afjn.cua.edu/> for the text and list of endorsers]. In
November 2001, we worked closely with Rep. Maxine Waters’ (D-
CA39) to introduce a resolution (H. Con. Res. 260) into the House
of Representatives upholding the principles of the African Model
Law [see Action Alert]. We are currently trying to get a companion
resolution introduced into the Senate, and we have initiated an
organizational sign-on letter to Congress urging passage of the
resolution [see Action Alert on page four].
The South Africa meeting: In view of the key role the USG is
playing in this issue and AFJN/ATPWG efforts to generate support
for the African Model Law, African partners invited me to attend the
South Africa meeting. I came away greatly impressed by the
caliber of the participants, mostly from African grassroots
organizations highly committed to community rights, sustainable
agriculture and the protection of indigenous knowledge, especially
related to food and medicinal plants.
There was keen awareness of the role local agriculture plays in
African culture, family life and livelihood systems. Food security
and sovereignty figured prominently in our concerns, as did the
importance of enhancing the viability of sustainable agriculture. We
agreed strongly on the threat GMOs, patenting and the resultant
corporate control of agriculture pose to community and farmer
rights; we affirmed the need to expand the capacity of farmers to
employ sustainable agricultural techniques and to participate in
local, national and regional policy decisions.
Each country group devised strategies for on-going action. The
African NGOs committed themselves to intensified collaboration
with partner groups to lobby their legislatures and regional bodies
in support of community and farmer rights. They laid plans to liaise
with farmer and community organizations to create awareness of
how GMOs and patenting living organisms could undermine
sustainable agriculture, community rights, food security and
biodiversity.
Participants placed considerable emphasis on the UN’s Aug/Sep
2002 Earth Summit (World Summit on Sustainable Development,
or WSSD) the follow-up to the 1992 Rio Summit that will devise
and promote international environmental and development policies.
We agreed to contact our delegates to the summit, urging
inclusion of the principles of the African Model Law in the final
declaration. There is great concern that proponents of market-style
globalization, who oppose community rights over agriculture, are
steering the summit away from initiatives such as the African
Model Law.
NGOs from many developing countries are organizing an alternative
“People’s Summit” to coincide with the WSSD as a way to make
their positions known to the delegates and media on critical issues
like community rights, sustainable agriculture and food security.
A major outcome of the meeting was the Valley of 1,000 Hills
Declaration [See <http://afjn.cua.edu/>]. This statement sums up
the principal concerns and commitments that came out of our
discussions. We agreed to circulate the declaration widely, using it
as an educational and lobbying tool to advance African community
and farmer rights.
We face monumental challenges from USG and WTO policies,
multinational corporations and even UN bodies in mobilizing
support for including community and farmer rights in international
law and agreements. The stakes are high, and the only real hope
for successfully resisting the economic and political forces seeking
to privatize and control the seeds, plants and crops on which food
security rests is the combined efforts of citizens and grassroots
groups committed to community rights and sustainable agriculture.
That is the urgent message I brought home from the Valley of
1,000 Hills.
* ATPWG is part of the Advocacy Network for Africa (ADNA), a
coalition of nearly 200 US-based NGOs that seek a greater focus
on human rights and economic justice in US policy toward Africa.
Larry J. Goodwin is Associate Director for Organizing at AFJN
---------------------------
This message from the Africa Faith & Justice Network is
distributed through the Ad vocacy Network for Africa (ADNA) via
IDEX
Nunu Kidane
Advocacy Network for Africa (ADNA)
Communications Facilitator for IDEX
International Development Exchange - IDEX
827 Valencia Street, Suite 101
San Francisco, CA 94110
Tel: (415) 824 8384
www.idex.org
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