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Vol. 9, No. 1 |
REPORT ON NECOFA PARTICIPATION IN WORLD SOCIAL FORUM (WSF) IN NAIROBI 20-25 JANUARY 2007
BY Samuel K. Muhunyu
1.0 INTRODUCTION
1.1 Necofa Kenya members in the event
Network for Ecofarming in Africa (NECOFA) was represented in the WSF by 5 members of Necofa in Kenya; thanks for support provided by Capacity Building International (InWEnt), Necofa International Coordinator Dr. Sahle Tesfai and Mr. Hurtmut Gast. The team included Samuel Muhunyu, Moses Gachiri, John Wachira, Priscilla Nzamalu and Clement K. Kariuki.
1.2 Background to WSF
Since its modest origins in Porto Alegre (Brazil) in 2001, the World Social Forum (WSF) has grown into a global counter-force challenging the assumptions and dictates of imperialism and its associated neo-liberal policies that have over the decades, imposed colonialism and neo-colonialism; devastated southern economies, bolstered the disastrous and repressive reigns of assorted tin pot dictatorships; marginalized women; disenfranchised youth; intensified the destruction of the environment; unleashed bloody, in human and needless military conflicts in nation after nation, religion after religion and deepened the exploitation of poor peoples around the world.
Rallying around the clarion call of “Another World is possible”, the WSF has placed social justice, international solidarity, gender equality, peace and defense of the environment on the agenda of the world’s people. From Port Alegre to Mumbai to Bamako to Caracas, Karachi and now Nairobi, the forces and the contingents of the WSF have collectively expanded the democratic spaces of those seeking concrete, sustainable and progressive alternatives to imperialist globalization.
The WSF is an international PLATFORM that is an open meeting place whose groups and movements of civil society opposed to neo-liberalism and a world dominated by capital or by any form of imperialisation, but engaged in building a planetary society centered on the human person, come together to pursue their thinking, to debate ideas democratically, formulate proposals, share their experiences freely and network for effective actions. The necessary search for common actions and strategies are carried out through creative and steady dialogue among the social movements themselves, by identifying common objectives, by creating robust tissue of common propositions that value the identities of each and every subject involved, instead of repealing and diluting them.
There is no double that Africa is among the principle victims of capitalist globalization, particularly during the decisive moments of colonial expansion that took place from the 16th to the 18th century and during the world colonization that started in 1980’s.
WSF in Nairobi was an opportunity of showcasing Africa and her social movements; Africa and her unbroken history of struggle against foreign domination, colonialism and neo-colonialism; Africa and her rich heritage of natural wealth, culture, linguistic and ethnicity diversity; Africa and her reputation for embracing communities from the world; Africa and her contributions to world civilization; Africa and her role in the quest for another possible, more progressive global human society.
The overall theme of the 7th edition of WSF in Nairobi (first one to be held in Africa and only second time outside its birthplace Brazil) was “People’s Struggle, People’s Alternatives” and included a variety of activities and events that included congregating, conversing, seminars, workshops, “talk-outs”, marching, singing, laughing, dancing, networking and strategizing with sisters and brothers, friends and neighbours, comrades and colleagues from five continents, across the oceans, mountains, deserts and rivers and our 140 countries. Against this precarious background the WSF process brought together favorable balances of social forces to bear on the social transformation energies of the African movements in solidarity with fraternal actors from the rest of the world. The resultant synergy from the event included:
· Dialogue among progressive social movements and intellectuals
· Proposals for the new strategies for revolutionary engagement with neo-liberal globalization
· Proposals for new strategies for revolutionary social movements
· Sharing of information and experiences
· Concerted efforts aimed at crafting alternatives for social transformation
WSF is gradually becoming the most formidable bulwark of popular struggles against poverty and poverty-creating policies. It continues to give hope to the people of the south that the present unjust world order MUST give way to a better world organized around the imperatives of justice, subsidiary, equity and social solidarity. And that, given the high concentration of its victims in this part of the world, Africa could very well turn out to be the graveyard of some of its most oppressive policy dictates.
2.0 PARTICIPATION OF NECOFA IN WSF 2007
2.1 Necofa Kenya involvement in the event
Necofa Kenya partnered with other organizations in organizing events on the theme” Asserting People’s Food Sovereignty” during theWSF in Nairobi.
The partners included People’s Coalition on Food Sovereignty (PCFS), Pesticide Action Network Asia and the Pacific (PAN SP). Kenya Debt Relief Network (KENDREN), Kenya Small Scale Farmers Forum (KSSSF), Kenya Organic Farmers Association (KOFA), SACDEP, KIOF, PELUM Kenya Uganda and Zambia.
2.2 Prevailing Challenges to Food Security in the developing countries
Food is essential to life and it not only provides the basic sustenance for physical survival and nutrition for healthy human existence; food is also a key element of people’s culture.
The world produces enough food to feed everyone and yet millions of people, including 6 million children under the age of five, die each year as a result of hunger and chronic malnutrition. Hunger exists because food resources are not equitably distributed. In 2000 the richest 20% enjoyed 86% of the world’s total income and wealth while the poorest 20% still has only one percent (“The state of food and Agriculture 2000, lessons from the past 50 years FAO 2000). Neoliberal globalization threatens to further intensify this imbalance as corporations of rich industrialized countries utilize new technology and policies to wrest control over genetic and other resources for food production, leaving the poor even more powerless and further preventing them from feeding themselves and their countries.
Neoliberal policies implemented by multilateral institutions such as IFI’s, WTO and even FAO are continually breaking down the capacity of countries and peoples for self-sufficient food production and assuring food for everyone in their societies. While technologies and “modern” production controlled by corporations and promoted by these policies promise supposedly better and greater food production, these present new products that are poisoned and genetically modified for the poor rural and urban majority who have lost their livelihood and income as a result of corporate take over of agriculture and food production, and compromising the environment in the process.
Up to now, Third World agrarian economies are backward and still bear the imprints of feudalism. The majority of landless farmers have to suffer harsh feudal and semi-feudal exploitation and the growing take over of land by corporations. At the international level, poor countries are disadvantaged by the unfair and exploitive trade relations with the capitalist countries.
The liberalization of agricultural trade, pushed by the WTO and its Agreement on Agriculture (AoA), has only worsened these already biased relationships. Ironically, liberalization led to increasing monopolization of the world markets that favour the strongest trading patterns and increased and intensified marginalization of farmers and their families.
The industrialized countries were able to increase their agriculture exports significantly to get rid of their oversupply by dumping it on the Third World. They obviously imposed trade liberalization on poor countries but hardly lowered their own tariffs and quotas. At the macro level, the competitiveness of the poor countries is largely eroded as they submit to increasing TNC control on their whole food chain. At the grassroots level the very lives of millions of farmers, especially small-scale farmers are put in the balance.
Land reform programs have been aligned to the recommendations of the World Bank’s Market Assisted Land Reform Program, which is advocating deceptive program that claim to improve “access to land” through lease and sales instead of distributive reforms. Poor farmers are ejected from the land they till or are left with the option to sell the land they own, if any. Worst of all, however the World Bank’s Land reform concept is indeed distributing land from poor farmers to the rich landlords. As a consequence, landlessness is rising and farmers have to sell their labour as farm workers, pursue odd jobs in the cities or simply remain unemployed. The end result is increased poverty, crime and diseases like HIV/AIDS
In India for example, landless agricultural labourers, marginalized farmers who make a living primarily by selling their sweat constitute the core of peasantry. The number has gone up due to the implementation of the government’s policies of globalization and trade liberalization. In Nepal, about 2 million farmers are landless.
In Bangladesh, most of the people are directly related to agriculture but they have no land or means of production of their own.
In Philippines 7 out of 10 farmers do not own the land they till while 60% of agricultural land is owned by about 13% who are landlords.
In Uganda hundreds of farmers have been rendered landless after the landlords supported by government sold off land to Bidco Company for production of vegetable oil.
In Kenya floriculture for European market is taking up every available land especially that with the scarce water resources for irrigation. Food production is being sacrificed for non-food enterprises that will earn high profits for the TNC.
Production of cash crops and the “Green Revolution” encourages landlords to convert land use for food crops into large-scale plantations or corporate farms. These plantations and corporate farms hire contract labourers from the most vulnerable poor societies and do not have sufficient protection by law, nor do they have any rights or access to benefits since are hired on contractual basis. Therefore they do not have opportunity to organize or demand their rights as workers.
Poor farmers in the developing countries faced with flood of imported products are often giving priority to the production of crops for export in a bid to offset the increasing trade imbalance. More and more land is being devoted to export crops and less to domestic food production thereby worsening the already bad food insecurity in developing countries.
2.3 What is Food Sovereignty?
Food sovereignty is the inalienable RIGHT of people’s, communities and countries. It is the right to define, decide and implement their own agricultural, labour, fishing, food and land policies which are ecologically, socially, economically and culturally appropriate to their unique circumstances. It includes the true right to food and to produce food –producing technologies and resources, the ability to sustain themselves with dignity conserve their resources and feed their societies.
It involves conservation of biodiversity in ecological agriculture that is based on community knowledge and wisdom such as in seed conservation. It also involves traditional indigenous food production systems that effectively meet the needs of the poor in much of the world. It incorporates participatory research, education and technology development to advance the people’s production and puts the right of agriculture workers, peasants, women, indigenous people’s, and pastoralists at the center.
Food sovereignty aims at ensuring access to adequate, healthy locally produced food that offers rural people a living wage and preserve the environment. Rich nations should not be allowed to dictate corporate-driven food and agricultural policies that undermine sustainable development around the world.
2.4 What is needed to achieve Food Sovereignty?
i. National food program must be based on strong community food programs that promote self-sufficiency, equitable distribution of food especially to the poor and supported by national food distribution programs
ii. Structural Adjacent conditionalities of international financial institutions like the World Bank that dismantle food program, food price regulations and various forms of public food distribution MUST be rejected
iii. Workers’ wages and people’s incomes must assure access to basic food and other needs through employment with dignity. Trade union rights must be promoted and protected so that living wages and working conditions are assured.
iv. Price control laws and mechanisms need be put in place to ensure affordable and stable prices for staple and basic products. Programs to provide free staple food or depending on circumstances, at subsidized prices, for the poor and marginalized should be established
v. The promotion of monopoly by food manufacturing corporations and the resulting monocultures created by monopoly food retailers erode food sovereignty and strategy to secure control over every aspect of the food system MUST be stopped.
vi. Implementation of genuine agrarian, fisheries, forestry and pasture land reforms premised on free distribution of land and other key productive resources to the tiller, effective access to marine, forestry and pastureland resources, and the strengthening and development of their production through cooperation and technology development.
vii. Ensure women’s access to productive resources; protect women’s capacity and knowledge such as seed conservation, animal husbandly etc.
viii. Promote and protect indigenous people’s rights to ancestral domain and self-determination to their own production and food distribution systems and culture.
2.5 Strategies for achieving Food Sovereignty
(a) Coming together and networking of various peasant organizations under the genuine agrarian reform platform as assertion of their rights and control to land and productive resources to feed themselves and their communities. As a requisite to achieve this goal a strong genuine peasant movement bringing together peasant movements in the developing countries needs to be established.
(b) Civil society organizations and farmers movement working towards attainment of food sovereignty in developing countries should join hands and work together by joining and supporting the “people’s convention on Food Sovereignty”.
(c) To build the capacity of the small-scale farmers, civil society on issues of food sovereignty, campaigns, Advocacy and lobbying for the same.
(d) People’s right to land and food is a basic human right and should be demanded as part of overall civil rights of a person and enshrined in the countries’ constitution.
2.6 Plan of Action (way forward)
3.0 OTHER THEMES IN WHICH NECOFA PARTICIPATED
3.1 Access to Information and communication is a human right
In this event it was agreed that access to information and communication should not be treated as privilege to citizens if it is the right of everybody to access and share information. It is therefore important to mainstream rights to information and communication to have equity in access to the same communication of information and communication should not be discouraged. Strategies should be identified of building linkage between the struggles for other civil rights. Citizens should be able to demand their right to communication so that through access to information they can better understand and articulate their demand for other rights. Information knowledge and communication should be freely accessible and open for public domain
<h1>Way forward </h1>
· To identify who to address at national and global level in regard to the right to information and communication
· A summit will be held later in the year on people’s right to communication
· There is need to make inventory at different levels on right to information and communication.
· Build direct linkage between right to information and democratization, politics and social action.
· Use of art as means of communication should be encouraged and built upon to enhance information dissemination and access especially in the rural areas
3.2 Human security: The right to Land and water
There is enough water for everyone in the world. It is mismanagement that makes it hard for all persons to get enough water. Some have excess while others lack. Water is a right for everyone since nobody can live without it. Elements of rights to water include: -
· Availability – continues and sufficient quantities e.g. about 20 liters per person per day for domestic purpose.
· Quality – access to clean drinking water
· Accessibility - proximity and affordability
Water management is being privatized in many countries and this is bringing about discrimination in access to clean drinking water. In Kenya for example slum dwellers are considered squatters and despised. They have no right to clean water, sanitation and land.
They are easily evicted from the slums to pave way for high-rise buildings’ construction for the elite. These people deserve their right to water, land and food.
Priscilla Nzamalu of Necofa Kenya made presentation in this forum in which she explained that Necofa works on the concept that food security is the access by all people at all times to enough food of sufficient quality and quantity for active and healthy life. Necofa considers food insecurity no longer as failure of agriculture to produce sufficient food at national level but instead it is a failure of the livelihoods to generate access to sufficient food at household level.
Necofa approach is therefore to build the capacity of the community through information dissemination, community participation locally and internationally, value addition to agriculture and wild products as well as soil fertility management.
It works to give Kenyan communities voice in influencing public policy formulation. Food security can be achieved through different livelihood strategies in production, trade, off-farm activities as well as food stamp/transfers. Sustainable management of the environment and securing natural resources through linkage (ownership, contracts) or shaping the domain (change of activities, political maneuvers) are also important in achieving food security. The Necofa initiative is aimed at sustainability so that man and the environment co-exist considering that aspects of change in developing countries especially Africa are characterized by turbulence and unpredictable weather. In this era of globalization response to change varies from one place to another and that makes globalization an open ended and internationally contradictory process. Its outcomes are difficult to predict or control and impact negatively on food security.
3.3 Mobilization on seed diversity and GE free zones
Today the diversity and future of seed is under threat.
The freedom of seed and freedom of farmers are threatened by new property rights and new technologies, which are transforming seed from a common heritage shared by farmers to a commodity under the central monopoly of corporations.
The rapid extinction of diverse crops and crop varieties and the development of non-renewable seeds such as property hybrids and sterile seeds based on the terminator technology, threatens the very future of seed, and with it the future of farmers and food security of the world.
Seed saving and sharing is humanity’s ethical duty and thus cannot be prohibited by any national or international law, which makes this duty a crime.
Strategies to counter introduction/commercialization of GMO’s will include:
3.4 Energy Sovereignty
3.4.1 What are the communities doing?
3.4.2 What are the multinationals doing?
· They put strict conditions to oil producing states so that they will be assisted to evaluate communities from their ancestral land.
· They keep secret statistics of how much money they make from the sale of oil products.
· They channel the proceeds they get from the oil to their home countries, which should be termed as resources drain.
· They play a positive role in making the communities poorer
· The multinational oil-producing corporations destroy the marine ecosystem (s) which is a live line for the communities.
3.4.3 What are the states doing?
· They don’t consult communities when issuing concessions and contracts prospecting rights
· They hardly consider what benefits will trickle down to the communities after oil production is undertaken.
· They even kill people who resist occupation of their land by the multinational, this results to community/government conflicts
· They keep the costs of oil and electricity so high that the common members of the community cannot afford
· The oil producing states lack good governance
· The government personnel especially in Nigeria collude with companies selling generator to cause artificial shortages so that the generators can sell.
· The government of South Africa is unable to control the many illegal connections of electricity in Soweto.
3.4.4 What lessons have been learned?
· The community have to the attain energy sovereignty but they lack resources and skills to attain it.
· More lobbying and advocacy should be conducted to consider and incorporate communities as key stakeholders in determining oil and electricity production, distribution and resources sharing.
· The estates with oil should be in position to say no to some conditions imposed by multinationals
· The proceeds from the oil production should be disclosed to the community.
3.4.5 What way forward towards achieving energy sovereignty
Attaining energy sovereignty is quite some challenging task. It means more community groups from oil producing countries coming together and join hands with the international oil working Groups to champion and advocate more on issues highlighted in the forum. The international Oil Working Group Lobby the United Nations to address the plight of communities in oil producing countries.
4.0 CONCLUSION
4.1 It is very unfortunate that the other Necofa chapters did not get opportunity to come to Kenya to participate in the event. This denied the organization the chance for gaining more visibility and to articulate its initiative appropriately. The participating team was too few for the many activities in the forum.
4.2 Necofa at all levels needs to rethink about collaboration with other partner organizations/institutions and getting integrated in the food sovereignty campaigns.
Ecofarming as a technology is not enough to bring about food sovereignty. It requires an enabling environment and respect for people’s rights to achieve the desired impact. The Kumasi declaration on GMO’s should be followed up with action.
Necofa chapters should register membership and participate actively in activities of “People’s Convention on Food Sovereignty”. Necofa International should take leading role towards building partnership with Misserior of Germany in the campaign on “NO Patents on Life Network”. This is an opportunity that the Necofa chapters can get integrated in and help in making the campaign effective in their countries and the region.
4.3 Last but not least I take this opportunity to thank my colleagues who participated with in me WSF for their hard work, determination and contributions.
ACDI/VOCA-Ethiopia and EASUP participation
Horticulture Cooperative Business Strengthening
u Phase I: Support to Alfa Gawa Cooperative (Ada Woreda)
u Phase II: Support to 20 horticulture cooperatives in Ada and Adama woredas
Phase I: Alfa Gawa Cooperative
u Introduce improved seed
u Improve horticulture post-harvest handling and storage
u Improve the business skills of farmer members and cooperative leaders
u Improve cooperative management and governance
u Increase women’s participation in—and benefits from—the cooperative
Phase II: 20 horticulture cooperatives
u Training needs assessment (Phase I)
u Start with value chain analysis
u Build on Phase I achievements and lessons learned
Smallholder Linkages Project
2002-2006
u product upgrading (quality control in production and post-harvest handling)
u access to supporting markets (particularly irrigation equipment)
u inter-firm cooperation (both vertical and horizontal).
Smallholder Linkages Project
methodology
u Introduction of outgrower schemes (contract sales)
u Internal control improvements at cooperative level
u Installation of 15 drip irrigation systems as demonstration sites
Smallholder Linkages Project outcomes
u First-ever marketing contracts with cooperatives for certain exporters 49% increase in volume marketed per farmer over the length of the project.
u 138% increase in value of horticultural products marketed per farmer
u Sales of 9,713 MT of horticultural products valued at $1,458,529 to higher-value markets
Benshangul value chain analyses
u Work with Agridev Consult on value chain analyses (VCAs) of selected crops in Benshangul
u Develop project proposal based on VCA recommendations
uImplement project
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GLOBAL FACILTATION UNIT for Underutilized Species
January 2007 - Update from the GFU
Dear GFU news readers,
We are back to you with our first update of the New Year
Below is a list of the latest items posted on the home page (
www.underutilized-species.org) of GFU's web site
UPCOMING EVENTS
UPCOMING TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES
RECENTLY UPLOADED WEBSITES
·
"www.underutilized-species.org"
Mangosteen.com
"www.underutilized-species.org"
Rambutan.com
· The Rainforest Plant Database
· LinKS Project - Gender, Biodiversity and local knowledge systems for food security
· World IVs - World Indigenous Vegetables (AVRDC)
RECENTLY UPLOADED PUBLICATIONS
-AWARENESS AND KNOWLEDGE SHARING
-BIOLOGY
-INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE AND ETHNOBOTANY
-MANAGEMENT OF PLANT BIODIVERSITY
-MARKETS AND MARKETING
-NUTRITION AND HEALTH
-FEATURES
WHO IS DOING WHAT WITH UNDERUTILIZED SPECIES
New projects and many experts to be found in one of our databases
Comments, feedback and contributions are as usual very much welcome!
Thank you
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Global Facilitation Unit for Underutilized Species
Via dei Tre Denari 472/a
00057 MACCARESE (Fiumicino)
Rome, Italy
e-mail: underutilized-species@cgiar.org
tel: +39 06 6118-302
fax: +39 06 61979661
www.underutilized-species.org
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Dear Irmgard,
Dear Paul,
Thank you very much for your , indeed valuable information. All the informations sent to us are promptly forwarded to all our members of the NETWORK FOR ECOFARMING IN AFRICA "NECOFA“, more than 13 Country members.
Please have a look to our activities in the Homepage „www. necofa.org„.
Bearing in mind that, we are faced with formidable challenges, which require substantial determination, a close cooperation with your Research activities will enrich our joint effort to try to implement, let us say, the forgotten "Agenda 21". Facing the reality, we need an increased capacity to address all the complex development issues described in the attachment below.
As discussed during our meeting the "Terrra Madre, Slow Food Conference" in Turin, Italy October , 2006, exchanging our experiences and sharing our common objectives, it is time for commitments, actions and most of all - partnerships between committed actors who are prepared to promote the common objective of a better world through sustainable development. This shared objective is no longer debatable nor is it questionable.
Regards
Sahle Tesfai
NECOFA Inter. Coordinator
NECOFA/International North South Dialogue
Tel:+49 54425029173
Fax:+49 54425029175
Mobile:01728059535
E-Mail: necofa.inter@googlemail.com
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MONDE H.M. Prosper -NECOFA BENIN-
SQR-MR Bénin: Reportage Télévisé par People TV
§ Le reportage annoncé dans un article récent a été fait dans la Commune de Natitingou à 600 Km de Cotonou au Nord Ouest du Bénin. L'équipe de Reportage conduite par le Coordonnateur du SQR-MR Bénin (Mr MONDE Prosper)a été transportée à Natitingou par un véhicule de l'Office National d'Appui à la Sécurité Alimentaire les Lundi 9 et Mardi 10 Mai 2005.Scènes prises
1- Emission Radio diffusée à la Radio Nanto de Natitingou intitulée « La Mairie et le Monde Rural » au cours de laquelle il est porté à l’attention des producteurs les explications sur le Bon de Valeur :
Ce que c’est qu’un Bon de Valeur,
Où s’en procurer,
Comment l’utiliser
2- Visite au bureau du Courtier d’Information Rurale de Natitingou:
de deux femmes transformatrices du Riz Etuvé de Montagne
dun maraîcher
Les deux catégories de visiteurs reçoivent de la Directrice Exécutive de l’ONG-Ensemble pour le Développement ( Courtier d’Information Rurale de Natitingou ) le Bon de Valeur.
3- Visite au bureau des techniciens du Courtier d’Information Rurale de Natitingou au Groupement des Femmes Transformatrices de Riz Etuvé de Montagne en pleine activité d’étuvage du riz
dans le champ du Maraîcher Vincent au travail avec sa femme et ses manoeuvres
4- Interview du Maire de Natitingou qui assure la diffusion des informations du Réseau RUN-NECOFA au cours de l’émission « La Mairie et le Monde Rural »
5- Interview du Coordonnateur SQR-MR sur l’intérêt du Bon de valeur et sa valeur
