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Small farmers feed the world - with less than a quarter of all farmland
by La Vía Campesina 29 May '14

29 May '14

GRAIN/LA VIA CAMPESINA MEDIA RELEASE HUNGRY FOR LAND SMALL FARMERS FEED THE WORLD - WITH LESS THAN A QUARTER OF ALL FARMLAND (29 May 2014) Governments and international agencies frequently boast that small farmers control the largest share of the world's agricultural land. When the director general of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation inaugurated 2014 as the International Year of Family Farming, he sang the praises of family farmers but didn't once mention the need for land reform. Instead, he announced that family farms already manage most of the world's farmland - a whopping 70%, according to his team. But a new review of the data carried out by GRAIN reveals that the opposite is true. Small farms, which produce most of the world's food, are currently squeezed onto less than a quarter of the world's farmland - or less than one fifth if you leave out China and India. "We are fast losing farms and farmers through the concentration of land into the hands of the rich and powerful," said Henk Hobbelink, coordinator of GRAIN. "The overwhelming majority of farming families today have less than two hectares to cultivate and that share is shrinking. If we do nothing to reverse this trend, the world will lose its capacity to feed itself." Marina Dos Santos of the Coordination of the Brazilian Landless Movement (MST), and of La Via Campesina, states: "Today, the peasantry is criminalised, taken to court and even made to disappear when it comes to the struggle for land. Currently, there are an alarming numbers of deaths that go unpunished. States have created legal concepts such as terrorism and sabotage to intimidate our struggle. Every day we are exposed to the systematic expulsion from our land. This affects not only peasants fighting to stay on the land, but also many other small farmers and indigenous peoples who are the target of greedy foreign interests. We want the land in order to live and to produce, as these are our basic rights against land grabbing corporations who seek only speculation and profit." "People need to understand that if the current processes of land concentration continues, then no matter how hard-working, efficient and productive they are, small farmers will simply not be able to carry on," said GRAIN's Camila Montecinos. "The concentration of fertile agricultural land in fewer and fewer hands is directly related to the increasing number of people going hungry every day." GRAIN's report also provides new data that show that small farmers still provide most of the world's food, and that they are often much more productive than large corporate farms. If all of Kenya's farms matched the output of its small farms, the nation's agricultural productivity would double. In Central America, it would nearly triple. Women are the major food producers, but their role remains unrecorded and marginalised. The international agencies keep on reminding us that we need to produce more food to feed the growing population. But how much more food could be produced almost immediately if small farmers had access to more land and could work in a supportive policy environment, rather than under the siege conditions they are facing today? "The vast majority of farms in Zimbabwe belong to small holders and their average farmsize has increased as a result of the Fast Track Land Reform Programme. Small farmers in the country now produce over 90% of diverse agricultural food crops, while they only provided 60-70% of the national food before land redistribution. More women own land in their own right, which is key to food sovereignty everywhere", said Elizabeth Mpofu, General coordinator of La Via Campesina. We need to urgently put land back in the hands of small farmers and make the struggle for genuine and comprehensive agrarian reform central to the fight for better food systems. Something peasant organisations and landless people's movements have long been fighting for. Contacts: Mr Henk Hobbelink, Spain (EN, ES, NL): +34933011381, henk(a)grain.org Ms Camila Montecinos, Chile (EN, ES): +56222224437, camila(a)grain.org Ms Elizabeth Mpofu, Zimbabwe (EN): +2634576221, nkbnyoni(a)yahoo.co.uk + + + + + + GRAIN's new report, Hungry for land: small farmers feed the world with [1]less than a quarter of [1] all farmland [1] provides an indepth review of the data on farm structures and food production worldwide and comes to the following 6 central conclusions: * THE VAST MAJORITY OF FARMS IN THE WORLD TODAY ARE SMALL AND GETTING SMALLER Due to a myriad of forces, average farm sizes have shrunk dramatically over the past decades, particularly in Asia and Africa. * SMALL FARMS ARE CURRENTLY SQUEEZED ONTO LESS THAN A QUARTER OF THE WORLD'S FARMLAND Despite what the UN and others report, small farms occupy less than 25% of the world's farmland today - just 17%, if we exclude India and China. * WE'RE FAST LOSING FARMS AND FARMERS IN MANY PLACES, WHILE BIG FARMS ARE GETTING BIGGER One major reason why small farms are disappearing is the rapid growth of monoculture plantations. In the last 50 years, 140 million hectares - well more than all the farmland in China - have been taken over for soybean, oil palm, rapeseed and sugar cane alone. * SMALL FARMERS CONTINUE TO BE THE MAJOR FOOD PRODUCERS IN THE WORLD By definition, peasant agriculture prioritises food production for local and national markets as well as for farmers' own families - not commodities or export crops. GRAIN compiled staggering statistics that show how, even with so little land, small farms produce the bulk of many countries' food supply. * SMALL FARMS ARE TECHNICALLY MORE PRODUCTIVE THAN BIG FARMS Industrial farms have enormous power, clout and resources, but small farms almost everywhere outperform big farms in terms of productivity. If all of Kenya's farms matched the output of its small farms, the nation's agricultural productivity would double. In Central America, it would nearly triple. If Russia's big farms were as productive as its small ones, output would increase by a factor of six. * THE MAJORITY OF SMALL FARMERS ARE WOMEN, YET THEIR CONTRIBUTIONS ARE UNRECOGNISED AND MARGINALISED Women's immense contribution to farming and food production is not captured in official statistics and they are discriminated against when it comes to controlling land in most countries. * THE REPORT IS ACCOMPANIED BY ILLUSTRATIVE MAPS AND A FULLY-REFERENCED DATASET. Available for download at: http://www.grain.org/article/entries/4929 [1] * MORE ON THE FARMERS' STRUGGLE FOR LAND: "Land is life! La Via Campesina and the Struggle for Land" at: http://viacampesina.org/downloads/pdf/en/EN-notebook5.pdf [2] Links: ------ [1] http://www.grain.org/article/entries/4929 [2] http://viacampesina.org/downloads/pdf/en/EN-notebook5.pdf

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Newsletter La Via Campesina - May 2014
by La Vía Campesina 27 May '14

27 May '14

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April 17 : More than 130 actions all around the world
by La Vía Campesina 30 Apr '14

30 Apr '14

Of the many actions organized worldwide by various organizations and allies to mark the celebration of the International Day of Peasant Struggles on the 17th of April, about 131 of them were captured and recorded. The actions, to name a few, included demonstrations, campaigns, debates and lectures, dramas, occupation of certain spaces, planting and exchange of seeds. These actions were captured on a Map (http://viacampesina.org/map/17april/map.html [1]) by the La Via Campesina, in effort to build solidarity and to provide a wider platform for others to join the peasant struggles. This bulletin captures some of these actions. GLOBAL PEASANT MOVEMENT EXEMPLIFIES POWER OF ORGANIZED HUMANITY Commemorating the International Day of Peasant Struggle Salena Tramel, journalist and international policy and development consultant, wrote an article commemorating the International Day of Peasant Struggles, the 17th of April, its conception and how Via Campesina keeps the voices of the peasants alive and heard. The article was published by Common Dreams. The article highlights how from the beginning, control over seeds has been at the top of Via Campesina's list of critical issues. Its relevance has heightened as transnational corporations have tightened the grip on a world food system characterized by the commodification of basic resources. At present, just ten seed companies dominate 67 percent of the world's seeds - with Monsanto and its patents controlling 23 percent of the global supply. While some view peasant agriculture as a bygone livelihood, and powerful political and economic interests are out to replace it, Via Campesina is taking calculated measures to ensure that today's peasantry does not slip quietly into the night. Read more … [2] Resistance Grows in Defense of Peasant Seeds Press Release--la Vía Campesina (16 April 2014) This year men and women farmers of the international peasant movement, La Vía Campesina, mobilized worldwide in favor of peasant seeds. Since April the 17th, 1996 La Vía Campesina designated this day as a global day of action with allies and friends. With more than 120 actions at a local and global level in all continents, La Via Campesina reasserts the importance of local struggles and at the same time underlines the need for global resistance and organization between the cities and the rural areas. Actions such as land occupations, agro-ecological festivities, debates and seed exchanges will be carried out until the end of April as part of the global days of action. La Vía Campesina denounces laws and interests that seek to prohibit the use, exchange and access to peasant seeds, a common patrimony of the people at the service of humanity, as well as food sovereignty as part of a commitment to end hunger in the world. Read more … [3] OPEN LETTER: ARIPO’S DRAFT PROTOCOL FOR THE PROTECTION OF NEW VARIETIES OF PLANTS (“DRAFT PROTOCOL”) UNDERMINES FARMERS’ RIGHTS, LACKS CREDIBILITY & LEGITIMACY (9th April 2014) Various organizations from Africa and around the world, concerned with the conservation of agricultural biodiversity for livelihood security and food sovereignty, promoting farmers' rights and citizen involvement in the decision-making process, prepared and signed an open letter to members of the international convention for the protection of new varieties of plants (UPOV). The organizations expressed serious concerns with the ARIPO Draft Protocol that has been submitted by ARIPO (African Regional Intellectual Property Organization) on 6 March 2014, for the consideration of the UPOV Council at its 31st Session in Geneva on April 11, 2014. The Draft Protocol clearly lacks credibility and legitimacy. The organizations strongly urge the member states to reject the Draft Protocol and send it back to the drawing board; demand that ARIPO consult with smallholder farmers and civil society in all ARIPO member states; and, especially, that it discuss appropriate and equitable PVP regime that reflects conditions and realities prevailing in ARIPO countries, the obligation of protecting biodiversity, that is incorporate farmers' interests and rights and that is safeguard public interests and prevent biopiracy. Read the letter … [4] NFU PROPOSES NEW VISION FOR CANADIAN SEED OWNERSHIP (January 20, 2014- Saskatoon, SK): Bill C-18, the Agricultural Growth Act favours further consolidation of the seed industry into a few corporate hands, which will end up costing farmers more for seeds of all types. The National Farmers Union of Canada (NFU) has nevertheless put forward Fundamental Principles for a Farmers' Act (_“_Click here to read the Act [5]_”_ which recognizes the inherent rights of farmers to save, reuse, select, exchange and sell seeds, while protecting public domains related to plant seeds. The principles build on Canada's 2002 signing of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, by which farmers would retain their "customary" use of seed. NFU is therefore calling upon the Canadian elected officials to act on these principles, which give a strong message about the kind of Canada we want - a Canada that is sovereign in regard to seed and food," he concluded. Read more … [6] CANADA: A SEED ACT FOR FARMERS, NOT CORPORATIONS NFU sign on letter: Stop Bill C-18 (10 April 2014) Canada's government is preparing to pass a new law, Bill C-18, the Agricultural Growth Act that would put Canadian farmers under the UPOV '91 Plant Breeders' Rights regime. This new law would give global seed corporations vast new power to control seed - and to profit from it on the backs of farmers. The National Farmers Union is working hard to stop this from happening and has called on their friends and allies to join their voice to urge the Canadian government to respect and protect the rights of farmers and demand to government to repeal the Bill. Read more … [7] THE NETHERLANDS (THE HAGUE) LAND CONCENTRATION, LAND GRABBING, AND PEOPLE’S STRUGGLES IN EUROPE: INFOGRAPHIC (April 17th,T he Hague) The Transnational Institute published, (for the 'Hands off The Land Alliance' and the European Coordination of La Via Campesina), a series of studies on key land issues in Europe under the title "Land Concentration, Land Grabbing, and People's Struggles in Europe." This collection of case studies put to rest the idea that land grabbing is a phenomenon restricted to the Global South and showed that millions of European farmers are being squeezed off their land, which is increasingly being captured for large-scale production or non-agricultural uses. To commemorate the one year anniversary of the book's publication and to continue to spread some of its key messages, TNI is proud to release an infographic (Click here [8]) designed to clearly illustrate central issues in an accessible form. Read more …. [9] PHILIPPINES (QUEZON) LIGHTING OF TORCHES OUTSIDE OF THE OFFICE OF THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRARIAN REFORM (April 17th, Quezon) Three farmer organizations, members of PARAGOS-PILIPINAS lit of torches in the 3 crosses erected near the farmers' camp outside of the Office of the Department of Agrarian Reform in Quezon City, Philippines to celebrate the International Day of Farmers' Struggles in defense of Peasants' and Farmers' Seeds. These farmer organizations continue to struggles for land to till and own. Members of La Via Campesina, Regional Southeast Asia visited the camp last October 2013 in solidarity with the farmers' struggles. The camp-out of the farmers started last October, 2012 and is almost one year and six months now, continues to press demands for land under the agrarian reform program of the government and VOWS not to SURRENDER until their demands are fulfilled. Click here to see the pictures [10] FIAN INTERNATIONAL JOINS THIS YEAR'S GLOBAL DAY OF ACTION IN DEFENSE OF THE STRUGGLES OF FARMERS AND PEASANTS (April 17th, Heidelberg, Germany) In a context of increasing land concentration, Agrarian Reform continues being one crucial measure to address the unequal distribution of natural resources and the lack of access to land and other natural resources for millions of peasants and agricultural workers worldwide, FIAN International joined this year's global day of action and mobilization in defense of the struggles of farmers and peasants on April 17th. FIAN International, on this day, emphasized the role of agrarian reform in this process. Access to land is at the heart of agrarian reform, which is indispensible for landless peasants and farm workers to ensure their human right to adequate food. FIAN called upon the government of the Philippines to fully implement the CARP/CARPER and fulfill the right to adequate food of the farmers of Hacienda Luisita [11] and Hacienda Matias [12], as well as all the affected landless peasants and farm workers in the Philippines whose right to food and land is still being threatened. The campaign on the case of Hacienda Luisita in the Philippines came to an end on April 17. Read more … [13] PAKISTAN (MULTAN) WALK ON PEASANTS' RIGHTS On April 17th, Multan, to commemorate the international day of peasants' struggle, The NGO called Human Rights Commission in Pakistan organized a walk in defense of peasants' rights. Click here to see the pictures [14] NEPAL (KATHMANDU) ANPFA PAYS TRIBUTE TO THE MARTYRS OF MST (April 17th, Kathmandu) In Nepal, LVC member All Nepal Peasants' Federation (ANPFa) organized an interaction program in Kathmandu to mark the day of International Peasant Struggles. A minute of silence in tribute and homage to the Martyrs was observed. Honorable CA member and ICC member of LVC com. Shanta Manavi, General Secretary of ANPFa Prem Dangal, Constituent Assembly members, Peasant leaders, and members of the right to food and food sovereignty groups, and media person including youth and women peasants attended the gathering. Besides highlighting the history and importance of observing international day of peasant struggle by Via Campesina members, the discussions also focused on ways and mechanisms of professionalization of agriculture in Nepal. Read more … [15] BANGLADESH (DHAKA AND GAZIPUR) "RESISTANCE GROWS IN DEFENSE OF SEEDS" (April 17th), The member organization of La Via Campesina, Bangladesh Krishok Federation (BKF), Bangladesh Kishani Sabha(BKS) and Bangladesh Adivasi Samity organized a discussion meeting in observance of International Peasant Struggle Day focusing on this year's theme slogan "Resistance grows in defense of seeds". The meeting called upon the small scale peasants worldwide to build a strong resistance struggle in order to protect, conserve and restore indigenous seeds and genetic resources. The meeting focused on the TNCs' efforts to take over the peasants' seeds, which have evolved over thousands of years. The meeting also put emphasis on the strengthening of the Global Campaign on Food Sovereignty. Read more … [16] (April 17th, Gazipur) In memory of the massacre of 19 Brazilian landless peasants, the Bangladesh Agricultural Farm Labour Federation (BAFLF) and the Bangladesh Agricultural Farm Women Labour Association (BAFWLA) jointly observed International Day of Farmers' Struggles declared by Via Campesina on April the 17th. This year they arranged several actions including a human chain, procession and rally demanding farmers' right to seeds, to stop farming GMO seeds especially BT Brinjal, to strengthen the Bangladesh Agriculture Development Corporation, Govt. seed agency and to ensure food sovereignty rights of people through actual land and agri-reform. Following the human chain, procession and rally the BAFLF and the BAFWLA also organized discussions at the BRRI Auditorium in Gazipur. Mr. Mahamudul Hasan Manik, vice president of BAFLF presided over the meeting while Golam Sorowor conducted the same. Ms. Hazera Sultana, Member of Parliament and also honorable adviser of Bangladesh Agricultural Farm Women Labour Association, was present as the chief guest at the discussion meeting. The discussants urged the authorities to fulfill farmers' demands. They also added that BAFLWA and BAFLF should continue the struggle against Multinational seed companies and their local agents. Among others Nasrin Sultana, the Chairperson of BAFWLA, Mamun Hossain, Assistant General Secretary of BAFLF and others Farmer activists took part in the deliberation. Read more … [16] UNITED KINGDOM (LONDON). THE LAND WORKERS’ ALLIANCE WANTS TO SEE SMALL-SCALE PRODUCERS PUT AT THE HEART OF DECISION MAKING IN AGRICULTURAL POLICY. (April 17th, London) Hundreds of farmers and growers from the Landworkers' Alliance travelled to London from around the country to protest outside the head offices of DEFRA and the National Farmers Union, in solidarity with the April 17th - The International Day of Peasant Struggles. Under the leadership of Owen Patterson over the past two years DEFRA has strengthened its support of large-scale industrial agriculture and marginalized smaller producers, while the NFU has consistently lobbied for the interests of agribusiness and ignored the views of smaller farmers. The land workers' Alliance wants to see small-scale producers put at the heart of decision making in agricultural policy. "DEFRA needs to recognize the role of small-scale producers in contributing to the national food economy, as well as the environmental and social services provided by these producers," says Ed Hamer from the LWA. "As a matter of urgency we demand that DEFRA create policies conducive to a sustainable food future for all." Click here to see pictures [17] THE NETHERLANDS (AMSTERDAM) : SOLIDARITY ACTIONS: MORE MONEY FOR TOMATO PICKERS AND ATTENTION FOR THE NEGATIVE IMPACTS OF GMOS IN AGRICULTURE (April 17th, Amsterdam) In solidarity with Vía Campesina and the victims of large agricultural corporations, ASEED was involved in two small actions: On Tuesday April 15, ASEED handed out flyers at the symposium on "Genetic Modification, Friend or Foe" in Amsterdam, organized as the farewell event for the retiring Professor Rudy Rabbinge. The possible health issues were discussed, but the negative effects on biodiversity by the increase of monocultures, the growing power of multinational corporations and other social aspects in the agrarian reality were not in the agenda. But these are the aspects that farmers all over the world have to deal with as soon as GMOs are introduced. On April 16th, the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW) formed a picket line in front of the building where Ahold owner Albert Heijn, a supermarket chain in the US and Netherlands, held its annual shareholders' meeting. CIW has been campaigning over 20 years for higher wages and better working conditions for the tomato pickers and fights against sexual abuse and slavery. Walmart, McDonalds and Burger King have signed a legally binding Fair Food programme, but not yet Ahold. Thus, CIW protest aimed to highlight the issue to the shareholders to act on such irresponsible behaviour. ASEED distributed flyers with a text on "Genetic Modifications, Friend or Foe" to passers-by. Read more … [18] AFRICAN BIODIVERSITY NETWORK CELEBRATES THE INTERNATIONAL DAY OF FARMERS' STRUGGLES IN DEFENSE OF PEASANTS’ AND FARMERS’ SEEDS The African Biodiversity Network (ABN) partners have contributed to the edition of the network's newsletter, highlighting their work in and with communities to revive indigenous seed varieties. You can download the newsletter here [19], and read about the hidden agenda of the Crops Act in Kenya, the new scramble for Africa (How TNCs attempt to control biodiversity in Africa), and also read about Community seeds and Knowledge, an experience in Northern Kenya with local communities to revive their indigenous seeds, the knowledge of Tharaka culture to protect indigenous livestock varieties, the work of the Institute for Culture and Ecology in Kenya to revive lost seeds. SYRIA (QAMISHLO, AL-HASAKA) DISTRIBUTING FLYERS ON ORGANIC FARMING AND NATURAL SEEDS On april 17, to celebrate the international day of peasant's struggle, the UKSS (Union of Kurdish Students in Syria) distributed flyers on organic farming and Natural seeds in the streets and shops of Qamishlo, Al-Hasaka. They also produced some videos with interviews of farmers, explaining how the use of chimicals has "dryied" their soils and poisoned their food. The video is available here in english [20] and arabi [21]c. Click here to see picture [22]. UNITED KINGDOM (LONDON) : FEEDING THE FUTURE Press release of the Landworkers' Alliance (April 17th, London) The Landworkers' Alliance (LWA) held a demonstration outside the Head office of the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), 17 Smith Square London, at 12.00pm. The demonstration was part of Via Campesina's international day of peasant's struggle co-ordinated actions across more than seventy countries. The LWA is a coalition of small-scale producer across the UK whose interests are not currently acknowledged or represented by DEFRA. Under the leadership of Owen Paterson over the past two years the Department has strengthened its support of large-scale industrial agriculture and further marginalized smaller producers in its efforts to promote "Sustainable Intensification" as the only solution to feeding the world. The LWA is an official member of the international peasant farming movement La Via Campesina, and campaigns for the rights of small-scale producers and lobbies the UK government and European parliament for policies that support infrastructure and markets central to our livelihoods. Read more … [23]and watch the pictures of the action [24] UNITED STATES (CHICAGO ) : FAMILY FARMERS AND ALLIES TO PROTEST DAIRY PRICE FIXING AND GLOBAL CARBON TRADING (April 9th, Chicago, Illinois) - To mark Via Campesina's International Day of Peasant Struggle (17th April), family farmers and their allies converged at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) - 141 W. Jackson - at noon on Friday April 18, 2014 to expose the rampant price fixing by commodity speculators that drives the ongoing global food and climate crisis. Family Farm Defenders' annual protest at the CME demands greater social responsibility and transparency from one of Chicago's most lucrative and secretive corporations, which posts billions of dollars in profits while rural workers and family farmers live in poverty. Dairy farmers in particular call upon the Department of Justice (DoJ) to take action against the food giants - including Dairy Farmers of America (DFA) Land O'Lakes, and Dean Foods, which control close to half of all milk production in the country. The CME defies anti-trust laws and s silent on price fixing at the expense of working farmer families. Read more … [25] PALESTINE (BEIT AL-ROUSH AL-FOKA) UAWC JOINS THE WORLD IN THE DEFENSE OF LOCAL SEEDS (April 17th, Ramallah) On the Day of Peasants' Struggle (April 17th) the Palestinian peasants representing Via Campesina Palestine raised their voices to save the local seeds and abandon the genetically modified seeds in a small village in the city of Hebron named Beit Al-Roush Al-Foka in cooperation with the National Local Seed Bank initiated by the Union of Agricultural work committees' (UAWC) which is the only seed bank in Palestine. The struggle to save local seeds is an international struggle supported by all the farmers in La Via Campesina in order to save small-scaled farmers around the world and accomplish food sovereignty. UAWC initiated the Palestinian Local Seeds Bank in 2010 after ten years of continuous work in the local seeds sector. It worked on the multiplication and seed improvement of more than 36 varieties including vegetable crops and local field crops since 2003. The local seeds are preserved in a seed bank considered a patrimonial seed bank to accomplish food sovereignty for the Palestinian farmers. UAWC also enlarged the cultivation area for the local seeds and the distribution centers, in addition to providing scientific information in partnership with the National Center for Agriculture Research, ICARDA, and Al-Aroub's Agricultural Center. The struggle of Via Campesina Palestine against the GMO seeds comes from its belief in the importance of contributing to the protection and preservation of the hereditary seeds in Palestine in order to accomplish food sovereignty for the Palestinian farmers and the farmers around the world. Read more … [26] AUSTRALIA (TOOWOMBA) FIELD VISIT TO SYMARA FARM (Toowomba, April 17, 2014) The newly formed Family Farmers United Network (FFUN) held a field day at Symara Farm, owned by Ray and Sam Palmer. This was the network's first event, and was a great success. After introductions, the group was led by Ray and Sam and taken on a tour of their beautiful farm. From a greenhouse filled with healthy tomato and cucumber plants, to fields of vegetables covered in cloth to protect them from frosts, to free range chickens for eggs and meat - the group listened intently to the information that Ray shared. The more experienced farms offered suggestions and advice which was greatly appreciated by the whole group. Read more ... [27] VIDEOS, PHOTOS AND POSTERS: SOME POSTERS MADE FOR APRIL 17 [28] Photos of actions inBelgium,Croatia,France, United Kingdom [29] Photos of the action in Australia. [30] WATCH THE JAKARTA CALL. [31] The International farmers' movement La Via Campesina launched a new documentary on April 17 to celebrate the international day of peasant's struggle. "The Jakarta Call" is a 38 minute film featuring the exchanges, debates and reflections of the movement's VIth International Conference that took place in Jakarta in June 2013. This new documentary highlights the cultural diversity and the values of solidarity and unity converging in this political project. It reflects the multitude of local struggles for the defense of a food system by and for the people. Links: ------ [1] http://viacampesina.org/map/17april/map.html [2] http://viacampesina.org/en/index.php/actions-and-events-mainmenu-26/17-apri… [3] http://viacampesina.org/en/index.php/actions-and-events-mainmenu-26/17-apri… [4] http://viacampesina.org/en/index.php/main-issues-mainmenu-27/biodiversity-a… [5] http://www.nfu.ca/sites/www.nfu.ca/files/Fundamental%20Principles%20of%20a%… [6] http://viacampesina.org/en/index.php/main-issues-mainmenu-27/biodiversity-a… [7] http://viacampesina.org/en/index.php/main-issues-mainmenu-27/biodiversity-a… [8] http://www.tni.org/sites/all/modules/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=4379&qid=… [9] http://viacampesina.org/en/index.php/actions-and-events-mainmenu-26/17-apri… [10] http://viacampesina.org/en/index.php/actions-and-events-mainmenu-26/17-apri… [11] http://www.fian.org/library/multimedia/hacienda-luisita-timeline/ [12] http://www.fian.org/library/multimedia/hacienda-matias-timeline/ [13] http://viacampesina.org/en/index.php/actions-and-events-mainmenu-26/17-apri… [14] http://viacampesina.org/en/index.php/actions-and-events-mainmenu-26/17-apri… [15] http://viacampesina.org/en/index.php/actions-and-events-mainmenu-26/17-apri… [16] http://www.viacampesina.org/en/index.php/actions-and-events-mainmenu-26/17-… [17] http://www.viacampesina.org/en/index.php/actions-and-events-mainmenu-26/17-… [18] http://www.viacampesina.org/en/index.php/actions-and-events-mainmenu-26/17-… [19] http://www.viacampesina.org/downloads/pdf/en/ABN%20-%20SEEDS%20NEWSLETTER.p… [20] http://tv.viacampesina.org/Syrian-students-in-defense-of?lang=en [21] http://tv.viacampesina.org/%3F%3F%3F%3F%3F-%3F%3F%3F%3F%3F%3F%3F?lang=en [22] http://viacampesina.org/en/index.php/actions-and-events-mainmenu-26/17-apri… [23] http://www.viacampesina.org/en/index.php/actions-and-events-mainmenu-26/17-… [24] http://viacampesina.org/en/index.php/actions-and-events-mainmenu-26/17-apri… [25] http://www.viacampesina.org/en/index.php/actions-and-events-mainmenu-26/17-… [26] http://viacampesina.org/en/index.php/actions-and-events-mainmenu-26/17-apri… [27] http://viacampesina.org/en/index.php/actions-and-events-mainmenu-26/17-apri… [28] http://tv.viacampesina.org/Some-posters-made-for-April-17?lang=en [29] http://tv.viacampesina.org/April-17-Belgium-Croatia-France?lang=en [30] http://tv.viacampesina.org/April-17-in-Australia-Queensland?lang=en [31] http://tv.viacampesina.org/The-Jakarta-call?lang=en

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April 17, watch the Jakarta Call on Via Campesina TV
by La Vía Campesina 17 Apr '14

17 Apr '14

"The Jakarta call" [1] On April 17, International Day of Peasant Struggle, watch and make public the new documentary La Via Campesina : "THE JAKARTA CALL IS NOW AVAILABLE ON VIA CAMPESINA TV". [1] "The Jakarta Call" is a 38 minutes film featuring the exchanges, debates and reflections of the movement's VIth International Conference that took place in Jakarta in June 2013. This new documentary highlights the cultural diversity and the values of solidarity and unity converging in this political project. It reflects the multitude of local struggles for the defence of a food system by and for the people SYNOPSIS: Vía Campesina, the international peasant movement that brings together over 200 millions members through 164 organizations in 73 countries, is celebrating in Jakarta, Indonesia, the first two decades of its struggles. For 10 days, women and men organize, discuss, share, debate, expound and propose… How to transform the world? Propositions from peasant organisations from all around the world burst forth: food sovereignty, agro-ecology, social and climate justice, solidarity, seeds, water, struggles by women, youth, indigenous and migrants, agrarian reform benefitting those who work the land… "People's mobilisation, confrontation with oppressors, active resistance, internationalism and local engagement are all necessary components for social change." Successfully listening to and understanding each other when coming from different realities, cultures and languages is already the first step towards changing the world. Over the past 20 years, Vía Campesina has become one the world's biggest social movement - a fertile ground to nurture struggles and solidarity. A documentary by La Via Campesina, ZinTV and AlbaTV. Links: ------ [1] http://tv.viacampesina.org/The-Jakarta-call?lang=fr

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Postcards and videos for April 17
by La Vía Campesina 16 Apr '14

16 Apr '14

ON APRIL 17, WE DEFEND OUR SEEDS AND FIGHT AGAINST THE SEED INDUSTRY [1] For your mobilizations on April 17, you can use these postcards published on the website of Via Campesina TV . [1] You will also find various videos to celebrate April 17 : - One recorded in different languages by the members of the Coordinating Committee of La Via Campesina [2] , during their last meeting in Nicaragua. - One in Portuguese, solidarity message from Confederação Nacional de Agricultores of Portugal [3] - One in spanish, message from the Sindicato Labrego Galego [4] of Galicia - A Basque song [5] saying: " My friend takes my hand , together we can change the world by taking care of our seeds , since it is essential for life " - One message in Norwegian from Norsk Bonde -og Småbrukarlag (NBS ) [6] - And two videes in Italian from ARI ( Associazione Italiana Rural ) [7] and AIAB ( Associazione Italiana per l' agricoltura Biologica ) [8]. - One video made by [9]Students in Syria [9] to implement an awareness campaign on natural seeds protection and organic farming to Syrian farmers in northern Syria. ENJOY YOUR APRIL 17 ! Links: ------ [1] http://tv.viacampesina.org/On-April-17-We-Defend-our-Seeds?lang=es [2] http://tv.viacampesina.org/17-de-Abril-Dia-Internacional-de-524?lang=es [3] http://tv.viacampesina.org/17-de-abril-o-Dia-Internacional-da?lang=es [4] http://tv.viacampesina.org/17-de-Abril-en-Galicia?lang=es [5] http://tv.viacampesina.org/17-de-abril-en-el-Pais-Vasco?lang=es [6] http://tv.viacampesina.org/Sa-fro-for-trygg-mat?lang=es [7] http://tv.viacampesina.org/Associazione-Rurale-Italiana?lang=es [8] http://tv.viacampesina.org/17-Aprile-Giornata-Internazionale?lang=es [9] http://tv.viacampesina.org/Syrian-students-in-defense-of?lang=es

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“Sunflower Revolution” in Taiwan : STOP Police Brutality, NO to Free Trade Agreements NOW!
by La Vía Campesina 16 Apr '14

16 Apr '14

“SUNFLOWER REVOLUTION” IN TAIWAN : STOP POLICE BRUTALITY, NO TO FREE TRADE AGREEMENTS NOW! [1] APPEAL FOR INTERNATIONAL SOLIDARITY OF TAIWAN RURAL FRONT (TRF) AND TAIWAN FARMERS UNION (TFU) (March 25, 2014, Taiwan) Taiwan Rural Front (TRF) and Taiwan Farmers Union (TFU), member of La Via Campesina in East and Southeast Asia, launch an emergency appeal for international solidarity against current administration's rush for cross-strait free trade agreement and excessive use of police force. Pressure on the Ma administration has been mounting since the ruling Chinese Nationalist party (KMT) pushed to bypass full legislative review of the controversial Cross Straits Service Trade agreement (CSSTA) on March 17. Enraged by the politicking of the ruling party, nearly three hundred young Taiwanese stormed the legislature on March 18 and declared indefinite occupation of its main chamber. The occupy movement quickly gained momentum as over ten thousand Taiwanese flocked all sides of the legislature building in support of students' cause. Represented by an alliance consisted of students, lawyers and civil organizations, the movement has since demanded that1) the CSSTA be retracted, 2) a formal monitoring mechanism for all cross-strait agreements be established, and 3) negotiations of any sort between Taiwan and China be halted before such monitoring mechanism exists. However, president Ma rejected all three demands on March 23 and ordered violent suppression of another group of protesters who had occupied the cabinet since March 22. Serious clash between police and protesters happened in the early hours of March 24. Launching 6 waves of attack in 5 hours, police first ordered journalists to leave and evicted those who had refused to leave by force. And besides firing high-pressured water cannon at peaceful protesters, riot police also swung batons at protesters and used their PVC shields to hit sitting students on the legs. Even members of the medical team were beaten up. Nearly two hundred protesters, including students and several TRF members, suffered injuries from violent beating, dragging and pushing. 61 people were arrested for trespassing. In light of the serious police crisis, Taiwan Peasants Union and Taiwan Rural Front urgently seek international solidarity from all members of Via Campesina, to join hands with us in rejecting free trade agreements and condemning police brutality and repression of people's rights of assembly and speech by government of Taiwan. We insist that: FIRST, international human rights standards require that in dispersing assemblies, police must avoid the use of force or, where that is not practicable, must restrict any such force to the minimum necessary. Any decision to disperse an assembly should therefore be taken only as a last resort and in line with the principles of necessity and proportionality. Police brutality against peaceful protestors shown on March 24 apparently breached such international protocol. SECOND, it has been proven that trade liberalization is the direct cause of the widening gap between the rich and the poor in Taiwan. Ma administration repeatedly claims that South Korean people welcomed and have benefited from the Korea-U.S. FTA (KORUS FTA). But our sisters and brothers from KWPA and KPL taught us otherwise: KORUS FTA does not simply lower or eliminate tariffs; it is also an unfair trade pact with toxic provisions. Free Trade Agreement is unfair trade, and joining CSSTA will only push 99% of Taiwanese further into the neoliberal international trade regime, which is a race to the bottom in prices, wages, and environmental degradation. We demand that Taiwan government to take immediately action to stop all free trade negotiations and agreements that are harmful to farmers, consumers, and the environment! For solidarity message please sent to: nikar2009(a)gmail.com your message will translate and inspire our struggle in Taiwan. Links: ------ [1] http://viacampesina.org/en/index.php/actions-and-events-mainmenu-26/stop-fr…

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April 17: Resistance Grows in Defense of Peasant Seeds
by La Vía Campesina 16 Apr '14

16 Apr '14

APRIL 17: RESISTANCE GROWS IN DEFENSE OF PEASANT SEEDS [1] PRESS RELEASE—LA VÍA CAMPESINA [2](Harare, April 16, 2014) This year millions of men and women farmers of the international peasant movement, La Vía Campesina, mobilize worldwide in favor of pasant seeds. Since April 17, 1996 (1) la Vía Campesina designated this day as a global day of action with allies and firends. With more than 100 actions at a local and global level (see map [3]) in all continents, la Via Campesina reasserts the importance of local struggles and at the same time underlines the need of a global resistance and organization between the cities and the rural areas. Actions such as land occupations, agroecological festivities, debates and seed exchanges will be carried out until the end of the month as part of these global days of action. La Vía Campesina denounces laws and interests that seek to prohibit the use, exchange and access to peasant seeds that we consider a heritage of the people at the service of humanity, as well as food sovereignty as part of a commitment to end hunger in the world. Historically, men and women farmers, and indigenous peoples have conserved and cared for seeds. La Vía Campesina says NO to all attempts to criminalize and make illegal our practices for caring for, producing and sharing seeds. To defend our seeds means to defend the rights of men and women farmers. Seeds in hands of peasant farmers guarantee a dignified and autonomous future in agriculture. In addition, on this 17 of April, la Vía Campesina will present its new documentary, "the Jakarta call". This 38 minute video shows the exchanges, debates and discussions carried out during la Vía Campesina's 6th international conference which took place in Indonesia in 2013. It shows the cultural diversity, values, solidarity and unity that come together in this political project in defense of a peasant food system in which seeds play a central role in the struggle for food sovereignty and in the construction of a more just society. For more information please visit: www.viacampesina.org [4] E-mail: viacampesina(a)viacampesina.org FOR INTERVIEWS PLEASE CONTACT: Guy Kastler (interviews in French) : + 33 6 03 94 57 21 Elizabeth Mopfu (interviews in English) + 263 772 443 716 Eberto Díaz (Interviews in Spanish) : + 57 31 03 01 75 34 Please also refer to our publication: Our Seeds, Our Future [5] and A Publication on April 17 and the struggle for seeds [6] (1) On April 17, 1996 in Brazil, military police forces assassinated 19 peasants in Eldorado dos Carajás (Pará). The farmers were members of the Movement of Rural Landless Workers (MST). On that day, 1500 men and women occupied and blocked the highway BR-150 in Eldorado dos Carajás with the goal of putting pressure on the state and federal government to carry out agrarian reform. Around 4PM 155 military police forces of the state surrounded the MST demonstrators, throwing tear gas and they fired guns at them. Therefore, in addition to the 19 massacred, three more died later and 69 were injured. State authorities, police, the army and landowners were responsible in the planning and execution of this massacre. Links: ------ [1] http://viacampesina.org/en/index.php/actions-and-events-mainmenu-26/17-apri… [2] http://viacampesina.org/en/images/stories/17april/INGLESscaled.jpg [3] http://www.viacampesina.org/map/17april/map.html [4] http://viacampesina.org/ [5] http://viacampesina.org/downloads/pdf/en/EN-notebook6.pdf [6] http://viacampesina.org/en/index.php/main-issues-mainmenu-27/biodiversity-a…

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Canada : A Seed Act for Farmers, Not Corporations
by La Vía Campesina 13 Apr '14

13 Apr '14

CANADA : A SEED ACT FOR FARMERS, NOT CORPORATIONS [1] Dear Friends, Canada's government is preparing to pass a new law, Bill C-18, the _Agricultural Growth Act_, that would put Canadian farmers under the UPOV '91 Plant Breeders' Rights regime. This new law would give global seed corporations vast new power to control seed - and to profit from it on the backs of farmers. The National Farmers Union is working hard to stop this from happening. You can more learn about this law and its inpacts in this article :NFU Proposes New Vision for Canadian Seed Ownership [2] You can help by SIGNING ON TO THE LETTER BELOW IN SOLIDARITY WITH THE FARMERS OF CANADA. To sign on, please send your organization's name, location and contact information to Stephanie Wang, NFU International Program Committee Coordinator at wang(a)nfu.ca SOLIDARITY LETTER We stand with Canadian farmers in opposing measures that threaten farmers' long-standing rights over seeds. Like family farmers around the world, Canadian farmers have a long tradition of selecting, saving and reusing their own seed as well as exchanging seeds with other farmers and buying from local seed growers. We believe that family farmers, not private institutions and corporations, can best conserve and enhance the genetic pool of plants, to feed people in an increasingly changing climate and environment while ensuring a resilient agriculture through cultivating seed diversity and adaptability. We denounce the amendment of Canada's Plant Breeders' Rights Act (PBR) to conform with the UPOV '91 Convention as proposed by the Growth Agricultural Act (Bill C-18) as it will result in a further privatization, uniformization and monopolization of seeds by PBR holder. While the latter benefit from the new right to collect royalties at various stages of the crop production, farmers will loose their historical right to seeds autonomy. Canada has no obligation under international trade agreements or treaties to conform with UPOV'91. We join our voice to the Canadian family farming movement and urge the Canadian government to respect and protect the rights of farmers and demand to: * STOP Bill C‐18 and REJECT UPOV'91. * Re‐establish and increase funding for public plant breeding institutions and public researchers and resume public plant breeding to the variety level. * Reorient Canada's agricultural laws towards the principles of Food Sovereignty - healthy food, ecological sustainability and democratic control. * Adopt a new Seed Law based on the NFU's Principles for a Farmers' Seed Act. SIGNATORIES Border Agricultural Workers Project, US Farmworkers Association of Florida, US Union paysanne, Quebec, Canada Links: ------ [1] http://www.viacampesina.org/en/index.php/main-issues-mainmenu-27/biodiversi… [2] http://www.viacampesina.org/en/index.php/main-issues-mainmenu-27/biodiversi…

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[La Vía Campesina] Coming soon on your screen on April 17 : A new Via Campesina documentary: "The Jakarta Call"
by La Vía Campesina 10 Apr '14

10 Apr '14

COMING SOON ON YOUR SCREEN ON APRIL 17 : A NEW VIA CAMPESINA DOCUMENTARY: "THE JAKARTA CALL" The International farmers' movement La Via Campesina is launching a new documentary on April 17 to celebrate the international day of peasant's struggle. "The Jakarta Call" is a 38 minutes film featuring the exchanges, debates and reflections of the movement's VIth International Conference that took place in Jakarta in June 2013. This new documentary highlights the cultural diversity and the values of solidarity and unity converging in this political project. It reflects the multitude of local struggles for the defence of a food system by and for the people. WATCH THE TEASER ON VIA CAMPESINA TV [1] SYNOPSIS: Vía Campesina, the international peasant movement that brings together over 200 millions members through 164 organizations in 73 countries, is celebrating in Jakarta, Indonesia, the first two decades of its struggles. For 10 days, women and men organize, discuss, share, debate, expound and propose… How to transform the world? Propositions from peasant organisations from all around the world burst forth: food sovereignty, agro-ecology, social and climate justice, solidarity, seeds, water, struggles by women, youth, indigenous and migrants, agrarian reform benefitting those who work the land… "People's mobilisation, confrontation with oppressors, active resistance, internationalism and local engagement are all necessary components for social change." Successfully listening to and understanding each other when coming from different realities, cultures and languages is already the first step towards changing the world. Over the past 20 years, Vía Campesina has become one the world's biggest social movement - a fertile ground to nurture struggles and solidarity. A documentary by La Via Campesina, ZinTV and AlbaTV. More information on the VI international conference of La Via Campesina : DOWNLOAD THE REPORT OF THE CONFERENCE. [2] Links: ------ [1] http://tv.viacampesina.org/Teaser-The-Jakarta-Call?lang=es [2] http://www.viacampesina.org/dl/click.php?id=56

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[La Vía Campesina] E-newsletter April 2014. Special issue Peasants'seeds in resistance
by La Vía Campesina 08 Apr '14

08 Apr '14

Peasant seed systems are the root of food sovereignty and sustainability "_Hunger is a social problem … to resolve … we must start by choosing peasant seeds as the basis for food sovereignty_." Paul Nicholson, a farmer from Basque Country. The majority of peasants and smallholder farmers subsist on peasant seed systems, and farm-saved seeds. These systems mostly in developing countries, despite being resilient, are facing new and renewed onslaught from the transnational agribusinesses working together with the so-called developed nations through bilateral agreements and multilaterally in the World Trade Organisation (WTO). In Africa, legislation is being drafted to pave way for increased use of industrial seeds, while the "second tidal wave of Green Revolution" sweeps over the continent driven by the winds of "addressing hunger through improved agricultural productivity". In Latin America, countries such as Argentina, Mexico, Colombia, Chile, Bolivia, Paraguay, Brazil etc, peasants and farmers' struggles against GMOs continue and major encouraging victories have been won. The seed laws being drafted globally are based on the UPOV91 Convention, a legal framework of property rights which includes "protection" of genetic material, certification and trade which excludes non-commercial seeds. The Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) which have been displacing millions of small-scale farmers are being used to open borders to industrial seeds. Moreover, some national governments have set up discriminatory agricultural support systems which exclude farmers who do not use certain industrial seeds to qualify for government credit and support programs. This is despite the evidence that the monoculture and industrial farming methods are not providing sufficient affordable food and cause mounting environmental damage. If we lose the fight, not only nature will suffer grave consequences but humanity! Below are summaries of selected articles and videos published between 2012 and 2014 to further provide compelling evidence of why we should be defending and struggling for the use and protection of traditional seeds, and continue to fight against transnational corporations (TNCs). SELECTED ARTICLES ON APRIL 17 WE DEFEND OUR SEEDS AND FIGHT AGAINST THE SEED INDUSTRY This year the 17th of April, international day of peasant struggles, is dedicated to the defense of seeds. This article explains why seeds are an essential basis for achieving food sovereignty because almost everything in agriculture depends on them: What we can plant and how it is grown; the quality and nutrition of our food, our ability to account for different tastes and cultural preferences; and also the wellbeing of our communities, our ecosystems and the planet. Moreover, it explains why this is not so much the defense of seeds in general but the _peasant seeds_ in particular, which remain in the hands of the peasant and family farmers of the world. Examples of how to defend and struggle for seeds among the organizations in the 73 countries that make up La Vía Campesina, are highlighted. READ MORE and Globalize struggle! Globalize hope! NO AGRO-BIODIVERSITY WITHOUT PEASANTS, SAY GRAIN The world is witnessing an explosion of popular initiatives and experiences to use, save and develop agro-biodiversity. At GRAIN we also see this happening. Seed saving projects, seed festivals, community seed initiatives and exchange networks are mushrooming everywhere. This is both extremely encouraging and dearly needed. We can't count on governments to help us with the tremendous task of keeping biodiversity alive. They tend to move in the opposite direction as they facilitate the corporate takeover of seed and animal breeding, and promote industrial farming. We can only save agro-biodiversity if we save peasant farming. Global farmer movements such as La Via Campesina are trying to do precisely that by advocating food sovereignty. Food sovereignty promotes the use of agro-ecology, biodiversity, local markets and indigenous knowledge. It pushes for agrarian reform, fights against the industrial food system and global trade and puts local food producers centre stage again. Unless we all join and win the battle against the industrial food system and for food sovereignty, local agro-biodiversity initiatives won't stand a chance of surviving. At most, they will become isolated pockets of interesting experiments in a world of uniformity, controlled by corporations. READ MORE … [1] SEED LAWS IN LATIN AMERICA: THE OFFENSIVE CONTINUES, SO DOES POPULAR RESISTANCE GRAIN reports that as the world's agribusiness corporations pursue their attempts to privatize and monopolize our seeds, and make traditional age-old practice of saving and breeding seeds a crime, popular resistance by peasants, farmers and social movements to such control has increased. This resistance has borne fruit in nearly every country in Latin America where campaigns and struggles for traditional seeds have been prevalent: * In Argentina, the draft of the Seeds Act being discussed in secret never emerged from the Ministry of Agriculture to be tabled in Parliament. * In Chile, societal mobilization helped secure a majority of senators to vote against the "Monsanto Bill." * In Colombia, peasant mobilization put a temporary stop to Resolution 9.70. * In Venezuela, there are firm commitments to keep the principles upheld by Hugo Chávez from being betrayed. * And in Mexico, societal campaigning prevented the Federal Plant Varieties Act from being revised for compliance with UPOV 91. READ MORE… [2] Karnataka farmer develops non-Bt cotton seed bank Jayashree Nandi of The Times of India, New Delhi published an article on a peasant farmer, Nagappa, who after three years of relentless efforts, managed to revive 13 varieties of indigenous cotton and 11 other varieties of non-Bt cotton on his farm. Nagappa, used to grow Bt cotton, a genetically modified variety developed by an American company, was finding it difficult to grow this variety as it did not allow mixed-cropping and in times low rainfall, the yields were low. This compelled him to search for native varieties from different states and through careful selection has developed new varieties. He is developing a seed bank of these indigenous varieties which are difficult to find even at research institutions. His efforts have been applauded by others and are seen as a step towards reviving biodiversity and liberating farmers from the monopoly of seed companies, and require government support. READ MORE [3]... NGOS PETITION AGAINST PLANT BREEDERS BILL IN GHANA Thirty seven international non-governmental organizations petitioned the Ghanaian Parliament over the Plant Breeders Bill, which is heavily tilted in favor of commercial breeders and undermines farmers' rights. The Bill does not allow farmers to sell and exchange seeds. Farmers' use of farm saved seed on its own holdings is limited to "personal use" and regulations by the Minister and may be subject to payment of royalties. These organizations which signed the petition are concerned with the conservation of agricultural biodiversity for livelihood security and food sovereignty, promoting farmers' rights and self-determination and citizen involvement in the decision-making process. READ MORE [4] On this article by Ghana News Agency FARMERS MOBILIZE IN BRUSSELS: “RECLAIMING PEASANTS' RIGHTS OVER OUR OWN SEEDS” PRESS RELEASE - EUROPEAN COORDINATION VIA CAMPESINA (Brussels, 20 January 2014) At the start of the year devoted to family farming by the UN to feed the world, peasants from all over Europe held a demonstration in front of the European Parliament on Monday January 20 2014. They called for reclaiming recognition of peasants' rights to select, preserve, use, exchange and sell our own seeds. They also declared that they seeds are essential if peasants are to feed the world, and could overcome the challenge of discontinuing the use of toxic pesticides, protection of the environment and the struggle of adapting to climate change. Only peasant family farming helps to cool the planet. GMOs must be banned. Co-existence alongside them is not a viable option. Intellectual property rights on living organisms, which allow industry to lay claim to all the world's seeds, must also be stopped. We call on the European institutions to enshrine these peasants' rights in all regulations. READ MORE … [5] THE GLOBAL STRUGGLE FOR PEASANTS SEEDS: A STRUGGLE FOR OUR FUTURE In November 2013, La Via Campesina' launched its publication _"Our Seeds, Our Future"_ capturing ten experiences of peasant seed selection, saving, improvement, and re-use. These experiences in recovering and reproducing knowledge to improve peasant agricultural food production mirror what obtains in Africa, Asia, Europe and the Americas. This marks a critical moment for the future of the planet's seed diversity. While industry pursues legal and institutional battles to further control and monopolize global seed supplies, the evidence is growing in support of diversified peasant seeds and agroecology as fundamental to producing healthy food while mitigating environmental and climate impacts. This publication is instructive and each experience proves that farmers are not only safeguarding traditional knowledge, but are also birth new knowledge and new techniques for improving seeds and sustainable agricultural methods. Farmers are thus originators, the scientists, who study problems and challenges obtaining in their localities and finding crucial solutions and answers to address them. They have done this over centuries, before the conception of capitalism, and will continue to do so, avoiding dependence on purchased industrial seeds and other agro-inputs. READ THE NEW PUBLICATION OUR SEEDS OUR FUTURE [6] Defending peasant seeds is fighting for our right to life LA VIA CAMPESIAN- AFRICAN DECLARATION ON PEASANT SEEDS La Via Campesina together with African men and women farmers issued a declaration on Peasant Seeds. The declaration was issued on the 13th of November 2013, in Harare where members of La Via Campesina had gathered to discuss and prepare strategies to defend African peasant seeds against the current corporate and institutional attacks. The attacks through reforming of seed laws by SADC, COMESA and ARIPO in line with UPOV91 convention which seeks to set the stage for privatization and monopolization of seeds in the continent. Moreover, these laws seek to do away with peasant seed systems, and criminalise any exchange of farm saved seeds. The declaration calls upon the policymakers to uphold the seed rights of peasant and small farmers to sow, conserve, sell and exchange seeds. It rejects, among other things, the green revolution technologies and calls for the ban of GMOs. CLICK HERE [7]to read the declaration and for more of the issues discussed in the meeting CLICK HERE [8]to read more THE INTERNATIONAL SEED TREATY: A RESOLUTION IN SUPPORT OF FARMERS' RIGHTS PRESS RELEASE OF LA VIA CAMPESINA Last year (2013) on the 28th of September, the Governing Body of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, also known as the seed treaty, adopted a resolution calling on states to implement and support Farmers' Rights, i.e. the rights of peasants and farmers over their own seeds. This followed the concerted pressure of regional groups from Latin America and the Caribbean, and Africa and the Middle East, along with many Asian and European countries, and in spite of opposition from a handful of industrialized nations. The resolution acknowledges the important role played by farmers in the conservation and development of seeds, and welcomes the participation of farmers' organizations and civil society in its work. The Governing Body also notes that patents and plant variety protection (PVP) can "interact" with Farmers' Rights, implicitly acknowledging that they are currently opposed to them in many countries. La Via Campesina welcomed this development and will be vigilant that this new resolution will be upheld. READ MORE ON THE TREATY [9] and for the press release of La Via Campesina issued before this crucial resolution CLICK HERE [10] The European Commission organizes the pollution of our fields by industrial patented seeds PRESS RELEASE OF THE EUROPEAN COORDINATION VIA CAMPESINA (ECVC) (Brussels, Tuesday, May 7) The European Commission adopted a proposal on Seed Regulations in early May. The proposal represented an assault on farmers' and gardeners' rights, as it opened wide the door to unrestricted commercialization of patented plants, extolling patents and property rights of the agribusiness industry and reinforced the bureaucratic control over such issues. This goes against the reasons put forward by the Commission to reform the existing legislation, namely a need for administrative simplification and protection of biodiversity. The European Coordination Via Campesina called on the European Parliament and the European Council to amend this proposal, and to endorse the right of farmers to produce and exchange their seeds as opposed to endorsing patented seeds and ownership of living organisms by industry. READ MORE ON THIS PRESS RELEASE [11] GMOS IN MEXICO: A CRIME AGAINST PEASANT AND INDIGENOUS MAIZE; A CRIME AGAINST HUMANITY LA VIA CAMPESINA- PRESS RELEASE In Mexico City, November 20, 2012, the multinationals Monsanto, DuPont and Dow are expecting a positive response from the Mexican Government to sow 2.4 million hectares of GM maize in Mexico, a surface area equivalent to that of El Salvador. The situation is extremely alarming since Mexico is the world's centre of maize diversity, with thousands of varieties (each one the product of different climates, soils, ecosystems and cultures) in the fields of peasant and indigenous communities. Maize is currently one of the world's three main food staples, so the contamination of Mexican maize by dangerous GMOs is a threat to the entire planet. These hybrid varieties are dependent on pesticides and other inputs, which peasants must purchase. For years, the Mexican Government has been jeopardizing the Mexicans' food sovereignty by opening agriculture to free trade, flooding us with cheap, low quality maize and leaving thousands of peasants in poverty. Now they want to poison us with GM maize. La Via Campesina organizations united with Mexican civil society and men and women peasants to oppose Monsanto's demands and it called upon its members to organize a major actions and campaigns including filing complaints at Monsanto, DuPont and Dow and with the governments that support them; filing complaints with bodies such as the FAO and the United Nations Convention on Biodiversity (CBD); pressuring Mexican embassies throughout the world; organizing demonstrations and other actions; disseminating the information through all possible media. The people and peasant communities of Mexico resist the multinationals. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE. [12] The National Union of Autonomous Regional Peasant Organizations (UNORCA) published a Maize Manifesto in which they appealed to the Mexican against issuing of commercial permits to grow GMO maize. CLICK HERE TO READ THE MAIZE MANIFESTO [13] VIDEOS Last January 20, in Brussels, peasants from all over Europe, members of the European Coordination Via Campesina (ECVC) protested outside the European Parliament to demand recognition of their rights to select, retain, use, exchange and sell their seeds. Plant local seeds, Harvest global future [14] is the video of the mobilization Interview with José-Manuel Benitez [15] : this interview was realized on January 20, 2014, during the mobilization of the farmers of the European Coordination Via Campesina in front of the European Parliament. Resistant seeds [16]: A trip between Europe and Africa through agro-ecological practices of resistance, in disobedience to the laws that through patent rights prohibit storage, exchange and reuse of traditional seeds. This video was produced by Crovecia The film entitled "10 Years of Failure, Farmers Deceived by GM corn" [17] shows the dire situation of corn farmers in the Philippines who have adopted GM corn. Argentina : the bad seeds. [18] On the consequences on public health of the soy production in Argentina. The World According to Monsanto [19]is a 2008 documentary film directed by Marie-Monique Robin. Originally released in French as Le monde selon Monsanto, the film is based on Robin's three-year long investigation into the US agricultural giant Monsanto corporation's practices around the world. Of Peoples, seeds, Indigeneous breeds, forests and fields [20] : Journeys of adivasis, dalits, pastoralists, small and marginal farmers across 11 districts in Andhra Pradesh, India, towards Food Sovereignty and Manchi Jeevitham as a way of life. Links: ------ [1] http://www.grain.org/article/entries/4911-no-agrobiodiversity-without-peasa… [2] http://www.grain.org/article/entries/4808-seed-laws-in-latin-america-the-of… [3] http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Karnataka-farmer-develops-non-Bt-c… [4] http://www.spyghana.com/ngos-petition-plant-breeders-bill/ [5] http://viacampesina.org/en/index.php/main-issues-mainmenu-27/biodiversity-a… [6] http://viacampesina.org/downloads/pdf/en/EN-notebook6.pdf [7] http://viacampesina.org/en/index.php/main-issues-mainmenu-27/biodiversity-a… [8] http://viacampesina.org/en/index.php/main-issues-mainmenu-27/biodiversity-a… [9] http://viacampesina.org/en/index.php/main-issues-mainmenu-27/biodiversity-a… [10] http://viacampesina.org/en/index.php/main-issues-mainmenu-27/biodiversity-a… [11] http://viacampesina.org/en/index.php/main-issues-mainmenu-27/biodiversity-a… [12] http://viacampesina.org/en/index.php/main-issues-mainmenu-27/biodiversity-a… [13] http://viacampesina.org/en/index.php/main-issues-mainmenu-27/biodiversity-a… [14] http://tv.viacampesina.org/Plant-local-seeds-harvest-global?lang=en [15] http://tv.viacampesina.org/Peasants-seeds-interview-with-Jose?lang=en [16] http://tv.viacampesina.org/Resistant-seeds?lang=en [17] http://tv.viacampesina.org/10-Years-of-Failure-Farmers?lang=en [18] http://tv.viacampesina.org/Argentina-the-bad-seeds?lang=en [19] http://tv.viacampesina.org/The-World-According-to-Monsanto?lang=en [20] http://tv.viacampesina.org/Of-peoples-seeds-indigenous-breeds?lang=en

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