Brussels, 15/10/08: On the occasion of the World Rural Women's Day, World Food Day and International Day of Poverty Eradication, SAAPE - in collaboration with its European partners Eurostep and Hivos, jointly organised a hearing in the European Parliament urging the EU to adequately respond to the food crisis by making use of the € 1 billion food facility in a way that specifically focuses on the vulnerable and marginalised small-scale farmers in the developing world. The hearing was hosted and chaired by Gay Mitchell MEP and Thijs Berman MEP.

Peasant representatives from Nepal, India and South Africa strongly criticised the current aid and trade policies of the EU that detrimentally undermine sustainable models of eco-agriculture being successfully practised by a majority of small-scale farmers in the developing world. They urged the EU to provide the political leadership in international development cooperation by redefining and kick-starting a genuine pro-poor development paradigm that is based on justice and not on mere charity. The food facility indeed provides the opportunity for making an historic start to give due recognition to people's voice and people's agenda as opposed to the existing top-down prescribed solutions that have only failed in eradicating global poverty and promoting sustainable development was the passionate call made by the peasant representatives.

• Click here for the programme.
• Click here for the SAAPE-Eurostep Press Release "Farmers' representatives from developing countries at the gates of the EU".
• Click here for the EP press release "A billion euro for the food crisis? Decision to be taken in budget conciliation".
• Click here for the EP press release "2008 budget: decision on €1 billion food aid for developing countries postponed".
• Click here to read the press release on the adoption of the Food facility report by the European Parliament's Development committee.
• Click here for the powerpoint presentation "Responses on the World Food Crisis" by SAAPE, India.
• Click here for the document "Genuine Agrarian Reform is imperative for promotion of Food Sovereignty" by SAAPE, India.
• Click here for the document "Sustaining Small Holder Agriculture: a case of Community Managed Sustainable Agriculture from India" by SAAPE, India.
• Click here for the document "Constitutionalisation of food sovereignty" by SAAPE, Nepal.
• Click here for the "Dhaka Declaration on Food Sovereignty and Sustainable Agriculture", by SAAPE.
• Click here to visit our Photo Library with pictures of the roundtable.