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 On the occasion of the World Food Day and International Day of Poverty Eradication, SAAPE in collaboration with its European partners Eurostep, Hivos and the Europe External Policy Advisors (EEPA) 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 focuses on the vulnerable and marginalised small-scale farmers in the developing world.
The event brought together officials from the European Commission, EU parliamentarians, representatives from the EU member states, the European civil society and the World Bank on a common platform to critically debate solutions to the ongoing food crisis. It was jointly hosted by MEPs Thijs Berman and Gay Mitchell who are supporting the €1 billion EU food facility. "We are concerned that the food facility will be used in a way that supports multinational agribusinesses in making inroads in the region because the ongoing intensive external inputs driven industrialisation of agriculture has significantly contributed to the current crisis and has devastating economic, environmental and health repercussions" said the delegation of representatives from Nepal, India and South Africa. The delegation strongly criticised the current aid and trade policies of the EU that undermine sustainable models of eco-agriculture being successfully practised by a majority of small-scale farmers in the developing world. There is ample empirical evidence on the ground that sustainable eco-farming traditions put farmers in a sovereign position, enabling them to produce a livelihood for themselves and their families as well as ensuring world's food security by using local seeds, organic fertilizers and pesticides and traditional multi-cropping growing patterns. The hearing concluded on an optimistic note, urging 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 charity. The food facility indeed provides the opportunity of 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 failed in eradicating global poverty and promoting sustainable development. Source:
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