PARTNERS FOR FOOD SECURITY The Role of Trade Unions, Rural Workers' Organizations, Agricultural Producers' and Farmers' Associations, Cooperatives, and Development/Advocacy Organizations in Contributing to the World Food Summit and its Follow-up Editor: Marilee Karl Papers contributed by: - The International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) - The International Union of Food, Agriculture, Hotels, Restaurant, Tobacco and Allied Workers Associations (IUF) - The World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU) - The Trade Unions International of Food, Tobacco, Hotel and Allied Workers (UIS) - World Federation of Agricultural and Food Workers (WFAFW) - Federation Latinoamericana de Trabajadores Campesinos y de la Alimentation (FELTACA) - The General Agricultural Workers Union (GAWU) of Ghana - Confederation National Agraria, Peru - The International Federation of Agricultural Producers (IFAP) - The Via Campesina - The International Cooperative Alliance - Socio-Economic Development Organization of Cambodia (SEDOC) - Project Development Institute (PDI), Philippines - Asociacion de Investigation y Estudios Sociales (ASIES), Guatemala September 1996 The views expressed in this paper reflect the position of the organizations which have contributed to it and do not represent the official position ofFAO PARTNERS FOR FOOD SECURITY-I PREFACE The international trade unions, rural workers', agricultural producers' and farmers' organizations and cooperatives which met together at the 13th FAO/ITU Consultation in December 1995, expressed a shared concern to make a substantive contribution to the preparatory and follow-up processes of the World Food Summit. In response to the growing impetus within nations and the international community to foster effective partnerships between governments and all sectors of civil society to achieve food security for all, these organizations undertook to prepare a joint document that would bring their views on and experiences in promoting food security to the World Food Summit process and would help identify potential ways in which they could contribute to the implementation of the World Food Summit Plan of Action. This document is based on the individual papers submitted by the 14 contributing organizations. The Rural Develoment Division of FAO facilitated its preparation through the funding of a consultant, Marilee Karl, who edited the collection and prepared an "Overview" synthesizing the main issues raised in the papers. The views expressed in the document thus reflect entirely the mandates and positions of the 14 organizations which contributed papers to this collection. PARTNERS FOR FOOD SECURITY-II TABLE OF CONTENTS PARTI - OVERVIEW 1.INTRODUCTION 2. TRADE UNIONS, RURAL WORKERS' ORGANIZATIONS, AGRICULTURAL PRODUCERS' AND FARMERS' ASSOCIATIONS, COOPERATIVES, AND DEVELOPMENT/ADVOCACY ORGANIZATIONS: WHAT ARE THEY? 3. THEIR MANDATES, STRATEGIES AND EXPERIENCES IN PROMOTING FOOD SECURITY 4. THEIR POSITIONS AND VIEWS ON KEY ISSUES ADDRESSED BY THE WORLD FOOD SUMMIT AND PLAN OF ACTION 5. POSSIBLE AREAS OF COOPERATION IN IMPLEMENTING THE WORLD FOOD SUMMIT PLAN OF ACTION PARTII - PAPERS CONTRIBUTED BY: A. TRADE UNIONS AND RURAL WORKERS' ORGANIZATIONS 1. The International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU).. 2. The International Union of Food, Agriculture, Hotels, Restaurant, Tobacco and Allied Workers Associations (IUF) 3. The World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU) 4. The Trade Unions International of Food, Tobacco, Hotel and Allied Workers (UIS) 5. World Federation of Agricultural and Food Workers (WFAFW) 6. Federation Latinoamericana de Trabajadores Campesinos y de la Alimentation (FELTACA) 7. The General Agricultural Workers Union (GAWU) of Ghana 8. Confederation Nacional Agraria, Peru PARTNERS FOR FOOD SECURITY-III B. AGRICULTURAL PRODUCERS' AND FARMERS' ASSOCIATIONS 1.The International Federation of Agricultural Producers (IFAP) 2.The Via Campesina C. COOPERATIVES 1. The International Cooperative Alliance D. RURAL DEVELOPMENT/ADVOCACY ORGANIZATIONS 2. Socio-Economic Development Organization of Cambodia (SEDOC) 3. Project Development Institute (PDI), Philippines 4. Asociacion de Investigation y Estudios Sociales (ASIES), Guatemala PARTNERS FOR FOOD SECURITY-IV PARTI – OVERVIEW By Marilee Karl 1. INTRODUCTION 2. TRADE UNIONS, RURAL WORKERS' ORGANIZATIONS, AGRICULTURAL PRODUCERS' AND FARMERS' ASSOCIATIONS, COOPERATIVES, AND DEVELOPMENT/ADVOCACY ORGANIZATIONS: WHAT ARE THEY? 3. THEIR MANDATES, STRATEGIES AND EXPERIENCES IN PROMOTING FOOD SECURITY 4. THEIR POSITIONS AND VIEWS ON KEY ISSUES ADDRESSED BY THE WORLD FOOD SUMMIT AND PLAN OF ACTION 5. POSSIBLE AREAS OF COOPERATION IN IMPLEMENTING THE WORLD FOOD SUMMIT PLAN OF ACTION PARTNERS FOR FOOD SECURITY- 1 1. INTRODUCTION "If the World Food Summit serves to renew human solidarity, to increase political commitment, and to bring to a critical mass the numbers of individuals who actively care about finding solutions to the food security problem, then I believe that, together, we will find them." Mr. Jacques Diouf Director-General, FAO "With a view to participating in the dialogue at the national, regional and global levels that has been launched on food security in preparation for the World Food Summit, international trade unions, rural workers' organizations and agricultural producers' associations were encouraged to provide information to their constituencies, to contribute feedback to the Plan of Action and technical papers which were prepared for the Summit, and to identify areas for cooperation in the implementation of the Plan of Action." 13th Consultation between International Trade Unions and FAO Rome, 11-13 December 1995 The World Food Summit (WFS) was convened by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations in Rome in November 1996 with the aim of renewing the commitment of world leaders at the highest levels to the eradication of hunger and malnutrition and the achievement of food security for all, through the adoption of concerted policies and actions at the global, regional, national and local levels. A Policy Statement and Plan of Action for this purpose have been drawn up for the Summit. From the start, FAO called for the broad participation of civil society in preparing for the Summit, in debating the issues of food security, in contributing to the Policy Statement and Plan of Action, and in implementing the recommendations for concerted action between governments, international organizations and all concerned sectors of civil society to achieve the goal of food security for all. PARTNERS FOR FOOD SECURITY- 2 The World Food Summit objectives will be achieved only if there is both the commitment and political will of governments to eradicate poverty and food insecurity and the active involvement of civil society in taking the action necessary to do so. Among the sectors of civil society which are most involved in and concerned with achieving food security are the people who produce and process the food for their families, communities, countries and for the rest of the world's population. These are the rural men and women who are small, medium and large-scale farmers, tenant farmers and sharecroppers, landless peasants, agricultural labourers, subsistence food producers, plantation workers, seasonal and migrant workers, wage earners in agro- industries, fisherfolk, and foresters. Paradoxically, these rural people who produce the food also make up the majority of the world's poor (ILO 1990) who are amongst the most vulnerable to food insecurity. The World Food Summit can provide a vehicle to help them to improve both their own situations and their part in providing food security for the world. For this to be realized, however, the voices of these rural people must be heard at the World Food Summit. They must be actively involved in identifying the root causes of food insecurity and in finding the solutions to these problems. They must be among the first to be involved in carrying out the actions necessary to eradicate the food insecurity of the world. The voices of the rural population can be brought to the Summit and their participation can be mobilized in the implementation of the WFS Plan of Action through their representative organizations. These include trade unions, rural workers' organizations, agricultural producers' and farmers' associations, and cooperatives. These organizations represent hundreds of millions of men and women rural workers, farmers of all kinds, fisherfolk, foresters, and indigenous peoples worldwide. They also work at local, national, regional and international levels and thus are in a position to bridge the communication gap between the grassroots and the highest policy-making levels. In addition, many Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) also play key advocacy roles in support of rural people, in helping them organize themselves for their empowerment, and in making their voices heard. For these reasons, the international trade unions and the international federations o' agricultural producers and cooperatives, meeting in Rome in December 1995, at the 13th FAO/lnternational Trade Union Consultation recommended "participating in the dialogue at the national, regional and global levels that has been launched on fooc security in preparation for the World Food Summit" and to "provide information to thei constituencies, to contribute feedback to the Plan of Action and technical papers whicl were prepared for the Summit, and to identify areas for cooperation in the Plan o Action." (FAO 1996)