A Mulitstakeholder Dialogue session during the World Food Summit: five years later

During the World Food Summit: five years later, a Multistakeholder Dialogue session brought together civil society organizations, governments and international organizations on 12 June 2002. It was attended by 266 participants, 173 representing organizations of peasants, fisherfolk, farmers, women, indigenous peoples, youth, and agricultural workers, with representatives from over 50 governments and 40 international organizations.

The Dialogue opened with presentations by NGO/CSO spokespersons, each representing a Regional grouping of FAO, followed by a general discussion. Many NGOs/CSOs expressed concern that the Declaration of the WFS:fyl did not adequately address the problems that had prevented achievement of the goals agreed upon five years ago. Globalization and trade liberalization policies and processes were identified as the main causes of increased impoverishment and loss of control of the development process by the more marginal social groups. They asserted that globalization worsened conditions for farmers and workers, lead to a reduction in family farms and increased pollution and food safety hazards while failing to increase food security. Other root causes of food insecurity were identified as the lack of access to land and productive resources. Also conflicts and wars, many times promoted or carried out by developed countries, contributed to food insecurity, hence food should not be used as a political weapon.

There was broad consensus on the need to assure and protect a rights based approach to food security, which would foster the empowerment of peoples and their communities: the right to food and food production, access to productive resources and means of production, food choices, seed security in addition to food security, fair trade and access to local markets, and the right to participate in the determination of international, national and local food and agriculture policies and programmes. There was a also call for a code of conduct on the right to food, as well as proactive programmes to empower small farmers, peasants and fisherfolk.

Biotechnological Developments and GMO production were viewed as mostly promoted by transnational corporations without adequate studies on the health and environmental risks involved. Such technologies were polluting the environment, threatening biodiversity, contaminating local genetic resources, and undermining the development of organic agriculture and other environmentally friendly practices. Hence, patenting of life forms was regarded as unacceptable. NGOs/CSOs proposed to adhere to the precautionary principle, develop a code of conduct and establish and effectively implement a moratorium on GMOs. They also requested FAO and Governments to develop a consumer information system on GMOs and other products, including appropriate labelling and consumer protection in keeping with the principle of prior informed consent.

With respect to the conditions of work and national markets, it was proposed to promote fair trade, the development of and access to local markets, establish effective forms to control dumping on the part of developed countries and transfer the responsibilities for food and agricultural trade matters from WTO to FAO.

Whereas several Governments were represented, only a few took active part in the dialogue. There was consensus on the need to give renewed emphasis to agriculture and rural development in policy formulation and implementation and substantially increasing the funding. In this regard, several governments reaffirmed the importance of the Doha Development Agenda. Great importance was attached to the participation of civil society in decision making and in humanitarian work. Some governments expressed concerns on the impacts of GMOs on food systems. A few were in favour of a moratorium and/or in implementing other regulatory mechanisms. Others defended the use of new biotechnological discoveries, including GMOs, in agricultural production as a means to increase food production and reduce poverty. There was a call for FAO to complement its technical work by further enhancing its role in fostering and facilitating dialogue among all stakeholders and for donors to coordinate more effectively their support for agricultural and rural development.