Press release – La Via Campesina

(Rome, 18 October 2012) La Via Campesina welcomes the adoption on October 17, 2012, of the first version of the Global Strategic Framework for Food Security and Nutrition (GSF) of the Committee on World Food Security (CFS). The international farmers movement has participated intensively in its elaboration together with other organisations of the Civil Society Mechanism.

It is an important achievement of the Committee on World Food Security (CFS). The GSF, as the overarching framework, will be the primary global reference for coordination and coherence in decision making on food and agricultural issues.

 The GSF constitutes a step forward in promoting a new model of governance on food, agriculture, and nutrition. This document is built upon the human rights approach, women’s rights and the recognition of the central role of smallholder farmers, agricultural food workers, artisanal fisher folks, pastoralists, Indigenous Peoples, landless people, women and youth to food and nutrition security.

“Food and agriculture will begin to contain, from now onwards, the right to food and not the trade rules as reference point” highlighted Kalissa Regier, a canadian farmers in the Via Campesina delegation. “Today we can say that the historical fight of Via Campesina to avoid that food be compared to a simple commodity has won a step forward” underlined Yudhvir Singh member of the international coordinating committee of the farmer’s movement.

The GSF recognizes that formal employment of rural workers and assurance of a minimum living wages are key for food security and nutrition. It also refers to the International Assessment of Agricultural Knowledge, Science and Technology for Development (IAASTD) report, recognizes the potential of the agroecological approach, and provides important guidance on nutrition based on the Right to Food Guidelines. It also reaffirms the strong commitment of States to the implementation of the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Lands, Fisheries and Forests, including through agrarian reform.

The GSF negotiations reached an important consensus on human rights based monitoring and accountability, which implies that States, intergovernmental institutions and the private sector are held accountable for their actions and omissions regarding their obligations under international human rights law.

However, several issues that are important to La Via Campesina are still not addressed in the current version of the GSF, in particular Food Sovereignty. The international farmers movement affirms its commitment to ensure that in the new paradigm, food security policy will be based on food sovereignty and expects countries and all actors to fully support the implementation on the GFS at all levels.

Press contacts : 

Andrea Ferrante : Tel +393480189221

Marzia Rezzin : Tel + 393342245183

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Data for Food Security and Nutrition: CSIPM Vision Statement La Via Campesina meets FAO’s Director-General, emphasizes direct participation of peasants in policy-making CFS Policy recommendations on Youth in Agriculture falls short: CSIPM La Via Campesina calls on States to exit the WTO and to create a new framework based on food sovereignty