Tomorrow eve - Walthamstow - Feedback from La Via Campesina conference

[Adam Payne]

We are Everywhere: Social Movements for Food Sovereignty
If anyone is in London on Friday and fancies some talk and some food?
Join us for reports back from the 6th 
international conference of La Via Campesina and 
discussions around the growing movement for food 
sovereignty. Adam, a member of Organiclea 
workers’ co-operative attended the conference as 
a representative of the new UK member, the 
Landworkers’ Alliance. Come along to hear all about it.

La Via Campesina is an international union of 
peasants and small farmers representing 188 
member organisations in 88 counties. The total 
membership is in excess of 200 million and 
growing constantly as new organisations join. The 
international conferences are held every 4 years 
and represent the highest forum for decision 
making within the organisation, and an 
opportunity for the member organisations to 
strategise and share ideas. The Landworkers’ 
Alliance is a newly formed organisation of small 
scale producers in the UK which is a member of La Via Campesina.

Check out their websites for more information: 
<http://www.viacampesina.org/en/>www.viacampesina.org/en/ 
and <http://www.landworkersalliance.org.uk/>www.landworkersalliance.org.uk

Friday 19 July from 7pm at the Hornbeam Centre, 
458 Hoe Street, Walthamstow, E17 9AH. Free entry, food by donation



The Land Workers' Alliance
CAP reform

Common Agricultural Policy reform involves 
joining with our European partners in lobbying 
effort in Brussels. 47% of the EU budget is spent 
on the direct payment system, which largely 
supports large industrial farms and landowners. 
The European Coordination on Via Campesina urges 
the EU to change the payment system so that it 
places a cap on payments and only gives them to 
active farmers. Funds would then be redirected to 
support stronger greening measures and more 
support for sustainable food production and employment on small farms.

The Landworkers Alliance is campaigning for CAP 
reform to support small scale active producers. 
We will also campaign for the EU to allow for 
stronger market regulation so that governments 
can protect farmers and allow them to receive a fair price for their produce.

European Co-ordination of La Via Campesina press 
release on CAP reform agreement reached at the end of June:
PRESS RELEASE    Brussels, June 27th, 2013

CAP reform:
Some improvements in an outdated framework that destroys farmers: the
struggle continues for farmers in Europe!

With unemployment expanding in Europe, with increasing climate change and
food security concerns, with an agricultural population falling because of
lack of income and perspectives, and a deep confidence crisis of citizens
regarding in Europe, we could hope the CAP reform be a strong answer which
can cope with the challenges of today and tomorrow.

There are certainly some positives points- often facultative for the
Member States-, such as coupled direct payments - including protein
plants, the possibility of increased direct payments on the first
hectares, many open measures for rural development. The difference of
support level between old and new Member States will be reduced - but the
difference of support level between farms inside a Member State will
remain too high.

We welcome these few improvements compared to the current CAP, as they
were hotly contested by the lobbies of the agro-industrial system, which
have weight so that nothing changes in the indecent unfair distribution of
support in agriculture.

The European Coordination Via campesina denounces the abandonment of any
form of regulation of milk production, which will accelerate the
disappearance of many farms.

With nearly 60 billion euro annually, Europe yet has the capacity to
provide quality food for 500 million citizens, preserve land, rivers and
to provide income to farmers.

But the European institutions have chosen to remain in the neoliberal
logic in agriculture launched with the 1994 WTO agreement: agricultural
products traded on internal or international market at dumped prices
-below the costs of production, and deregulated markets, delivered to
volatility and speculation. Most of the "agricultural policy" then is to
distribute subsidies to maintain production, supplying the downstream
sector cheap. That is a hopeless framework for millions of farmers who
will continue to leave the business.

This is a new missed opportunity for Europe to recover credibility through
its policy for food, a vital aspect of our life. It is now in every Member
State where action will be focused, not only for the implementation of
policies, but also daily on farms. The European farmers of La Via
Campesina, a strong movement that grows every day, develop more autonomous
and sustainable systems, create shorter local circuits to feed and
mobilize a growing number of citizens and to influence more the
fundamental and necessary political reforms to come.

Contacts :
Geneviève Savigny (FR,EN) + 33 625551687, Jose Miguel Pacheco (PT,ES) +351
918736441 
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