DECLARATION OF THE FARMERS’ FORUM FOR ORGANIC AND ECOLOGICAL AGRICULTURE
At the 3rd African Organic Conference, 2015, October 5- 7, 2015, Lagos, Nigeria
We are delegates mandated by organizations of small-scale farmers, including peasants, local communities, family farmers, pastoralists, fish breeders, animal breeders and bee keepers. We represent part of the millions of farming families producing over 70% of the food consumed by humanity. As investors in agriculture we are very proud to do it in the most sustainable way including economic, social and environmental dimensions of development.
During the farmers’ forum we discussed, discovered and agreed upon the following points:
a. Our peasant communities benefit from an incredible diversity of production adapted to our distinct agricultural and food production systems.
b. We are innovative when it comes to food and fibre production in hostile conditions
c. We are resilient despite climate crisis we are able to produce food and preserve seed for next season
d. Organic farmers are efficient in the use of space and water: in a small piece of land we can maintain fertility, produce various crops at once and ensure food security and food sovereignty
e. Diversity of our seed and products can ensure healthy and nutritious food for people including specific diets for special needs
f. Organic farmers, especially women, are professionals in the production, sustainability, conservation and multiplication of seed.
g. We develop and organise dynamic and self-managed networks firmly anchored to our rural and urban bases.
h. We organize regional and intercontinental links to exchange our knowledge, agricultural practices and rich biodiversity in an independent manner.
Despite our inherent rich knowledge and potential, we note with regret the following points:
a. That there is a lack of support for the work we have been doing for centuries and that continuously improves our livelihoods.
b. That there is a lack of support for the promotion and expansion of our knowledge and practices
c. That the initiatives of peasant communities are not being upheld, despite their leading to real food security and food sovereignty
d. That peasant seeds are being criminalised by current seed laws promoting the interests of certain seed companies.
e. That so-called improved seeds are being promoted despite the knowledge that they are often poorly adapted to local conditions and lead to seed dependency.
f. That Agro industrial systems with intensive use of agrochemicals result in negative impacts on soils and biodiversity, in poor human nutrition and increased public health costs
g) That farmers are indebted to the agro industrial system in which they are tied financially
Due to our awareness of all the richness, knowledge and practices and the sustainability of organic and ecological farmers practices, we, the participants of the 3rd AOC, recommend and call on the public institutions of Africa, and the whole world to :
v recognize organic and ecological agriculture as only solution for sustainable livelihood and to give it proper support
v Support self-organized organic farmers structure including domestic marketing
v Define better policies enabling conservation of organic seed and biodiversity
v Define and promote policy that supports local and ecological food enterprises
v Improve support for organic and ecological farmers both for agricultural inputs and for access to resources
v Define and promote policy and educational programs to ensure that youth undertakes sustainable agricultural and environmental knowledge.
v Make it clear that cohabitation between conventional and ecological organic agriculture is not a policy option, because the former makes the latter practically impossible
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