6.30, des grognements, des sandales qui crissent dans la poussière, on tousse, on s’ébroue.
Une dame à moitié habillée se peigne longuement. Les beaux cheveux noirs se torsadent sous ses doitgts rugueux. L’élégance bolivienne est matinale. Bienvenue beauté.
Chacun à son rythme émerge de la nuit partagée.
Le déjeuner est servi à l’école industrielle de Matola.
Le café, c’est du Nestlé, et les végétaliens ne mangeront que du pain.
Les premiers bus stationnent devant l’entrée.

On s’assied au hasard, se sourit, on connaît déjà le paysage par cœur.
Les rues sableuses, avec leurs hauts trottoirs de béton. Les enfants à moitié nus ou habillés pour l’école qui dévalent en grappes. Leurs maisons sont faites de palissades de roseaux et leurs mères balaient consciencieusement le carré de sable qui est leur jardin. Ce n’est pas très ordonné, mais c’est propre, et on sent la fraîcheur du vent.
Plus loin, les maisons sont en béton. Celles qui s’agglutinent au long de la route.
Nous croisons la nationale qui mène à Maputo. On roule à gauche, au Mozambique.
Entre les deux bandes de circulation, un arbre, un homme couché et 12 oiseaux dans une grande cage. Si ce n’étaient les voitures ce serait un poème.

L’école du parti FRELIMO est un énorme bloc de 5 étages conçu pour jouer avec le vent. Un mur l’entoure, que nous franchissons par une porte gardée. Le stratège, c’est d’arriver encore assez tôt que pour reprendre un café au restaurant. Que l’on boit alors de préférence en haut des marches d’escalier par où transitent tous nos compañeros. Ainsi, on dit « bonjour » à Bangna, qui est du Niger. Son indécollable sourire et son ample chemise lui donnent un air nomade. Lorsque Javier grimpe les marches 4 à 4, il accroche à peine un « Buenos dias ». Cet homme là est en avance sur son temps ! Arkom arrive enfin, et c’est un « Good morning » spontané qui l’accueille. Il nous offre des cadeaux thai. Nous sommes bien gênés de n’avoir rien apporté. On sourit, c’est international !

Le mouvement de foule se fait perceptible. Quelqu’un crie « la mistica commence ».
Dans la grande salle aux draps blancs, on a repoussé toutes les chaises. Au centre, des femmes, des hommes et de la musique prennent possession de l’espace. Les gestes amples, on mime des scènes des champs, des scènes de violence, ce sont les multinationales qui nous attaquent. Tout le monde meurt sous les coups et les produits toxiques. Mais la terre vit encore. D’autres paysans, généreux, viennent nous ausculter, nous redresser. Et nous dansons tous ensemble la ronde de l’espoir.
Chacun peut alors reprendre sa place, auprès de ses compagnons de région. On ne voit, du fond, qu’une marée de casquettes et de slogans ‘soberania, ya’. Chacun sort sa petite radio, l’espagnol c’est déjà quelle fréquence ? – je sais pas, hier c’était 103.4.
Les modérateurs du jour ouvrent les palabres. Nous écouterons les témoignages de paysans africains, de leaders brésiliens, de manifestants en asie. Au-delà des mots et des origines, c’est la voix du même peuple qui s’exprime. Nous essayons de comprendre les rouages de la crise financière, comment en sommes nous arrivé là. Monsanto, Syngenta, qui volent les terres des paysans, confisquent leurs vies et leurs semences. Une poignée de pays ont pourtant inscrit la souveraineté alimentaire à la convention nationale. Si nous sommes 600 réunis sous ces draps blancs, et si nous luttons dans la même direction, quelle force ! On comprend pourquoi les visas des représentants de Via Campesina sont refusés lors des réunions de l’OMC !
Nous scandons des slogans. Les voix portent les chants, et le vent amène l’odeur du dehors. Pause. Il faut manger, il faut boire, il faut se rencontrer.

Joyeux déferlement de personnes vers le parc, lieu de toutes les amitiés. Certains commentent longuement telle ou telle graine exposée sur la table de l’échange des semences. « Qu’est-ce-que c’est ? Des haricots? » Devant la mosaïque des drapeaux, les fumeurs font leur nid.

Lorsqu’on veut manger, à Maputo, il faut prendre un ticket que vous donne une personne à droite, et que l’on doit rendre à la personne de gauche. L’efficacité maximale !
On mange du riz, de la viande, des haricots verts et un fruit, invariablement. Et c’est très bien comme ca. Le temps de midi est surtout l’occasion de faire des réunions. Sous l’amandier, on bavarde en attendant tout le monde. -Réunion des jeunes internationale-. Sur les marches des gradins, on prend une bière en attendant tout le monde. -Réunion régionale des jeunes-. Sur la terrasse, on danse un cercle circassien en attendant tout le monde. -Réunion régionale-.
On se retrouve, on reprend les réflexes appris : qui modère, qui traduit ? La démocratie est née. Le français par ici, l’anglais par là, tout le monde s’y retrouvera. La démocratie fait ses premières dents. On décline les points à l’ordre du jour (on pourrait dire « à l’ordre de l’heure »). Et la démocratie entre en adolescence : On argumente, on débat, et jusque bien tard. Tandis que dans les tentes blanches des personnes dansent sur des rythmes latinos, nous continuons à nous réunir passionnément.

Les rencontres merveilleuses, c’est Tsiri qui raconte son pays, le Madagascar. C’est Adi qui explique les études en Indonésie, c’est Pédro qui prépare ses questions sur la Belgique tandis que je prépare les miennes sur le Mozambique, c’est Logan qui raconte la violence de la police aux Etats-Unis. C’est aussi Edwin qui apprend à jongler en moins de temps qu’on boit un café, et c’est Hortense qui chante tout le jour « Ooo Yayaho, bukia katelemukembu yayaho ».

Lorsque la nuit se lève sur Maputo, on a envie de prolonger. De parler encore, d’étreindre encore, de danser encore. Des idées pour la tête, des rythmes pour les pieds et des bras pour l’âme, Maputo décuple nos énergies. On voudrait marcher dix kilomètres pour laisser retomber nos idées et émotions, ou bien rentrer dans nos pays et taper du pied sur la fourmilière.

Resistance is Fertile

My name is Ed Hamer, I am here from Devonshire, a small rural province in the south-west of the UK, I arrived in Maputo yesterday unfortunately a wee bit late for the Youth Conference!

I am here firstly as a young farmer, secondly as a journalist (www.theecologist.org), and also representing a small UK based ngo: The International Society for Ecology and Culture (www.isec.org.uk). I have come to Maputo to inspire and be inspired, to learn and share,, and to draw as much as possible from the wealth of knowledge and expertise represented by the conference delegates.

As a young farmer in the UK I am officially classed as an endangered species. If I were an animal I would be protected under the UN Covention on Biological Diversity, if I was a plant I would be classed as ‘endemic’. The percentage of the UK population employed in land-based enterprises has dropped more dramatically over the past 100 years than in any other country in western Europe, from over eight per-cent in 1910 to below one per-cent today.

The reasons for this decline have been widely publicised and are apparent to even the most ambiguous observers. In the 1950’s UK farmers received, on average, 50 pence of every pound spent on food, today that figure has dropped to less than 8 pence. As a direct result of the intensification of our countryside the UK is continuing to lose an average of seven farmers per day from a total of just under 600,000.

So “Que hora son en Inglaterra”? Are we staying true to the British stereotype and sitting back politely while our small diverse farms are brought-up and converted to industrial feed grain units? Are we embracing a move away from the land as a logical progression of the Great British tradition of agricultural and industrial revolutions?… in a word…. are we fuck.

The British may be reserved, but we are also passionate. And not only about football or the queen, we are passionate about things that matter. Like the fact that we are one of the most food insecure nations in Europe, importing 65 per-cent of our food supplies. Like the fact that 72 per-cent of our food sales are made by just four UK supermarkets. Like the fact that, when our fuel depots were blockaded by striking truckers in 2001, supermarket shelves were empty within 24 hours. As an island, we currently have three days food supply for every man woman and child in the country in the event of our imports being disrupted…... but that would never happen- would it?

Across the UK, a passion for our countryside is shared by a diverse and growing population of land workers, permaculturists, consumers, academics and activists. The recent Transition Town’s movement (www.transitiontowns.org) has inspired a movement of young people to re-skill themselves in the knowledge required to feed ourselves in a post-peak-oil society.

The UK’s largest organic certification body, The Soil Association (www.soilassociation.org) is currently coordinating a national campaign aimed at educating young growers with the skills to not only feed themselves, but to provide food for entire communities. Organic Futures, another initiative launched by The Soil Association aims to help young people who want to find out more about farming, share skills and network with each other. The numbers of farmers’ markets is growing steadily with one opening every week, as is Community Supported Agriculture.

Action is taking place, but there is still much to do. Land tenure remains the most significant obstacle preventing young farmers wishing to make a start on the land. Farming is still not promoted to school leavers by careers advisors as an eligible profession. Local, ecologically produced food still accounts for less than one per-cent of the UK food economy. While our countries planning laws, the most prohibitive in Europe, make the possibility of living on the land all but impossible.

On behalf of the UK’s alternative farming movement, and our future food security, I would like to apply for formal membership of La Via Campesina Youth Movement in representing the struggle for food sovereignty within the UK.

With respect to the Great British tradition of agricultural and industrial revolutions…the thing about revolutions, is they keep on coming…. Resistance is fertile, and so is our land!

edhamer@riseup.net

Final Declaration from the Youth of La Via Campesina

During their assembly the Youth of Via Campesina developed a declaration and ratified it as Memorandum of Understanding for international work and networking within the next 4 years.

Draft in Espanol (Final Version in English is coming soon:

Declaración de la segunda Asamblea de Jóvenes de la Vía Campesina

El campo es nuestra vida
La tierra nos alimenta
Los ríos corren en nuestra sangre
Somos la juventud de La Via Campesina
Hoy declaramos el inicio de un nuevo mundo
Venimos de los cuatro rincones de la tierra
Para unirnos con espíritu de resistencia
Trabajar creando esperanza
Platicar sobre nuestras luchas
Aprender del trabajo que realizamos
Inspirarnos de nuestras canciones y historias
Construir la solidaridad entre nuestros movimientos
Unificarnos como fuerza para el cambio social.
De aquí volveremos a todos los rincones del mundo
Llevándonos un espíritu de revolución
Con la convicción de que otro mundo es posible
Y el compromiso para luchar a favor de nuestra manera de vivir
Lucharemos hasta la victoria, hasta que las jóvenes y los jóvenes de todo el planeta
puedan vivir en el campo, como campesinos, en paz y con prosperidad.
Cuando los estados intenten reprimirnos, nos uniremos en solidaridad para seguir la lucha.
Cuando una compañera caiga, la levantaremos.
Cuando haga frío, nos abrazaremos hasta que el fuego de nuestra lucha nos caliente el corazón.
Y cada día comprometeremos a nuestros cuerpos, nuestras mentes y nuestro corazón en la línea del frente para defender la vida y la lucha por La Vía Campesina.

Entre los días 16 y 17 de 0ctubre del 2008 jóvenes de más de cuarenta países de los cinco continentes, campesin@s de distintos pueblos y culturas pertenecientes a la Vía Campesina nos reunimos en Maputo (Mozambique) para celebrar nuestra segunda Asamblea Mundial de jóvenes de la Via Campesina.

La juventud de la Vía Campesina aquí presente, ante las desigualdades y miserias que se están adueñando del mundo, somos y nos sentimos el presente y futuro de una nueva sociedad que sostiene el mundo. Pero tenemos problemas comunes que lo dificultan.

El mayor de nuestros problemas es el sistema capitalista/neoliberal que, con sus medios de represión, extorsión y propaganda, ha extendido las desigualdades e injusticias por todo el mundo
Este sistema ha impuesto una agricultura productivista que provoca el abandono del medio rural, migraciones entre regiones, dificulta el acceso a la tierra y a los bienes naturales y fomenta los transgénicos, la perdida de la soberanía alimentaria e impulsa nuevas formas de colonización como los agronegocios… Estos problemas, afectan de manera especial a jóvenes, mujeres y a la clase trabajadora

Ante esta cruda realidad, las jóvenes y los jóvenes de la Vía Campesina, con fuerza y sentimiento, apostamos por un nuevo modelo social basado en la Soberanía alimentaria de los pueblos mediante la reforma agraria integral. Y para ello proponemos:

-Acceso a la tierra, con políticas de apoyo al retorno y arraigo de la juventud al campo, para poder asegurar la alimentación y el futuro de nuestro planeta.

- Lucha y acción contra el modelo neoliberal, el imperialismo, las fuerzas de ocupación, los tratados de libre comercio, las políticas agrícolas impuestas por la OMC, el FMI, el Banco Mundial, las multinacionales, el consumismo, los organismos genéticamente modificados, la criminalización de las organizaciones sociales y de las migraciones laborales.

-Solidaridad entre las regiones como movimientos sociales que están llevando a cabo modelos alternativos frente al sistema neoliberal, mediante principios de integración con reciprocidad, complementariedad y cooperación para superar las desigualdades sociales.

- Formación política e ideológica integral de la juventud. Educación popular. Formación campesina en técnicas agroecológicas.

- Mejora de la comunicación entre las y los jóvenes de diferentes organizaciones y culturas y creación de redes de comunicación alternativas como instrumento político y social para transformar el modelo imperante.

- Profundización y avance en el debate de las causas de las migraciones y situación de la clase trabajadora.

- Articulación de relaciones y alianzas políticas, sociales y culturales entre jóvenes del campo y de la ciudad con vistas a la unidad de los jóvenes del mundo para el cambio social y la conquista de la soberanía alimentaria.

Para materializar estas propuestas, nuestro plan de acción es el siguiente:

1. Crear una comisión provisional de jóvenes durante la V Conferencia para dinamizar el trabajo de coordinación.
2. Realizar al menos un encuentro de jóvenes por regiones en el 2009
3. Realizar un campamento internacional en España a finales del 2009.

Otros aspectos que trabajaremos en los próximos cuatro años:

- Fomentar la formación político-ideológica y técnica en cada región. Elaborar y socializar materiales formativos ideológicos ligados a las reivindicaciones de la Vía Campesina. Elaboración de una lista de escuelas de formación política a nivel internacional

- Crear y mejorar la comunicación entre nuestras organizaciones, crear alianzas con otras organizaciones que luchen por objetivos similares a los de la Vía campesina y abrir y socializar los contenidos de esta asamblea a otras organizaciones amigas y personas jóvenes.

- Nos comprometemos a construir, desarrollar y fortalecer nuestro espacio como jóvenes en las organizaciones nacionales, regionales e internacionales de la Via Campesina, por lo que pedimos la incorporación de dos jóvenes un hombre y una mujer en la Comisión Coordinadora Internacional (CCI).

- Organizar acciones concretas contra el modelo neoliberal y a favor de la soberanía alimentaria en nuestras próximas reuniones, encuentros o asambleas de jóvenes de la Vía Campesina


Por todo esto, las jóvenes y los jóvenes de la Via Campesina nos comprometemos a continuar la lucha por la soberanía alimentaria y por los derechos de las campesinas y campesinos de todo el mundo.
Como dijo Neruda, podrán cortar las flores pero no podrán detener la primavera

Alerta, alerta, alerta, que camina
la juventud en lucha de la Vía Campesina

JUVENTUD!!!!!!
Globalicemos la lucha, globalicemos la esperanza!!!!!

Jovens de 51 países discutem temas sobre a questão agrária

Estudar e debater as pautas da Via Campesina a partir da visão da juventude foi um dos objetivos da 2ª Assembléia de Jovens da Via Campesina, que aconteceu nos dias 16 e 17 de outubro, em Maputo, Moçambique. Cerca de 100 pessoas de vários países fizeram análises da questão agrária em cada região, trocaram experiências e reafirmaram o papel da juventude na construção de uma nova sociedade.

A metodologia do encontro se deu através de quatro grupos temáticos para discussão. São eles, o acesso à terra; formação política e de comunicação alternativa; experiências em agroecologia; e articulação entre o campo e a cidade. “Todos estes temas estão sendo tratados pelos jovens em suas organizações. Por isso é importante trocarmos experiências, ver o que está dando certo ou errado em cada região”, afirmou Pedro XX, do MST. Apesar do constante desafio de criar um coletivo de jovens consistente e mais orgânico dentro da Via Campesina internacional, Pedro vê um avanço entre a primeira Assembléia, realizada em 2004 no Brasil, e a segunda, já que agora participam representantes de 51 países, em comparação com 37 na Assembléia anterior.

A juventude e o êxodo rural Um dos temas mais apontados pelos jovens durante as análises da situação do campo nos países foi a migração do campo para a cidade. Segundo Paulo Mansan, da Pastoral da Juventude Rural, do Brasil, o aumento dos conflitos no campo - gerado pela expansão do agronegócio - somado à falta de condições básicas nas comunidades rurais, como educação, saúde e lazer, fazem com que o jovem saia cada vez mais do campo. Além disso, “o capitalismo trabalha com um processo de dominação cultural. Através do aparato midiático, constrói o falso consenso de que o campo é atrasado e a cultura camponesa retrógrada, aumentando assim a desmotivação dos jovens em permanecer na roça”, acrescentou Mansan.

No Japão, a decisão do governo em permitir a importação do arroz, principal atividade rural do país até então, levou à diminuição da produção, à queda do preço do arroz e, conseqüentemente, ao êxodo rural. No entanto, quando o jovem japonês chega à cidade, se depara com uma qualidade de vida muito inferior à do campo. “Muitos não conseguem emprego, são explorados, se alimentam mal e até entram em depressão” relatou Ayumi, jovem japonesa que participa da organização de pequenos agricultores Noumienren. Segundo ela, 60% da comida consumida no Japão é importada.

Como a pobreza nas cidades aumenta cada vez mais, os países pobres também estão perdendo seus jovens urbanos, que migram para lugares onde há “desenvolvimento”. De acordo com dados da Organização Internacional para a Migração, são mais de 200 milhões de pessoas que deixaram seus países de origem, na maioria das vezes para trabalhar como mão-de-obra barata em países centrais como Europa e Estados Unidos.

Organização da juventude De acordo com o jovem Poul Frederich, de Camarões, a juventude da Via Campesina tem o importante papel de mostrar para os jovens que eles podem e devem transformar a vida no campo. “A juventude tem que protagonizar a luta pela soberania alimentar, além de lutar por condições para a permanência dos jovens no campo”.

A aliança entre os jovens do campo e da cidade também foi apontada por todas as regiões como fundamental para uma transformação. Segundo os jovens, “a nossa luta é antes de tudo uma luta contra o modelo neoliberal, que traz pobreza e destruição para o campo e pra cidade”.

Os jovens estão preparando a declaração final da II Assembléia de Jovens da Via Campesina que será divulgada em breve.

Sílvia Alvares

Jovens de todo mundo discutem crise alimentar

Moçambique (Maputo) Jovens de todo mundo que estão a participar na 5ª Conferência Internacional da Via Campesina, discutem na capital moçambicana, Maputo temas relacionados com agro-combustiveis e a soberania alimentar, ou seja, crise de alimentos que nos últimos tempos tem afectado o mundo inteiro.

Devido a crise alimentar os jovens avançam ideias que devia centrar-se em modelos agroecologicos como forma de se minimizar o flagelo da crise alimentar por uma agricultura autónoma e sustentável. Outros ainda preferem embarcar nas políticas actuais que favorecem a agro- indústria.

A propósito de 16 de Outubro, Dia Mundial da alimentação o «FAO – Fundo das Nações Unidas para Alimentação», lançou uma mensagem de esperança devido a crise mundial de alimentos derivada de um modelo industrial agro-exportador que está afectar milhões de pessoas camponesas de todo mundo.

Recordar que as políticas actuais que favorecem a agro-indústria apesar de eliminar camponeses/as também destroem a bio diversidade do meio ambiente, provocam miséria no mundo através do sistema económico neoliberal, climático, energético e até financeiro.

_*Camponeses de todo mundo de mãos dadas em Maputo*_

60% de produtos alimentares que podem causar problemas de saúde para a população moçambicana são importados do estrangeiro razão pela qual camponeses/as de todo o mundo vão ombrear-se durante a V Conferência da Via Campesina para de certo modo impulsionar o sector da agricultura a sustentar-se através métodos de trabalho, aceso a terra e crédito.

/Conceicao Vitorino, UNAC/

/16/10/08/

Second International Youth Assembly of the Via Campesina Innaugurated

(17 october 2008) Among the goals of the II International Youth Assembly of the Via Campesina are to reaffirm the struggle, to analyze the present political juncture of each region and to come to agreements and commitments for the next four years. This Thursday in Maputo, the capital of Mozambique, the analysis of the delegates from the different regions of the world pointed out that emigration, unemployment, and lack of political participation and education are among the salient characteristics of the current moment.

For the African region agriculture constitutes an important part of the economy of its people, yet there is no support for youth to go into agriculture due to political problems and agricultural policies that do not favor family farming. Other problems raised by a youth delegate from Africa pointed to the lack of sources of employment for youth and the high level of illiteracy.

The North American delegate referred to the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), saying this only benefited the large agribusinesses and has resulted in the emigration from the countryside of many small-scale Mexican producers.

The Movement of Young North American members of the Via Campesina is developing small networks of producers to provide training and alliances to strengthen organic agriculture. The female youth delegate from North America emphasized the fact that bilateral agreements are responsible for the fact that currently there are no policies to support youth in agriculture.

In South America where organizations are seeking benefits for local farmers, comprehensive agrarian reform is a key issue. Events have been undertaken there focusing on marketing, exchange of experiences and youth have been part of the process of change in the region’s development.

According to a delegate, the youth of the Caribbean region have led a struggle for the defense of land in the control of family farmers, in order to avoid the loss of those lands to the government and their transferal to large landholders or transnational corporations for the production of African Palm trees. Youth members of the region help provide Caribbean youth technical and legal support to the farmers suffering evictions from their lands.

“There is no future for agriculture,” according to a youth delegate from the European region, stating how difficult it is to make a living in agriculture and referring to the existence of two agricultural models in the region: the subsistence and basic survival family farm model and the model of large monocultures.

According to statistics used in the Caribbean, 6% of the total European population work in agriculture and each year about 50,000 farmers retire from that work without being replaced by young people. For that reason a family culture in agriculture needs to be re-established for rural development.

From Central America, a delegate states that youth are not recognized by the governments in terms of access to land to cultivate, if the youth does not have children and is therefore not considered the “responsible adult” of the family. The region has also been affected by a recent Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) and by an agreement of association with the European Union (ADA). The Central American youth delegate added that the region has been negatively impacted by Plan Puebla Panama and the new Economic Partnership Agreements. There is a high percentage of youth migration out of the rural areas to other countries due to a lack of favorable policies by Central American governments to provide sufficient sources of work for people.

From each region there was an emphasis on the importance of globalizing the struggle and seeking new strategies to combat neo-liberal policies being implemented in the different countries, policies that threaten food sovereignty and the rights of the majority of the people.

On Friday they will define their agreements, themes of work and commitments of the Youth of the Via Campesina for the next four years and make known their common strategies to facilitate the permanence of agricultural communities and the return of youth to the countryside, in order to consolidate family farm agriculture.

Reporting from Maputo Mozambique
Rocizela Pèrez Gòmez, Via Campesina Journalist from Guatemala

Workshop Report

Experiences from workshop on countryside-city relationship, alliances with social movements and alternative ways of commercialisation:

We met from different country's, continents to exchange experiences and to discuss the issues of the relationship between the countryside and the city, alliances with other social movements and alternative ways of commercialisation.

There were young delegates from Brazil, Argentina, Nicaragua, Korea, Indonesia, Portugal Basq country, Sweden, Switzerland, Austria and South Africa.
On Countryside- city relation a comrade from Argentina was sharing experiences of exchanges between people in rural areas and from the city, creating a link and spreading information of the destruction of the rural areas and showing and the problem of people escaping the countryside and leaving for the city.
From Brazil we learned about creating a good relationship with people in the city by providing healthy food to e.g. hospitals and to poor people in the city. By doing this, and also taking action against neo-liberal targets they create a positive image of the struggle of the peasants to people in the city. When people see that it is the peasants that is providing them with food is the same as the ones occupying the bank people realize that the bad image that the media is showing on peasant struggle is false.

Direct contact among farmers and citizens is very important to get to know the people on both sides and to understand the peasant´s struggle, because food in supermarkets is impersonal and there is no relation between the producer, their products and the consumer. Ways of getting around this is peasants instead of labeling their products, distributing their products in the city directly and also to put messages along with the product to make their effort and their struggle visible.

We discussed the producer-consumer association, and community supported agriculture as a possibility to create alternatives to commercialisation and to link people in rural and urban areas. This means that consumer and producer come together a a food producing unit in a direct link. In this way peasant is able to get a fair income for the work, the consumer get access to local and healthy food and get opportunity to involve in the way their food is being produced, and to see to that is it done in a way that they agree with. Producer and consumer can have a kind of contract, sharing the risks of e.g. low yield or machine failure.

Certification was discussed. The problem with organic certification is that it is expensive and full of regulations that benefits large industry producers instead of small producers. Organic certification does not guarantee local food that is produced in a sustainable way and does not really help the consumer to benefit the people and the environment. Certification creates a false sense of security with the consumer and can be considered contra-productive for reaching food sovereignty.

Now with the food crisis governments of the world is speaking of food security as a solution. A very false solution in the hands of capitalism meaning intensifying the industrial agribusiness. But with the realization of the food crisis people and governments of the world is really becoming more open for a real solution. This is the opportunity to spread the concept of food sovereignty, solidarity and peasant struggle to all layers of our society.

Olle Andersson