Incontro dei movimenti contadini ad Aiguillon – dichiarazione finale

          
    I movimenti contadini di Asia, Africa, Europa e LatinoAmerica si sono incontrati in Francia per riaffermare il diritto collettivo degli agricoltori ad utilizzare e moltiplicare le proprie sementi tradizionali, secondo un modello di produzione agroecologico che permette una gestione dinamica della biodiversità, contro i ripetuti tentativi di privatizzazione dell’accesso alle risorse produttive fondamentali che i grandi gruppi agroindustriali stanno cercando di ottenere attraverso il funzionamento asimmetrico e non trasparente delle istituzioni globali preposte alle difesa l’agro-biodiversità.
    LOCAL COMMUNITY SEED SYSTEMS
    fundamental tools to ensure Food Sovereignty
    Following the international meeting of community seed systems (27-29 September in Périgueux, France), a work meeting was held at the headquarters of the farmer’s seeds network (“Réseau Semences Paysannes”) in Aiguillon, France, from September 30 to October 2nd. The meeting was organized with the support of the International Committee for Food Sovereignty (IPC).   The three-day meeting brought together small-scale farmers from five continents who have retaken control over their own seeds and taken seed conservation and breeding into their own hands, as well as representatives from farmer’s organizations and NGOs who, for the past three decades have been fighting against the nefarious influence of agribusiness on the decisions taken by the various institutions in charge of the global governance of agricultural biodiversity (FAO, Seed Treaty, Convention on Biological Diversity, UPOV, International Intellectual Property Office…).

    The “Maisons de Semences Paysannes” (community seed systems) in Brazil and Europe, the village granaries in Africa, the local seed systems in the hands of Asian women, the fact that the Nepalese constitution now integrates the defence of farmers’ seeds…  all these initiatives are  contributing to the establishment of national laws ensuring the collective rights of communities and farmers on their seeds and preventing their privatization by corporate interests. It also highlights the increased participation of NGOs and farmers’ organizations in decision-making instances of international regulations. These actions illustrate the diversity of experiences in the field and the continuity of the intervention of civil society in the conservation of agricultural biodiversity. Preserving biodiversity is the first pillar of subsistence agriculture and urban farming as well as a fundamental tool to achieve food sovereignty.

    These two days of exchanges have established the necessity of building a common space for debate and of concerted actions by small-scale producer organizations and specialized NGOs. It is urgent to deal with the confusion caused by the dispersion of decision-making spaces across the world in the field of agricultural biodiversity and it’s control by the farmer’s themselves, a confusion voluntarily maintained by the corporate world and the governments of the richest countries.   All over the world, more and more farmers are sharing their experiences, exchanging their knowledges. Their voices will prevail in the global governance of agricultural biodiversity.

    Contacts: IPC
    ipcconsultation@gmail.com