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Topic 1 : What kind of global chain of trade for fair development?

Workshop 1.2 : Agro-business sector: reconciling development with equity and biodiversity

Workshops Topic 1 :

The agro-business sector plays a fundamental role in the way our societies solve a basic need: food supply. Food production, processing and distribution activities are now mostly globalised, a situation which has forced many societies to redefine this elemental feature of social life.

The world’s top ten agro-business industries earn the equivalent of Africa’s GDP. From North America to Brazil, and Africa to Australia, globalised chains are imposing a complete redefinition of land use and vocation on vast territories, as well as on the rural producers who live there.

The livestock sector is one of the most heavily globalised, if we include the production of animal feed. This trend represents a major challenge in terms of sustainability. In Brazil, the production of soy for export is now threatening to destroy the largest marsh in the world. The productivity of agro-industry is such that we may wonder what place is left for small local producers.

Trade in agricultural products is a hotly debated issue at the World Trade Organisation, overriding the North/South divide, as can be seen in the Cairns Group and the G20.

Several questions will be addressed in this workshop, with comments from expert speakers:

Should basic food goods be traded like any other product, or should they be given special status, given their importance to society?
How can the social and environmental impact of agro-business be managed in countries of the North and South? Could a reorganisation be carried out to the benefit of all, in particular for local populations?
How can agro-business sectors be better regulated to ensure a decent income for stakeholders in the North and South and a fair distribution of added value? How can we avoid price dumping of agro-food products on the international market? • How can a balance be found between export opportunities and the need for national sovereignty in the area of food, in the interest of the entire population?
What kinds of leverage – regulatory, cultural (culinary customs), labelling, agreements between actors in the same sector… - can be used to create more responsible and more sustainable chains of production and trade in the field of agro-food?

This Workshop has been prepared in coordination with Bridge Initiative.

Speakers

Workshop Moderator: Clive Peckham, Coordinator, Alimenterra

Players in the production chain:

Yasuo Kondo, Director, Alter Trade Japan, Japan
Margaret Nakato, President, Katosi Women Development Trust, Japan
Bernard Njonga, Manager, Service d’Appui aux Initiatives Locales de Développement (SAILD), Cameroon

Discussants:

Clara Foucault-Mohammed, Sectoral Specialist, Food, Drink and Tobacco Sector, ILO Sectoral Activities Branch, International Labour Organisation
Guy Kastler, Chief Representative, Réseau Semences Paysannes, France
Valter Surian, Coordinator, International Union of Food, Agricultural, Hotel, Restaurant, Catering, Tobacco and Allied Workers' Associations (UITA-IUF)

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