13 March 2014

Via Campesina: seven measures to support family farming

On the occasion of the International Year of Family farming, the European Coordination Via Campesina proposed to European governments and the European Commission seven measures to support family farming in Europe. The declaration stresses the need for respect of the rights of the rural population, including of women, as well as of economic policies that do not exclude small family farms but rather protects their interests and help the development of short value chains.

The seven proposed measures are:

1. •Support the work of the United Nations Human Rights Council on the Rights of peasants and other people working in rural areas to protect the most vulnerable who are often the first who are forced to migrate
   

2. •Cease negotiations on all new free trade agreements, in particular the transatlantic free trade agreement between the EU and the USA (TTIP), suspend the application of agreements already signed, and renegotiate other agreements to ensure they benefit populations.
   

3. •Ensure a maximum coupling of payments to production, removing minimum levels in terms of surface area or investment for access to subsidies (in particular for installation aid), while implementing upper limits to redistribute assistance towards peasant farming.
   

4. •Recognise the inalienable rights of farmers to produce, reproduce, exchange and sell their seeds, safeguarding cultivated biodiversity and the autonomy of farmers. GM crops in all forms must be prohibited in all areas.
   

5. •Develop health safety measures for processing plants and points of distribution to customers which are specific for small volumes. Local purchases from smallholders through public procurement should also be promoted.
   

6. •Implement land policies, which favour young farmers and farming families, not only for acquiring land, but also with secured leases for those who work the land, preventing land grabbing and the expansion of industrial crop and livestock mega farms.
   

7. •Ensure the strict observance of equal rights for women with regards to access to land, financing, and all the resources required for peasant work.
   

When compared to the proposed new Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) of the UE, these measures shows that there is still a long way to go before Via Campesina’s proposals are included in CAP. This amply justifies Via Campesina’s actions. 

Via Campesina brings together millions of peasants, small and medium-size farmers, landless people, women farmers, indigenous people, migrants and agricultural workers from around the world. Major members of Via Campesina in the US are: the Rural Coalition and the National Family Farm Coalition. In the UK, members include the Land Workers Alliance and the Scottish Crofting Federation

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For more details:

Via Campesina: Evenstad Declaration-General Assembly 2014 of the European Coordination Via Campesina

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Last update:    March 2014

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