Wealthy Nations Thwarted in Mexican Stand-Off
The Universe
(September 28, 2003)
IT WAS unexpected and unprecedented that the likes of India, China and Brazil and a host of smaller nations including the Philippines would take a united stand against the behemoths of the agricultural producing world led by the United Stats and the European Union.
This group of 21 stood firm against the incredible pressure of the rich nations to rewrite the rules of trade in their favour. The agricultural subsidies they pay to agribusiness farmers is unfair trade. It denies fair competition and creates injustice and inequality.
Praying for peace and justice and working for goodness to prevail is what created the spiritual energy that has brought this process forward. But it is not the solution to world hunger. Much has to be done to open market for the small farmers and not for the rich elite who control much of the land of the developing nations.
Subsidies do not help the supposedly hundreds of thousands of small farmers across the United States and Europe. Their numbers have dwindled to a tiny minority as huge agribusiness corporations have taken over the land for mechanized and industrial food production and do contract growing.
Agribusiness is based on chemical fertilizers and pesticides that have dire consequences for consumers. Mad cow disease is the result of greedy producers recycling animal carcasses into animal feed.
No matter what concessions have been won at the Cancun World Trade talks it is not the beginning of a new era where poverty can be tackled by making it possible for the poor to help themselves. The opening of the Northern markets to producers of the Southern developing nations brings with it more threats to small farmers. The giant agribusiness corporations will immediately expand and try to grab that opportunity for themselves. They will move to create an even greater plantation economy where a few of the rich take over the land of the poor and supply the markets of the north.
Small farmers have to be helped to be efficient, go organic as much as possible and to supply their own home markets with low cost food and grow for export too. The environment has to be protected and less reliance on fossil fuels and chemicals has to be promoted this is what we have to work for is and ever the Northern markets open up to the poor of the South and not become another opportunity of the rich to exploit and plunder.
Labour
intensive farming does not have to be destructive of the environment.
What we need is a greater effort in implementing land reform and
co-operative farming has to be promoted so that indigenous peoples can
have a life of decency and dignity by their own efforts.
