ion of the News from AEFJN is now online. It contains news on UN Climate Summit in Durban (big business control the negotiations, REDD+ market mechanism is criticised), on protection of biodiversity and report on land rush, on Small Arms Flows and Communities in Kenya, on the Ethno-Religious Conflict in Nigeria, on Benin’s Universal Health Insurance Plan, efavirenz and AZT regimens for HIV treatment, on Africa lying naked to Euro-American Military Offensive and on Malawi urban poor hit by slew of price increases.
The national election campaign officially started the 28th October in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), exactly one month ahead of historic presidential and legislative elections, scheduled for November 28 2011. 41 humanitarian and human rights organizations, among them AEFJN, have expressed concern about the high political tension and deteriorating security situation. They have called upon all Congolese and international actors involved to take urgent measures to prevent electoral violence, better protect civilians and ensure credible, free and fair elections.
A simple booklet for workers in health centers in Africa, with guidelines on how to ensure the quality of purchased drugs. How can we assure the quality of the medicines we are buying? What do we need to know? What precautions should we take?
To encourage the commitment of AEFJN members in Africa, towards the fight against the proliferation of small arms in the continent, AEFJN has published a booklet with the organizations working for greater control of arms in Africa. Food Sovereignty in Africa, a concept that AEJN supports
AEFJN members work on the concept and the implications of Food Sovereignty in Africa from their Christian viewpoint and their African experience. AEFJN contributes to the discussion in order to obtain the implementation of basic human rights.
Why supporting Food Sovereignty in Africa?
Half of the world’s active population is employed in the agricultural sector. In the 49 Least Developed Countries (34 of which are African countries), agriculture is the livelihood of up to 60% of the active population.
Therefore, there are many millions of humans directly concerned by agricultural and food policies and also trade agreements; their well-being and survival directly depend on agricultural production and trade in their country.
Thus, agricultural and food policies applied by African governments are very important, such as policies promoted by other countries with effects in Africa or on the global trade.
1. To protect african producers in agriculture against what, against who ?
a. At home:
In Africa, farmers have very little or not official assistance or frames. Rarely, national policies in long term bring a support adapted to the production in the country by giving to farmers: a structure which encourages exchange, a technical support and agricultural researches conducted in the region, access to information, access to evaluation of lines of production, or to technological appropriated to their realities and their objectives. Even more, farmers do not benefit in their country from protection and economic support to their everyday life.
Generally, the worldwide directions of policies are selected by international institutions (International Monetary Fund, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations) and the local assistance is, globally, ensured by NGO or assistance of Cooperation and Development.
b. On a world level:
African farmers depend on global trade and on the evolution of agriculture in industrialized states. This latter goes forward to an “industrialized agriculture on a large scale”.
However agriculture in Africa is not sufficiently supported protected or developed enough to be able to compete with the products imported; this is truer when imported products are subsidized and are the dumping object. Further, the debates about the assignment of World Trade Organization which prohibits states applying tax on importation (ex: milk in Kenyan) and the stratagem in Western Countries to subsidize their products and in the same way to obey to the WTO rules.
Therefore, basic food production and agricultural production for trade have to compete with unequal competitors of industrialized agriculture production on a large scale, as well on his land as on the world market.
AEFJN is concerned by the reform of the
European Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and its impact on African agricultural sectors like cotton, olive oil,
cereals, rice, sugar, coffee, etc. These products are of vital importance for
the livelihood of millions of farmer-families in Africa
and are most important sources of income for many Least Developed Countries.
AEFJN wants to advocate that African farmers and countries have the right to
protect and regulate their agricultural sectors, so as to assure farmers’
rights to a fair price for their produce and a dignified living for their
families
2. How to protect?
To tackle the problems starting from Human Rights, that means: to consider the Right to food like a Fundamental Human Right and to resort to treaties of Rights signed by hundred of nations.
International Rights, Universal Declaration on Human Rights, United Nation Treaty, International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966)
3. What about migration ?
Migration results of this crisis: farmers and fishermen cannot live anymore of their work. That’s the reason why many men, often young people, try their chance in Europe. Their family helps them to pay their travel, sometimes by selling their means of subsistence, even while being involved in debt, to give young people the chance to find a work elsewhere.
But the majority of migration is happening in the same country: rural people migrate to cities.