Side event sulle sementi contadine organizzato da Crocevia – 39° Commitee on World Food Security – Roma

CFS Side Event: Genetic Resources, Farmers' Seeds and Food Security

Thursday 18th October 2012
Mexico Room 12.30-14.30

Sustainable management of seeds can no longer rely solely on conservation in few large centralized Gene Banks.
This conservation does not allow itself to stem a slow but irreversible lost of genetic diversity in the fields.
The dynamic conservation on farm complements the static ex situ conservation in Gene Banks promoting local seeds adaptation as the main way to meet the new challenges of climate change and food crises, and to reduce inputs and fossil fuels use. The proliferation of small collections managed locally by communities is the most
economical way to secure conservation, handing seeds to farmers who must maintain and guarantee the sovereignty of States over their resources and food supply.

During its fourth meeting in Bali, the Governing Body of the Treaty (ITPGRFA) decided to initiate an ongoing effort on the implementation of Articles 5, 6, taking into account Article 9 on Farmers Rights. So it is necessary to put in place a mechanism for participation of civil society based on the working principles of
the CFS.

Community seed systems in Brazil and Europe, village seed stores in Africa, local seed networks in the hands of Asian women, and the fact that the Nepalese constitution now integrates the defense of farmers' seeds– all these initiatives are contributing to national laws that ensure collective rights of communities and farmers to their seeds and prevention of their privatization by corporate interests.

Small-scale farmers re-taking control over their own seeds as well as representatives from farmers’
organizations and NGOs who, for the past three decades have been fighting against the iniquitous influence of agribusiness on the decisions taken by the various institutions in charge of convening spaces for the global governance of agricultural biodiversity (FAO, CGRFA, ITPGRFA, Convention on Biological Diversity, UPOV,
WIPO, WTO/TRIPS), gathered together the last 30th of September in Aiguillon (France) to build a common space for debate and for supporting concerted actions in order to deal with the confusion caused by the dispersion across the world of decision-making spaces concerning agricultural biodiversity and its control by
farmers themselves, a confusion voluntarily maintained by the corporate world and the governments of the richest countries.

All over the world, more and more small-scale food producers are sharing their experiences,
exchanging their knowledge. Their voices will prevail in the global governance of agricultural biodiversity.
The Farmers’ Seeds Side Event will discuss these proposed actions with governments, farmers' organizations and civil society to establish an effective dialogue on the Treaty (ITPGRFA), in the FAO Commission on Genetic Resources, in the CFS and the CBD.

Chair: Maryam Rahmanian – Vice-Chairperson of the HLPE Steering Committee

Panelist:

Guy Kastler – Reseau Semences Paysannes -Commission on Biodiversity La Via Campesina)

Government of Ghana FAO representative (tbc)

Pascal Canfin, Minister Delegate for Development, attached to the Minister of Foreign Affairs (tbc)

Maria Noel Salgado Spinatelli – MAELA (Movimiento Agroecológico Latinoamericano)

The Side Event is organized by Crocevia, BEDE, Reseau Semences Paysanne , with the support of European Commission’s project "Farmer's Seed". The issue of seed is a priority for the Organizations of IPC for Food Sovereignty that facilitate this activity. The Side event content should not be considered as a reflexion of European Union.

<a href=”http://www.semirurali.net/modules/wfdownloads/singlefile.php?cid=2&lid=415″ rel=”external”>Scarica il Programma</a>