TowardsaCi+zens’AgriculturalPolicy-Edinburgh–22&23October2015

FoodSecurityGovernance:empoweringcommuni+es,regula+ngcorpora+ons

NoraMcKeon–Rome3UniversityandTerraNuova/Concord

Power

• Whowieldsit?• Towhosebenefit?• Whoframesthefoodagenda?• Whatactorsdecide?• Whatprospectstoaddressimbalancesofpower?

• Todefendcollec+vegoodsandpublicinterests?

«Foodismorethanacommodity……»

1948 2014

Financialspecula+onandfinancializa+on

• Separatefoodandlandfromtheirproduc2veorusevalue.• Transformedintohighlycomplex«deriva2ves».• Accountabilitydifficulttoestablish.

• Contributetolandgrabbingandfoodpricevola2lity.

Globalmarketrulesthatrewardcorpora+ons–fromTRIPS(1994)totradefacilita+on(2014

• StructuraladjustmentandtradeagreementshaveopenedmarketsoftheglobalSouthtounfaircompe22onfromar2ficiallycheapfoodproductsfromabroad…

• …whileOECDcountrieshaveincreasedsubsidiestoagricultureinrealtermsandprotectedtheirmarkets.

Corporateregulatoryanddiscursivepower

Cargill

Whatimpactonsmall-scaleproducersandfoodproduc+on?

Anindustrialagriculturalproduc+onmodel….

Peasantsexpelled……….or………………… insertedintocorporate- controlledvalue

chains

Whatdothosedirectlyconcernedhavetosay…?

Ruralsocialmovementshaveorganizedprogressively…

Anoccasionto«goglobal»:theWorldFoodSummitsandcivilsocietyforumsof1996&2002

Foodsovereignty:analterna+veparadigmtomoderniza+onandliberalism

Foodsovereigntyistherightofpeoplestohealthyandculturallyappropriatefoodproducedthroughecologicallysoundandsustainablemethods,andtheirrighttodefinetheirownfoodandagriculturesystems.

• Small-scaleagroecolgicalfoodproduc2onfordomes2candlocalmarkets• Peoples’accesstoandcontroloverproduc2veresources• Remunera2vepricesforfarmersthroughregulatedandprotectedmarkets.

• Publicpolicies/investmentinsupportofsmall-scaleproducers/localfoodsystems.

• Rootedinlocalprac2ceandvaluesdiversity.

TheIPCforFoodSovereignty

• Autonomous,self-managedglobalnetwork.

• Rootedinregionsandpeoplesmovements:peasantfarmers,fisherfolk,pastoralists,indigenouspeoples,agriculturalworkers,landless,urbanpoor,consumers….

• Nego2atespoli2calspaceforpeoples’movementsandhelpsthemoccupyiteffec2vely.

Theconflictisn’tbetweenNorthandSouth,butbetween2differentmodels…• Family-basedfarming/localfoodwebs…

• Industrialagriculture/globalfoodchains

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Localfoodwebs

• Yettheyreceiveligleornopublicsupport.

Buildingblocksofpeoples’vscorporatefoodsystems:*accesstoandcontrolovernaturalresources:land,water,biodiversity….

"Todayawindowwasopenedinwhatfor50yearshasbeentheCathedraloftheGreenRevolu+on"

*Agroecologicalproduc+onmodels

*Deconstruc+ngtheideaofTheMarket….

*Whoseknowledge?

Whichsystemwinsout?Corporatefoodregimeimpactsonbiodiversity,humanhealth,climatechange……

Theindustrialfoodsystemisresponsiblefor44-57%ofallglobalGHGemissions.

Whodecides?ThefoodpricecrisisandthereformoftheCommigeeonWorldFoodSecurity.

«AgricultureisoQenleQtoundergogreattransforma2onsthatareadverseforsmallholdersandfoodsecurity.Thesetransforma2onsarenotinevitablebutaretheresultofexplicitorimplicitpoli2calchoices.Appropriatechoicesandpoliciescanonlyresultfromtransparentlydeterminedpoli2calprocessesthatinvolvesmallholderorganiza2ons.»(HLPE2013,p.14)

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Onwhatbasis?Evidence-basedpolicy-making?Evidenceisframedbyparadigmsadoptedandassump+onsmade… “Greaterproduc2onisthekeytoprosperityandpeace.Andthekeytogreaterproduc2onisawiderandmorevigorousapplica2onofmodernscien2ficandtechnicalknowledge.”Truman’s«FourPoints»InauguralAddress,1949.

“OurvisioncannotberealizedwithoutscienceandtechnologythatservestheneedsofAfrica’smillionsofsmallholderfarmers.”Dr.Adesina,AGRA,June2009

Produc+vism…

• Associatedwith«moderniza2on»+ideaoflinearprogress:ruralagrariantourbanindustrializedsocie2es.

• Highlights(Western)technologyandscience.

• Adoptsmeasuresthatglorifytechnology+externalinputs(yieldperplant)vsonesthatemphasizevariousenvironmental+socialbenefits(totalyieldperfield).

Evidenceshapedalsobyques2onsasked,datalookedforandavailable,indicatorsadopted.«Objec2ve»evidence….• …Can«naturalize»phenomenathatarenot«natural»atall.

• Actsagainstpoli2calaccountabilityandvalue-basedpoli2caldebate.• Whoseevidenceislistenedto?Whoanalysestheevidenceandservesituptopolicy-makers?

ThefoodpricecrisisandthereformoftheCommigeeonWorldFoodSecurity

Foodpricecrisis2007/2008:amomentofpoli+calopportunityforchange

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Decision-makingbydefault…

The2009reformoftheCommigeeonWorldFoodSecurity(CFS):whatsocialmovementsfoughtforandwon:

• Foremostinclusiveglobalforumpromotingpolicycoherence.

• Humanrights-based-defendingtherighttofood.

• Civilsocietyactors–smallfoodproducersespecially–arefullpar+cipants.Notconfoundedwithprivatesector.

• Year-roundprocess:decidingagendaandrulesofthegame,framingdraQdecisionsanddiscussiondocuments…

• Decision-makinginclusiveandtransparent.Governmentscanbeheldaccountable.

• HighLevelPanelofExpertsacknowledgesexper2seoffarmersandprac2oners.

•  Linksbetweenmul2stakeholderpolicyspacesatglobal,regional,na+onallevels.31

Autonomous,self-organizedCivilSocietyMechanism

“Prioritywillbegiventoensuringthatthevoicesofsmallholderproducers,

fisherfolk,pastoralists,indigenous,urbanpoor,migrants,agricultural

workersetc.areheard.TheCSMwillmakespecialeffortstosupportthe

capacityofthemarginalizedtofollowandpar2cipateintheCFSprocess.”

(CFS:2010/9)

Whatdifferencedoesitmakewhenlocalfoodproducersandconsumersaresiongattheglobalfoodgovernancetable?

Twoopposinginternationalcommunityresponses:the«PrinciplesforResponsibleAgriculturalInvestment”(PRAI)….

•  FormulatedbyWB/IFAD/UNCTAD/FAOatG8request,withoutanyconsulta2on.

•  NoreferencetohumanrightsandStateobliga2ons..• Welcomelarge-scalelandacquisi2onsasan«opportunity».•  Assumeinvestorswill“self-regulate”.

•  Ignoreweak/corruptgovernanceincountriestowhichinvestmentsdirected.•  Focusontechnicalissuesandignoreconflic2nginterestsandpowerimbalances.

…or«VoluntaryGuidelinesonResponsibleGovernanceofTenureofLand,Fisheries,ForestsinthecontextofNa+onalFoodSecurity»

Resultofadecadeofsocialmovementadvocacy:from1996WorldFoodSummitto2006Interna2onalConferenceonAgrarianReformandRuralDevelopment(ICARRD).

ReformedCFS2010agreed:-  Tonego2ateTenureGuidelinesinCFS.-  Nottorubber-stampPRAI.

TenureGuidelinenego+a+onoutcome-May2012

•  Firsteverglobaltenureguidelines.•  Basedonprinciplesofhumanrights.•  Strongonissueslikecustomarytenure,gender,community

consulta2on,states’obliga2onstoregulatetheircorpora2ons.•  Provideimportantsafeguardsagainstlandgrabbing.“TheCFShasshownitcanbringsocialactorstothedebateandseeksolu2onstooneofthemostdifficultanddelicateissueswefacetoday,thatofaccesstonaturalresourcesforfoodprovision.”

ChangingthetermsofthedebateintheCFSSmall-scaleproducersresponsibleformostinvestmentinagriculture+mostfoodproduced.Needto:•  priori2zepublicinvestmentsandpoliciesthatdefend+supportsmallholders’investments;•  promotemarketsthatbenefitsmallholdersandlocalfoodsystems;•  defendtheirrightstotheirseeds;•  recognizeu2lityofagroecology…(CFS2013)

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7yearslater…

TheCFSDOESmakeadifferenceinframingthediscourseandobtainingmoreprogressivenorma+veguidance.

Buttherearechallenges….

Needtobuildbegerlinksbetween……theglobalforum………and………social/poli+calmobiliza+onfrombelow.

MakingtheTGsworkforpeoples’struggles.

Argen+na

Mali

Italy

*Acknowledgethatthereareissuesofpower.

“Powerinfoodchainshaslongcons+tutedataboo.Indeed,theneedtoimprovethegovernanceoffoodsystemsinordertoavoidinstancesofexcessivedomina2onbyasmallnumberofmajoragrifoodcompaniesishardlyeverreferredtoininterna2onalsummitsthatseektoprovideanswerstothechallengesofhungerandmalnutri2on.”OlivierDeSchuoer

*Demandaccountablegovernmentsvsvaporousmultistakeholderism- Who’saroundthetable?Na2onalactorsonlyoralsobilateralsandmul2laterals,mul2na2onalcorpora2ons?

- Confusionofdifferentactorsandtheirrolesandresponsibili2es.-Blurringofdecision-makingandaccountability.-Powerimbalances.

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*Privilegepublicregula+onvscorporatesocialresponsibility.«Wedon’twant‘responsibleinvestors’.Wewantlegalframeworksthatprotectuseffec+velyandinvestorswhoareobligedtorespectthelaw.»MamadouCissokhoWestAfricanfamilyfarmerleader

Ahumanrightsframework…

*Buildgovernanceandregula+onfromthebogomup

*OpposemeasureliketheTransatlan+cTradeandInvestmentPartnership

Whattodowhen“whatmustbedoneforthesakeofsustainabilityandsurvivalexceedswhatispossiblepoli+cally”?

RichardFalk