Brussels, 04/07/2008 (Agence Europe) - The first conference on agriculture under French EU Presidency was held on Thursday 3 July at the European Parliament on the theme: “Who will feed the world?”. Echoing the food crisis, the FAO conference and the Doha Round, the conference was aimed at presenting the debate, discussing measures to be taken and identifying the problems raised at the different levels, Michel Barnier, French Agriculture and Fisheries Minister, said. “Agriculture is not an activity of the past and is not outmoded! It is at the heart of today's problems”, he added during the introductory session. Looking at the causes of the current food problems, the deputy director general of the national agency for research, Michel Griffon, pointed out that there are “many causes over the long, medium and short term, all converging to explain today's situation”. He cited structural adjustment plans established over the past two decades in the poor countries as well as production ceilings. The large increase in demand, combined with a stagnant supply, climate change and the move towards biofuels have led to the current food crisis, stressed Joachim von Braum, the director general of the international institute for research on food policy. He stressed that the “agricultural market now looks very much like a financial market” where speculation of all players is responsible for the surge in food prices. Mr Griffon spoke of coming challenges: the prospect of 9 billion inhabitants in 2050, water problems, desertification, the explosion in energy prices and the damage to biodiversity.
Choices possible. The need to find solutions was the focus of the day's discussions. The need to massively reinvest in the agricultural sector was largely repeated. “We must campaign for reinvestment in agriculture”, stressed Sir John Holmes, Coordinator of the United Nations high level working group on the world food crisis. “It is not a problem of potential - it is a problem of exploitation”, insisted Ousseni Salifou, Commissioner of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), responsible for agriculture. He pointed out that resources are often present but not exploited. Mention was also made of the need for a new world partnership without constantly pitting farmers of North and South against each other, as well as the need for regulation, as reiterated by Pascal Lamy, WTO Director General. “We have left agriculture up to chance over the past 25 years. The market has never proven that it can feed the planet”, stressed Laurent Pellerin, who is president of AgriCord, an international cooperation alliance under the aegis of farm producers. “Farming is like any other commercial sector. It is a commerce but not just a commerce! I am in favour of there being a specific approach to agriculture”, said Jean-Michel Lemétayer, who chairs the EU committee of agricultural organisations in the EU (COPA), even though the idea of creating a specific fund raises questions.
Stakes remain local. “Agriculture is above all for feeding the local population”, pointed out Mr Lemétayer echoing the comments by Jacques Diouf, FAO President, who bemoaned the lack of interest for agriculture over the years and the lack of infrastructure, which is dangerous for food security. “It is necessary to be able to meet this challenge at regional level. I am in favour of a pilot project for finding solutions for food security”, Louis Michel, European Development and Humanitarian Aid Commissioner, said, adding: “there is a need for a sense of responsibility and ownership [of these challenges and solutions by the local populations]”, he added. “The challenge is now to move from words to deed”, concluded Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Vice-President of the World Bank. “Who will feed the world? We shall feed it together but we shall have to work at it!”, concluded Neil Parish, who chairs the European Parliament agriculture committee. (A.D./transl.jl)