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IFOAM Calls on the FAO Council to Increase Investment in Organic Agriculture |
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June 20, 2005
IFOAM Calls on the FAO Council to Increase Investment in Organic Agriculture |
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From June 20th – 25th the Council, the executive body of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) that is responsible for the financial management of the organization, will consider the FAO’s Program of Work and Budget for 2006-2007. The “heart” of the FAO’s mandate is “achieving food security for all.” |
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Organic agriculture provides substantive, measurable and tangible
benefits towards achieving this mandate, but is barely mentioned in the
$850 million program budget. Agricultural biotechnology, on the other
hand, whose contribution to food security is subject to debate, is
rewarded for over $6 million in one budget line alone, as well as
budgeted to receive FAO support under other programs.
IFOAM calls on the FAO Council to rectify this situation by
specifically allocating at least 2% of the program budget - roughly $17
million - to research and support the development of organic
agriculture, particularly in developing countries, thereby reflecting
the percentage of organic agriculture as a portion of agricultural
practices worldwide.
The FAO has included organic agriculture as a Priority Area for
Interdisciplinary Action (PAIA). IFOAM recognizes this work has been
very effective; nevertheless, organic agriculture remains grossly under
funded within the overall framework of the FAO budget. IFOAM Executive
Director Gerald A. Herrmann states, “The single most effective way for
the FAO Council to help the world achieve food security would be to
devote resources towards the development of organic agriculture.”
To quote Jacques Diouf, FAO Director General, in his introduction to
the summary program of work and budget 2006-2007, "I have consistently
and most forcefully expressed concerns about FAO not being able to meet
well recognized challenges and satisfy the expectations and demands
from its Members in areas where the Organization has a clear
competitive advantage. Clear examples of such expectations of FAO's
action are in relation to food security, to the alarming threats to
natural resources, to emerging food safety problems, and of course, to
emergencies, in particular, as a result of transboundary pest and
diseases such as avian influenza and desert locusts."
Organic agriculture addresses Mr. Diouf’s concerns in clear and
consistent ways, and its ecological, social and economic potential
would become apparent if the FAO were to provide adequate investment.
“It would behoove the FAO Council to devote sufficient resources to an
agricultural system that will tangibly help the world to progress
towards food security. One of the many benefits of organic agriculture
is economic stability and sustainable development for farmers and small
holders in developing countries The FAO could learn from diverse
research and case studies that already exist and implement organic
programs that can be directly applied by farmers,” explains Cristina
Grandi, Manager of the IFOAM Liaison Office to the FAO.
More details about the benefits of organic agriculture can be found on
IFOAM’s web page www.ifoam.org. Further information can also be
requested from the IFOAM Head Office (Charles-de-Gaulle-Str. 5, 53113
Bonn, Germany, phone +49-228-92650-10).
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