[Gcap-mujeres] marta [Gcap-women] DECLARATION ON WOMEN AND FOOD
CRISIS
Marta Benavides
tlalibertad en gmail.com
Vie Sep 19 15:49:10 UYT 2008
saludos a todas.. the document is very good.. we need to clarify what is the
long term solution that we are refrerring to, and for wheich we can not
wait, thus wse need to go to the short term and medium term solutions.. MY
RECOMMENTATIONS IN CAPITALS AND BRACKETS IN THE BODY OF THE DOCUMENT..
BEST.. MARTA BENAVIDES ..EL SALVADOR
*Women respond to the Food Crisis: We are part of the solution*
During the last months, the whole world has been suffering the crisis in
food price. According to recent figures today 1.4 billion persons live
under the new poverty line of USD 1.25 [PER DAY], and the majority of these
are women and girls. Some 850 million persons around the world suffer from
hunger and 820 of those 850 million1 live in developing countries, areas
that are likely to be more affected by climate change. These figures are
linked to the rise in food price because world provision of cereals in 2007
was 420 million tons, a historical minimum since 1983. According to an OECD
report, a third of the rise in agriculture prices foreseen for the next nine
years is caused by [OF CEREALS FOR ] biofuels.
In Latin America and the Caribbean, more than 50 million people still
[haven't got] [HAVE NO] access to adequate food. Child malnutrition, with
is negative biological, social and economic effects, is currently affecting
more than 9 million children [IN THE REGION], and the achievements in the
fight against poverty and indigence are in risk due to lack of food. The
problem of poverty and hunger in the region is related to worth wealth
distribution and land concentration in the world. This results from the
neoliberal economic policies of extreme privatization and reduction of
national investment imposed by the international financial institutions This
situation has had more relevance in Haiti, Argentina, Peru and Mexico and
the UN agencies in the region foresee a 5% rise in food prices that will
increase indigence in almost one point.
According to FAO, "Latin America and the Caribbean have a 31% surplus in
food resources. The region's problem of hunger is therefore not one of
production but, rather, one of access to food"2. Beyond economic trends,
climatic or protectionist factors that have an important impact on the
current crisis, the main problem of this food crisis is the lack of access
to land and properties and consequently to food, particularly among rural
and indigenous women and household heads.
This situation is worsened when neutral policies are implemented that
underestimate and ignore the role and contribution of rural and indigenous
women in food production and through development strategies that have no
gender perspective, with a negative impact on women's living conditions and
their possibilities of contributing to food production and rural, local and
regional development
Food crisis and the rise of prices can bring unpredictable political
consequences. If prices continue rising, 10 million more people are in risk
of becoming [IMPOVERISHED] poor and a similar number of ALREADY IMPOVERISHED
PEOPLE WOULD JOIN THE NUMBER OF THOSE LIVING IN EXTREME POVERTY]. poor
people could increase.
In view of this situation, we, peasant organizations, and organizations of
rural and indigenous women, feminists organizations and other women's
networks concerned with overcoming poverty and reaching gender equality
[DECLARE] OR [CONCLUDE] report that the current food crisis is the result of
the failure of the structural and macroeconomic policies implemented during
the last 30 years under the leadership of the international financial
institutions (IMF, WB, IDB and the WTO). In Latin America and the Caribbean
these policies have in brief:
- reduced the policy space of developing countries to define their own
development and rural strategies;
- Promoted the exportation of national and local agriculture production
without considering the need to cover the national demand first.
- Promoted free trade agreements in unequal basis for developing
countries, that raised vulnerabilities of several sectors and social groups,
with clear negative effects in rural women in several countries.
- Supported financial speculation on food and a state that has no longer
the role as controller of imports and exports.
- Have promoted the massive production of agro-fuels.
- Have ignored the role in promoting agricultural adapatation and of land
property of the peasant an rural communities where the role of women is key.
- Have prioritized the servicing of the foreing debt in detriment of
public domestic investment with a gender perspective in the national
agricultural sector.
- Promoted national poverty reduction strategies without considering
inequality differences and discriminations.
- Promoted the reduction of the role of the state in all policies,
particularly in rural development and market regulation, but also in social
policies.
Through the above-mentioned actions [THOSE FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS] they have
contributed to worsening the difficult living conditions of millions of
peasants, and, particularly, for the most vulnerable groups: women,
indigenous women and boys and girls.
The immediate solution to this crisis in Latin America and the Caribbean can
be developed through short and medium term actions, we cannot let [WAIT FOR
] the solution for the long term because it will be too late.
We call for the following urgent actions in the short term:
- Establishment of national agricultural policies with a gender
perspective and with a significant budget as part of a broader programme of
national investment, prepared with the participation of all stakeholders.
- Development of policies and strategies with gender perspective that
take into consideration the role, responsibilities and rights of men, women,
according to age and ethnicity.
- Immediate implementation of support programmes and economic subsidies,
in the countries of the region, addressing the poorest sectors of the
population, including school lunch programmes, delivery of food packages,
particularly for women who are household heads, employment programmes.
- Implementation of the process of land reform and actions to overcome
legal and economic obstacles so that women can have access to resources and
benefits such as access to land, water, credit and all the inputs for basic
production.
- Development of flexible micro-financing programmes that respond to
debts contracted by indigenous and rural women.
- Development and support of programmes and actions based on traditional
knowledge, particularly in what refers to conservation and exchange of
native seeds.
- Developed countries must reach their commitment to allocate 0.7% of
their GDP in Official Development Aid (ODA) and make explicit work plans to
achieve this commitment; and moreover they should commit to reach 10% of ODA
for gender equality and women's empowerment by 2010 and 20% by 2015, setting
out in the action plan of donors, recipient countries and the DAC strategies
for reaching the target, monitoring performance and evaluating impact.3
- The international community must commit to advance in the gaps of MDG8
and its negative effects in poverty, inequality, and the current financial,
food, energetic and climate change crisis that particularly affect women.
We call for the following actions in the medium term:
- Promote studies and analysis to visualize the impact of food crisis and
the strategies for sustainable livelihoods for rural, urban poor and
indigenous women.
- Support investment in family agriculture and improve markets, promoting
the fair trade approach to enable the marketization of women smallholders'
products.
- Eliminate export barriers with the objective of encouraging small
farmers to increase their cropping areas.
- Review the criteria for aid allocation and debt relief, including the
inequality dimension and considering the particularities of middle income
countries, where women confront the multiplier effect of inequalities and
discrimination.
*Signatures*
Action Aid
AWID
Feminist Task Force, GCAP
Gender and Education Office (GEO) from ICAE
2008/9/19 Ana Agostino <ana en icae.org.uy>
>
> Dear friends,
> queridas amigas (español abajo),
>
> As you know, the HLE on the MDGs is already next week and there is a
> particular concern around the lack of progress on MDG 3.
> You will recall the initiative sent by Alejandra inviting us to issue a
> statement on women and the food crisis. There has been a lot of progress on
> this as a result of the combined effort of several organisations. I am
> attaching the final version in English and will circulate the Spanish one a
> bit later today. Please indicate if you will like to add your name/ the name
> of your organisation. We will give distribute it broadly while in New York
> and use it as an important advocacy tool.
> We look forward to your signatures, comments and support. Thanks!
> Ana
>
> Queridas amigas,
> ya la próxima semana comienza el evento de alto nivel en torno a los ODM
> con una preocupación especial por la falta de avances en torno al objetivo
> 3.
> Recordarán que hace poco Alejandra nos convocó a preparar un comunicado
> sobre las mujeres y la crisis alimentaria. Hemos avanzado mucho en esto
> gracias al trabajo conjunto de varias organizaciones. Les adjunto la versión
> final en inglés y la versión en español la enviaré seguramente esta tarde.
> Les agradecemos que nos indiquen si desean sumarse con su firma / la firma
> de vuestra organización a esta declaración. Le vamos a dar una amplia
> difusión en Nueva York y la usaremos como una herramienta importante de
> incidencia.
> Esperamos vuestras firmas, comentarios y apoyo. Gracias!
> Un abrazo,
> Ana
>
>
>
> *From:* Alejandra Scampini <Alejandra.Scampini en actionaid.org>
>
> *To:* gcap-women-bounces en lists.apcwomen.org ; gcap-women en apcwomen.org
>
> *Cc:* RosaenCasa en aol.com
>
> *Sent:* Friday, September 05, 2008 10:08 AM
>
> *Subject:* [Gcap-women] WHAT IS AT STAKE FOR WOMEN IN THE CONTEXT OF
> FOODCRISIS
>
>
>
>
>
> Dear women,
>
>
>
> As you know the UN Secretary-General and the President of the UN General
> Assembly will convene a *High-level Event on the Millennium Development
> Goals at UN Headquarters in **New York on 25 September 2008. *
>
>
>
> We are the halfway point towards the target date, some significant progress
> has been made, true, but urgent and increased efforts are needed by all
> stakeholders in order to meet the Goals by 2015. *Does this sound familiar
> **?*
>
>
>
> Groups such as GCAP, African NGOs and Networks, ActionAid and its
> HungerFree Campaign, and others are reuniting again and collaborating since
> they are considering this another opportunity to tell world leaders that
> reviewing is just not enough, that we need to move towards action NOW.
>
>
>
> Some of us are also analyzing how the MDGs specific plans and proposals
> will specially target the recent challenge of *Rising Food Prices*. As we,
> women, improve our analysis of this analysis, we are also witnessing sad
> stories about how this is impacting on the capacity of children women and
> men have a dignified life and their human rights being eroded. Food crisis,
> among other things, is impacting on nutritional levels, income of
> households, and number of more people suffering from hunger and
> impoverishment increases too.
>
>
>
> In early 2008, the UN Secretary-General assembled a food crisis task force
> of UN agencies, which put together and is carrying out a coordinated action
> plan to improve agricultural capacity and access to food. This task force is
> gender blind and ActionAid is among other civil society groups participating
> in it to promote inclusion of a women's rights analysis.
>
>
>
> Many of us are also actively participating in other issues that are also
> interrelated such as Aid effectiveness, Financing for Development and
> Challenges to achieve MDGs in Africa. It may be good to unity our efforts
> and analysis and prepare some concrete actions for September:
>
>
>
> *In a context of very limited CSO participation, I see here some concrete
> opportunities:*
>
>
>
> 1. One, bring back again our analysis on MDGs, recover some of that
> energy and ask the groups that will be in NY to disseminate our messages and
> policy asks. I have tried to make an attempt of a statement we had worked
> also with Marcela Ballara from FAO. It would be very good if we pull
> together a declaration and ask for sign ons. See drafts attached. We need to
> come up with a mixture of MDGs and Food crisis context Experience of WEDO,
> DAWN, FTF GCAP, AWID, CGWL and others is very much needed to pull a strong
> document that also talks to aid effectiveness, FfD. Also some boxes with
> concrete voices from groups working with rural women. *Deadline: 12
> September??* **
>
>
>
>
>
> 1. The second intervention we may have is to comment on the *Task force
> on Food Crisis document.* We have not much time for this. Please see
> document attached. It would be good if we have also communication with
> Agencies working on this such as UNDP, UNIFEM, FAO, WFP, UNICEF, etc. We
> could organize conversations with our friends inside those spaces as to see
> how we can more effectively work together and even think of a representation
> of women's groups inside that task force.
>
>
>
>
>
> 1. *GCAP Tribunals on Poverty*. Use that opportunity to showcase our
> demands. I am sure you are already planning lots of actions. May be we could
> pull together videos, posters, testimonies and send it to FTF GCAP?
>
>
>
> Well hope I have captured your attention and interest. Rosa, Ana we could
> also engage GEAR campaign girls in this??
>
> Let´s continue talking
>
>
>
> Beijos from sunny Rio
>
> Alejandra Scampini
>
>
>
>
>
>
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