Various civil society organisations are now urging developing countries to fight for food sovereignty which is presently threatened by the resumption of the negotiations on the Doha Development Round. Find out the concerns raised by these organisations.

Jakarta, Indonesia—Hundreds of farmers, youth, and farm workers from the Indonesian Federation of Farmers Union (FSPI) joined hands to stage a demonstration last March 20 to strongly urge developing countries comprising the Group of 33 (G33) to stand by the people. The demonstration, held one day prior to the G33 Ministerial Meeting, was a response to the efforts of the US, European Union (EU) and the World Trade Organisation (WTO) to resume negotiations on the Doha Development Round.

Furthermore, representatives of peasant organisations, social movements, and civil society organisations from across the world released a “Peoples’ Memorandum to the G33 Ministerial meeting in Jakarta” that calls on the G33 Ministers to fight for food sovereignty and have an alternative trading system based on the principle of food sovereignty. Full text of the memorandum can be found at <http://www.focusweb.org/peoples-memorandum-to-the-g33-ministerial-meeting-in-jakarta.html?Itemid=92>.

The resumption of the negotiations on the Doha Development Round in February this year has brought various organisations to launch collective protests.  Activists claim that the Doha Development Round will only bring an unfair trade system that will flood markets with subsidised agricultural imports from developed countries and displacing local production in developing countries, hence, increasing poverty of farmers.

According to People’s Coalition on Food Sovereignty (PCSF), a network of various grassroots groups of small food producers working towards a People’s Convention on Food Sovereignty, “The WTO is nothing but an instrument by the major powers to promote neo-liberal policies on food and agriculture. The Doha Round will only hamper the developing countries’ ability to improve local production and feed its own people.” 

As such, the PCSF is also urging the G33 countries to remain firm in their stand on the special products and farm subsidy issues despite pressures from the major powers like the US as a way of ensuring people's food sovereignty.

Doha Development Round and G33 countries

The Doha Development Round was launched in November 2001 at the ministerial conference in Doha, Qatar. In July 2006, negotiations were stalled over disagreements on tariff cuts and farm subsidies. The US refused to accept the terms of G33 countries to designate 20% of their agricultural imports as “special products” (SP) to be subjected to very low or zero tariff cuts on the basis of food security, livelihood security, and rural development. 

G33 is a group of developing countries that coordinate on trade and economic issues. It includes Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Belize, Benin, Botswana, China, Democratic Republic of Congo, Cote d'Ivoire, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Jamaica, Kenya, South Korea, Mauritius, Madagascar, Mongolia, Mozambique, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Pakistan, Panama, Peru, Philippines, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Senegal, Sri Lanka, Suriname, Tanzania, Trinidad and Tobago, Turkey, Uganda, Venezuela, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

Related article:
“Developing countries continue Doha Round protests” in we! March 2007, No. 1

Sources:
“People’s Food Sovereignty Threatened with Resumption of WTO Doha” from People's Coalition on Food Sovereignty, posted on February 15, 2007, <http://www.foodsov.org/html/takeaction15.htm>.
“Peoples’ Memorandum to the G33 Ministerial meeting in Jakarta” from Focus on the Global South, posted on March 25, 2007, <http://www.focusweb.org/peoples-memorandum-to-the-g33-ministerial-meeting-in-jakarta.html?Itemid=92>.
“The FSPI's Action on G33 Meeting: Stand by your people, G33 Ministers!” from Via Campesina (International Peasant Movement), posted on March 20, 2007, <http://www.viacampesina.org/main_en/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=291&Itemid=1>.