Symposium calls for fair trade and sovereign rights over food
An international symposium was held on April 10 and 11 in Tokyo to discuss issues of food sovereignty and the World Trade Organization (WTO), focusing on the call for sovereign rights over food and the WTO Treaty to be revised.
The symposium was organized by the National Federation of Farmers Movement (Nominren) and the National Campaign for Defense of the People's Food and Health.
Panelists were representatives of non-governmental organizations (NGO) from Indonesia, Mexico, and the United States as well as Japan. More than 450 people attended the gathering.
Speakers criticized the present WTO Treaty which gives priority to the interests of multinational corporations. They called for equitable trade, price guarantees, food sovereignty, and environmental protection to replace the present neo-liberalist framework.
Mr. Niel Ritchie from the United States said that U.S. farmers, mostly in their sixties, suffer from the low prices for their products after they produce them in a large quantity using a lot of pesticide. His report surprised the audience.
Mr. Henry Saragih from Indonesia said that farmers are suffering under the domination of multinational corporations and international financial institutions. He said that the country has become the world's biggest rice importer, because importing rice is cheaper than growing rice at home.
The symposium closed on April 11 after discussions and exchanges for two days. (end)
