Statement by Farmers? Major Group by Sarala Gopalan
At Opening Session
CSD-IPM February 28, 2011
Mister Chairman,
Farmers want to be partners for sustainable development. Our goal is
to foster methods that encompass environmental sustainability, animal
welfare, and food security. The neglect of natural resources, rural areas,
and consequently farmers, women and indigenous people on the one side -
and wasteful ways of lifestyles and harmful ways of production on the
other, continue to be barriers for quenching hunger, thirst and a decent
quality of life for all people of the world.
A policy framework is necessary to foster a more sustainable approach in
the key thematic areas and the overarching issue of sustainable
consumption and production. During this IPM we hope to see the following
key themes included in the negotiating text :
· The role for farmers in achieving sustainability goals
· A systems approach to sustainability
· Integrated production management, including integrated pest
management
· Supporting scientific research and the sharing of that information
through extension services
· Harnessing science and technology for sustainable use of resources,
including water
· Reducing waste of harvests and food
· Proper management of waste from farming operations
· Use of a corridors approach to transportation
· Establishing risk management and marketing tools for farmers
· Supporting women farmers, including land rights
· The opportunity to use farm organizations to further sustainabililty goals.
Please see our Priorities for Action document on the CSD web-site for
further details. We look forward to working with governments, IGOs and our
fellow major groups during the coming week.
