Terra Preta: Forum on the Food Crisis, Climate Change, Agrofuels and Food Sovereignity

Terra Preta (“black soil” in Portuguese) is the incredibly fertile land created by Indigenous Peoples in central Amazonia.  Even today it continues to regenerate itself though no research has been able to uncover how this happens.

PROGRAMME

Monday June 2

• 9:30-12:30: Plenary

•    introduction/overview of key issues, problems and proposed solutions
•    introduce thematic working groups

• 14:30-17:30: Working groups by language - English, French and Spanish; see discussion topics, below
• 18:00-20:00: Evening side event - Agricultural research for food sovereignty (organised by the International Institute for Environment and Development)
  

• 9:30-12:30: Working groups by language
• 14:30-15:30: Working groups by language
• 15:30-17:30: Plenary to share information between the working groups - 10 minutes presentation from each group followed by plenary discussion
• 18:00-20:00: Evening side event - How global finance and neoliberal investment agenda impacts struggles for land control and food sovereignity of social movements (CRBM, CIC and Corner House UK)

• 9:30-12:30: Working groups by language
  
• 14:30-17:30:  Closing plenary to discuss conclusions of the thematic working groups and ways forward
• 18:00-20:00: Evening side event - Right to Food (organised by FIAN)
  

Note: FAO High Level Conference is 3-5 June
(June 3, 13:30-15:00 are the NGO Panel and the Private Sector Panels at the FAO Conference).

Discussion topics (brief background papers are being prepared to guide the discussion of these topics in the working groups):

Food crisis

Prices on the world market for cereals are rising. In countries that depend heavily on food imports some prices have gone up dramatically and protests and political chaos have resulted. What are the causes of this crisis and what is the best way to respond? What are the political responses at national, regional and global levels by governments and institutions?

The model of agricultural production and its effects on the climate crisis.

Which model of agricultural production is the best option to cool down the planet?
Why are peasant based agriculture, herding and artisanal fisheries part of the solution to the climate crisis? What contribution can peasants, fisher folk, pastoralists, indigenous people,.. make to help solve the climate crisis? What are the negative effects of the industrial, corporate-led agriculture, livestock and fisheries production? What is the role of the corporate actors in this? How to react on the issue of methane emission by cows and rice fields?

Energy and agrofuels

What are the negative effects of their large scale introduction? What are the interests behind the introduction of agrofuels?  Are there conditions under which agrofuels could give a positive contribution and reduce the use of fossil energy? This includes an analysis of the use of energy in agriculture, transportation, model of consumption, the effects of agro-fuels on land use, agro-fuels as an instrument of corporations to gain control, impacts on food production, on rural communities, on the environment.

Increased land conflicts related to the climate crisis.

The degradation of land because of erosion and droughts, the flooding of certain coastal areas and the increased pressure to produce agrofuels may lead to more intensive conflicts around land, in particular collective land. How do we analyse this issue and what are our proposals?

What policies are needed regarding agriculture, livestock and fisheries in order to respond to the climate crisis?

This would include an analysis of the effects in the different regions (in particular Africa and Asia will be strongly effected). How can we increase the resilience against potential effects of the climate crisis (e.g. the role of agricultural biodiversity)? How can we strengthen models of peasant-based production, small-scale herding and artisanal fisheries that contribute to a reduction of climate gasses? What is our assessment of the Kyoto process? What kind of policies do we need at national and international level? What role do we expect from FAO and IFAD? What is our analysis of the policies envisions so far to respond to climate change by the major institutions (such as the World Bank's Climate Investment Fund)?