Unthinkable for the countries of the South and the NGO

Calls to fight against hunger in the world were launched last week during a series of meetings on the subject in Rome at the FAO headquarters. Friday, world day of nutrition, Jacques Diouf, Director General of the UN Organization, has once again hammered alarming figures: the cap of the billion undernourished people has been crossed in 2009, or 105 million more in one year. The global economic crisis is not only responsible for this injustice. He recalled the structural causes of degradation - under-investment for thirty years in the small family agriculture in poor countries-, calling the major powers to bring the agricultural part of the public aid to development (its 1980 level), against 5 to 17 currently. Rising to the challenge of feeding more than 9 billion people by 2050, it, he said, "the problem of governance of world food security", calling his wishes the rapid implementation of the global partnership on agriculture and food security.

Dialogue of the deaf

This project is in germ for several years. The France has reoffered the idea in June 2008, and work began in January. Except that negotiations ("Les Echos" from October 12) sometimes become dialogue of the deaf, United States of America against Europe, South against North, not to mention the rivalry between institutions.

The partnership, to be launched on 16 November at the Food Summit, is built around three components: political, scientific and financial. The first, already recorded, is based on the Committee on food security world (CSA), kind of general meeting of the FAO, including the reform was to be adopted this weekend. It plans to expand this Assembly of 183 States at large institutions (World Bank, IMF, WTO), civil society, NGOs, the private sector. The second, still under study, is to create a panel of experts of high level (on the model of the IPCC for climate), able to inform the choice of long-term, often controversial (opening up of markets, biofuels, land grabbing, etc.). Finally, the financial side, responsible for catalyzing international funds towards projects defined by the overall strategy remains to build.

But unity is acquired. On the merits, Europe and the France (responsible for writing the European position) design this partnership as a way to define a global and coherent agricultural development policy here where the Anglo-Saxons want to limit his ambition to better coordination in the field of donors. Washington also ignored the discussion before proposing suddenly last September, that the financial component is assigned to the World Bank. Unthinkable for the countries of the South and the NGO...

There is also the struggles of power, including the resistance of the FAO Mastodon to strip them of any parcel of its prerogatives. Because the new CSA "must be detached from the FAO and placed directly under the auspices of the General Secretariat of the United Nations", said Ambroise Mazal, of the NGO CCFD-Terre solidarity, Member of the Group of French interdepartmental work on the subject.

Epic debates in view

Change course, put an end to promises, it is the objective of this partnership and the next Summit which must "obtain States that they accept to account and to be transparent about their programs", told AFP the rapporteur of the United Nations for the right to food, Olivier de Schutter, adding: "should not confuse the fight against hunger with the agricultural volumes increase., otherwise the beneficiaries will be the large producers. "Epic debates in perspective with WTO Director General Pascal Lamy.