APPENDIX B

AGENDA

I. INTRODUCTORY ITEMS

1. Opening Ceremony

2. Election of the Chairperson, Vice-Chairpersons and Appointment of Rapporteur: for decision

3. Adoption of the Agenda and Timetable: for decision (ERC/02/1-Rev.1 and ERC/02/INF/2-Rev.1)

II. STATEMENTS

4. Statement by the Director-General (ERC/02/INF/4)

III. ITEMS FOR DISCUSSION

5. World Food Summit Follow-up: for discussion (ERC/02/3 and ERC/02/3-Sup.1)

6. Food Safety and Quality (Outcome of the Pan-European Conference on Food Safety and Quality, Budapest, 25-28 February 2002): for discussion and decision (ERC/02/4,ERC/02/4-Sup.1 and PEC/REP)

7. Sustainable management of land and water resources: combating desertification and prevention of land degradation (outcome of the discussion held at the 32^nd Session of the European Commission on Agriculture - ECA): for discussion and decision (ERC/02/5, ECA/32/02/2-Rev.1 and ECA/32/02/2-Sup.1)

8. Review of the State of Food and Agriculture in the Region: for discussion and/or information (ERC/02/6)Report on FAO Activities in the Region 2000-01: for discussion (ERC/02/2, ERC/02/INF/6 and ECA 32/02/4-Rev.1)

9. International Year of Mountains, 2002: for information (ERC/02/INF/5)

IV. OTHER MATTERS

11. Date, Place and main theme(s) of the Twenty-fourth FAO Regional Conference for Europe: for decision

12. Any other business

13. Adoption of the Report

14. Closure of the Conference

APPENDIX C

STATEMENT BY THE DIRECTOR-GENERAL

Mr Chairman,
Your Excellency, the President of the Republic of Cyprus,
Distinguished Ministers,
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

            It is a great pleasure for me to welcome you to the Twenty-Third FAO Regional Conference for Europe which for the first time is being held on this sunny Mediterranean island - the birthplace of Aphrodite - goddess of beauty. This island, with a history of over eleven thousand years, is located at the crossroads of three continents - Europe, Asia and Africa - a meeting point of great civilisations - a factor which has influenced the course of the island's history throughout the centuries.

            I should like to express, on behalf of all the delegations and the staff of FAO, my sincere gratitude to the Government and people of the Republic of Cyprus for hosting this Regional Conference.  The warm welcome we have received, the splendid facilities provided, and the excellent arrangements made for this Conference bespeak of this country's noble heritage of cordiality and generosity.

            I should like to thank in particular His Excellency President Glafkos Clerides for honouring us with his presence at this opening ceremony.  This bears witness to the importance that the highest authorities of this nation attach to alleviating poverty in the European region, and throughout the world. 

(State of food and agriculture in the world)

Mr. Chairman,
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

            This Regional Conference is taking place in a global economic, social and political context that is undergoing rapid change.

            The Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization (WTO), held in Doha last November, has established the framework for more equitable terms of international trade of agricultural products. During the next years, the globalization and liberalization of trade for agricultural products, the movement of capital, and the transfer of technology should take place in such a way that both the developed and the developing countries will be able to enhance the living conditions of their people. For agriculture in particular, it is essential that the new negotiations under the WTO provide the developing countries with greater opportunities to participate in fairer international trade. FAO will continue to make available to its Member Nations the analyses and information needed to reinforce the technical skills of negotiators in agricultural trade.

            The last two years have seen a relatively modest performance of the agricultural sector, the economic mainstay of the poorer regions that employs more than 70 percent of the economically active population in the least developed countries. The annual rate of growth of world agricultural production fell to 0.6 percent in 2001, the lowest level since 1993.

            World cereal production fell in 2001 to 1 850 million tonnes, 1.2 percent down from the previous year. A number of factors have contributed to this reduction: the natural disasters and low prices of recent years, and government policies to reduce surplus supply.
            The projections are that world utilization of cereals in 2001/02 should exceed output for the second consecutive year, amounting to 1 935 million tonnes, up 1.7 percent from the previous crop year.

            Importantly, however, Australia, the European Union and North America have sizeable food surpluses for export (with a total value of US$36 000 million) and are probably in a position to significantly increase their food production. On the other hand, food production in the low-income food-deficit countries (LIFDCs) is not enough to satisfy the needs of their populations, and these countries have neither the means nor the funds to offset the shortfall through imports.

            Meanwhile, agricultural prices have continued to fall. Cereals have posted an accumulated price reduction of 43 percent.  Prices of fats and oils have declined by 35 percent.

            The world still has some 815 million undernourished people, including 777 million in the developing countries, 27 million in the countries in transition and 11 million in the industrialized countries. The improvement recorded in some countries and parts of the developing world, notably in East Asia, is thus neutralized by the worsening situation in other regions, especially Sub-Saharan Africa, Central America and the Caribbean.

            The gap between output and needs in the food deficit regions will continue to widen unless there is an increase in rural investment to generate higher employment, income, productivity and production. Until there is an abatement in hunger and malnutrition, it will be difficult, indeed impossible, to achieve appreciable and sustainable results in other vital domains of the fight against poverty, such as health and education.

(Emergency situations)

            Food shortages caused by natural disasters have continued to affect many countries. As of late last year, there were 33 countries and 62 million people facing food emergencies.

            During the last two years, in response to the crisis which unfolded in the Balkans and to natural calamities (prolonged drought in the Caucasian countries and floods in some of the Balkan countries), emergency assistance projects in the affected countries totalled some US$34 million.  Emergency assistance in the Region has more than doubled compared to the previous biennium. However, data indicate that their relative frequency has changed over the last thirty years. Whilst in the 1970s and 1980s food emergencies were mainly the result of natural factors, in more recent years they have been originating from manmade disasters.

            The role of FAO in such a context is more important than ever, primarily in assessing the food and agricultural situation, determining food aid needs and informing the international community, thanks to the Global Information and Early Warning System, which is working in particular with the World Food Programme. FAO’s expertise is also invaluable within the framework of consolidated appeals for humanitarian assistance and, especially, by providing direct assistance to farmers.

(Other crises)

            The long-term viability of intensive agriculture in the developed countries raises concerns and poses problems. The epidemics of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) and foot-and-mouth disease, salmonella, and mutant drug-resistant E. coli infection have changed consumer perception of the consequences of unbridled efforts to intensify and maximize yields, and to cut costs.

            Elsewhere, the genetic modification of food crops and animals has sparked fierce controversy. While GMOs are not necessary today to achieve the objectives of the 1996 World Food Summit, they offer great potential for feeding a world population expected to grow to 9 billion persons. Their development and application therefore need to be monitored scientifically and in an international framework. This will make it possible to benefit from the positive aspects, while avoiding any possible detrimental effects on human health and the environment.

            Forest fires are another problem, particularly - but not only - for Mediterranean Europe, where serious, localised crises are recurrent.  These fires are often devastating to the environment and forest assets, but also to agriculture and rural life.  FAO is striving hard to harmonise forest fire policies, regulations and procedures, to improve early warning and information systems and to find the resources to strengthen national response capacity. 

(State of food and agriculture in the region and challenges)

Mr Chairman,
Distinguished Ministers,
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

            Since the start of the reforms in the early 1990s, the number of people below national poverty lines in the European transition economies has increased quite substantially.  In 1998, nearly 21 million people in the transition economies lived on US$2 or less per day. 

            However, the past three years have seen positive developments affecting the poverty and food insecurity situation in both the countries of Central and Eastern Europe and the four countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) classified as part of the European Region.  First, there has been political stabilization in the countries of former Yugoslavia.  Second, the marketing year 2001/02 saw bumper harvests in the region.  Third, the region as a whole has now seen three consecutive years of good growth, and the outlook for growth in 2002 is also positive.  These developments have allowed for the substantial phasing out of food aid in the region.

            Three recent policy developments stemming from the EU and addressing the EU-accession countries of Eastern Europe hold some promise for the future:

•         Implementation of the Agenda 2000 reforms of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) started in 2000.  Just as important, EU intervention prices have fallen over the last three years in US dollar terms as a result of Euro depreciation vis-à-vis the US dollar.  Decreases in intervention prices under Agenda 2000 and Euro depreciation would have the effect of bringing EU cereal prices into line with international prices.

•         Negotiations on the agricultural chapter for EU-accession countries have received new impetus with the publishing of the Commission's proposal on how the CAP will apply to accession countries. 

•         The decision to establish a European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), an independent advisory body, separate from European Community institutions yet funded by the EU, is a significant step in restoring consumer confidence in European food for the future.  It can be expected to bolster future demand, particularly for livestock products.   

  (Highlights of FAO activities in the European region)

Mr Chairman,
Distinguished Ministers,
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

            In response to the changes in Europe and the emergence of transition economies, FAO has taken a number of important steps to increase its presence in the Region.  A key move was the establishment in Budapest in 1996 of a Sub-Regional Office for Central and Eastern Europe.  And since 2000-2001, the Regional Office for Europe based in Rome has been considerably strengthened. As only one country in the region is serviced by a fully-fledged FAO Representation, negotiations have begun with those Member Nations that have submitted a request to establish National Correspondent/Senior Technical Officer posts in the Region.  Three National Correspondent posts are already established and functional.

             The Regional Conference in Porto two years ago endorsed the following short- and medium-term priorities identified within the long-term Strategic Framework:

i)        Poverty reduction, through support to sustainable rural livelihoods and food security;
ii)       Food safety and quality;
iii)      Sustainable management of natural resources; and
iv)      Institution and capacity-building to support the process of transition to market economies in the rural sector.

            Consequently, FAO has focused on these areas in its implementation of programmes and activities in the region in the past biennium.

(Issues on the agenda)

Mr Chairman,
Distinguished Ministers,
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

            This Twenty-Third Regional Conference will examine the key issues relating to the fight against food insecurity. One of its major tasks will be to prepare for the World Food Summit: five years later, which will be held in Rome from 10 to 13 June this year to accelerate implementation of the decisions taken in 1996, and make it possible to reduce by half the number of people suffering from hunger by the year 2015. This important meeting, which was postponed because of tragic international circumstances, should help revitalize the fight against hunger. Progress made towards the objective set in 1996 of halving the number of undernourished people in the world by 2015 has been inadequate. At the present rate, this would only be achievable towards 2050. The Summit this June will be called upon to identify and adopt concrete measures to correct this delay. It is imperative to reinforce the political will at the highest level and to mobilize the necessary financial resources. This means forging strategic alliances and devising appropriate mechanisms and incentives for marshalling public and private funding, along two main lines of action:

•         Strengthening political will through alliances for food security and rural development that should involve all sectors of society: the governments, the private sector and civil society organizations.
•         Mobilizing private and public funds for agriculture and rural development to reverse in real terms the negative trend of bilateral overseas development assistance which fell by 49 percent in real terms between 1990 and 1999, and the share of the portfolio of World Bank and regional financial institutions which fell by 45 percent during the same period.

            In this context, the personal participation of the Heads of State and Government of the European Region at the World Food Summit is essential for its success. I therefore look forward to the pleasure of welcoming them in Rome in June.  Besides the statements at plenary sessions, the Heads of State and Government will be able to exchange views at round tables and participate, if they so wish, in daily press conferences. Separate meetings of parliamentarians, private sector NGOs and civil society will give other stakeholders the opportunity to provide their input to the debate.  A stock exchange of Regional programmes of food security will be organized in the framework of side events to initiate exchange of views on concrete investment needs.

            The other two major issues on your agenda concern desertification and land degradation, on the one hand, and food safety and quality, on the other. 

            Desertification and land degradation during the last decade have been aggravated quite substantially in the European region, due to a number of factors.  Recommendations have been proposed for your endorsement to improve the situation.  FAO cooperation with the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) to which 37 European countries and the European Commission are signatories, should facilitate the coordination of programmes and actions.

            Concerns over food safety and quality are increasing worldwide, as the reported incidence of disease has increased over the last decades.  They are priority issues for governments, food producers, industry, traders and consumers alike.  In the European region, some food safety and quality problems in recent years have sometimes even endangered consumers’ health, as well as hampering trade within and beyond the region.

            FAO welcomed the “Pan European Food Safety Initiative” proposed by His Excellency L.J. Brinkhorst, the Minister for Agriculture, Nature Management and Fisheries of the Netherlands at your last Regional Conference in Porto.  As you know, part of the initiative included the convening of an FAO/WHO Pan European Conference on Food Safety and Quality, which was held in Budapest last February at the kind invitation of the Government of Hungary.  The main recommendations of the Pan European Conference are submitted for your endorsement and I look forward to the follow-up activities that need to be taken.

(Other issues)

Mr. Chairman,
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

            Let me mention two other important issues.  On the occasion of World Food Day, last October, the President of the Federal Republic of Germany, His Excellency Mr Johannes Rau, called for an International Alliance against hunger and poverty. This concept was subsequently widely supported at the FAO Conference in November 2001. Such an Alliance, support for which was also expressed at the FAO Regional Conferences for Africa, the Near East, Latin America and the Caribbean, and Asia and the Pacific could be the tangible expression of reinforced political will and an important step towards removing the despair and anger that are so favourable to extremism.

            Also, the Organization last year set up a Trust Fund for Food Security and Food Safety. This will play a catalytic role in increasing investment in agriculture and rural development, through:

•         Pilot projects of food production and income generation in poor rural communities.
•         Programmes for eradicating transboundary pests and diseases of plants and animals.
•         Transfer of technology, in particular through South-South Cooperation.
•         Strengthening of capacities to prepare feasibility studies of bankable projects.

              The success to date, with 20 percent of the initial sum of US$500 million already secured, would be even greater if further pledges could be made before the Summit. Each contribution is to be used following an agreement with the relevant donor.

            Both developed and developing countries are expected to participate, in accordance, naturally, with their means and political commitments, to ensure that this fund is truly universal.

(Conclusion)

Mr Chairman,
Distinguished Ministers,
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

            Recent events have dramatically recalled us to the need to deal with hunger.  The injustice of 800 million people going to bed hungry every night while, in other parts of the world, food is abundant and sometimes wasted, cannot be overlooked.  Such a situation fuels the sense of frustration and swells the ranks of those who believe that inequities cannot be eliminated through peaceful means.

            Progress in reducing hunger is not only necessary to improve the livelihoods of the poor and hungry people themselves.  Reducing hunger and food insecurity is in the interest of all, poor and rich alike.  It lessens international tensions, prevents people from migrating for economic or socio-political reasons, and creates strong trading partners so that all nations can take advantage of the opportunities arising from an equitable globalization.  Strengthening democracy and empowering people to decide their own fate are essential steps in this regard.  I am sure you will agree with me that unless the right to food is fulfilled, exercising all other human and political rights will be compromised.

            The generosity of Europe in providing food assistance to populations stricken by natural and manmade calamities is commendable, but Europe could do more and better - instead of giving fish, enabling the hungry to fish for themselves- and thus help the farmers, herders and fishers of the less advanced countries through investment and the transfer of technology. The programmes of assistance to developing countries executed in partnership with FAO provide an appropriate framework for such action, which would confirm Europe’s central role in world stability and progress.

Mr Chairman,
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

            I await the outcome of your deliberations with great interest and wish you every success in your work.

            Thank you.   

APPENDIX D

LIST OF DOCUMENTS

APPENDIX E

RECOMMENDATIONS STEMMING FROM THE FAO/WHO PAN EUROPEAN CONFERENCE ON FOOD SAFETY AND QUALITY

APPENDIX F

Sustainable Management of Land and Water Resources:
Combating Desertification and Prevention of Land Degradation

RECOMMENDATIONS FORWARDED BY THE 32^ND SESSION
OF ECA TO THE 23^RD FAO REGIONAL CONFERENCE FOR EUROPE

(i) FAO should be ready to assist those countries needing advice in the formulation and implementation of their NAPs, and should also provide assistance to countries in the Region who need guidance in order to start pilot activities and demonstration projects in affected areas, taking into account approaches, successful techniques and best practices and building on the experience obtained in the Region.

(ii) FAO should actively follow-up the recommendations of the Fire Action Plan and in particular foster the establishment of fire agreements establishing partnerships between countries in the prevention and combat of wild forest fires.

(iii) As reflected in some of the reports from European countries to COP-4, there is need for external assistance in establishing and implementing the state-of-art monitoring and information systems on desertification. FAO’s LADA project could provide a standard approach and a common frame of reference for the assessment of desertification, as a step forward in determining the real extent and the magnitude of biophysical impacts of desertification processes.

(iv) Information systems and clearing houses are most helpful for the definition of common strategies and for technical and scientific co-operation. Among the various potential areas, Annex IV countries have proposed the creation of a network to gather, evaluate and disseminate information about traditional knowledge and practices for safeguarding the quality of the regional landscape. FAO, in cooperation with other partners, should assist in the development of this network, and in classifying and evaluating traditional knowledge, as well as innovative, environmentally- sound and cost- effective practices.

v) FAO should intensify efforts to foster new approaches and strategies for Sustainable Agriculture in Europe in a view to prevent, and even reverse, land degradation and consequent loss of productivity that resulted from some negative effects of agricultural industrialisation in Europe. To that end, the potential of conservation agriculture, and the sustainable management of water and livestock resources need to be reassessed and strengthened in cooperation with all concerned stakeholders. The public and private sectors, as well as the civil society, should all be involved in the framework of revitalised environmentally friendly policies of the European Commission.

APPENDIX G

GENERAL STATEMENT BY THE REPRESENTATIVE OF THE NGOS/CSOS CONSULTATION IN PREPARATION FOR THE WORLD FOOD SUMMIT:
FIVE YEARS LATER

Five years after the 1996 World Food Summit, hunger and malnutrition are ever more widespread all over the world.

The quality and quantity of food is a major problem for people in both the North and the South. People are not free to produce food in a sustainable and viable way, or to consume in a safe way.

Agricultural policies promote export-orientated products, which destroy locally produced food.

Family farming and artisanal fishing are in universal crisis with growing rural poverty and malnutrition, provoking large-scale migration and the consequent suffering of the migrants destabilising the structures and cultures of the countries where those migrants live. The importation of cheap food which costs less than that produced locally destroys the viability of local sustainable agricultural practices.

The compulsory logics of WTO market-orientated policies are destroying local economies, family farming, the environment and social cohesion.

The compulsory opening of markets and the development of strongly subsidized export orientated agricultural production in the North is unacceptable.

Food insecurity is a direct result of these policies, which result in unsafe food in Europe. BSE is the tip of the iceberg of a far bigger problem.

Europe must not destroy food sovereignty all over the world. Food sovereignty is the political right of people to define agricultural and food policies and practices that respond to their society’s requirements and that are not detrimental to other people’s food policies.

Food sovereignty is the right to have access to production and natural resources: water, land, biodiversity and genetic resources. It is also the right to protect and promote local and regional food production. It is locally based agriculture that feeds the world, not industrial export orientated production.

It is the citizens’ right to define what food they eat, who is producing it and how it is produced. People do not want to eat GMO food, antibiotics, hormones, additives and a lot of pesticides. The precautionary principle is a precondition for a sustainable society and a sustainable agricultural system.

Food sovereignty is also the right to participate in the definition of rural policies and it is the right of farmers and fishers to negotiate fair prices and long-term perspectives.

The right to adequate food and the right to produce food are indispensable. The right to adequate food requires that every man, woman and child – alone and in community with others – has physical and economic access at all times to adequate food through the use of a resource base appropriate for its procurement in ways consistent with human dignity. The realisation of the right to adequate food entails the availability of food which is both free from adverse substances and culturally acceptable.

Agricultural workers and small farmers who produce much of the world’s food and commodities are amongst the most vulnerable in terms of their own food security and health, as they and their families form the core of the world rural poor. The right of agricultural workers and small farmers to adequate food can only be achieved as part of a package which ensures wider social and political rights. The rights of all paid agricultural workers, including seasonal and migrant workers, to engage in sustainable and productive practices must be fully recognized. Slavery, neo-slavery and black market labour must be abolished.

A substantial coherent set of policies for national, regional and international relations, that promotes the right to food sovereignty, must be established. The relation between conflicts, wars and hunger is getting stronger and stronger. The loss of food sovereignty provokes social and national conflicts in a context of total war imposing solutions of a new economic order. For these reasons war of any kind must be brought to an end, the practice of embargos must be halted, and the international prohibition of the arms trade must be enforced. Prevention of war must be the highest international priority.

The quality and quantity of international cooperation must be improved, and more solidarity and participation of civil society in development policies must be ensured. Food aid must be used in an appropriate manner only in cases of emergency and without disturbing local markets. Regional food reserves must not disturb local production. The Northern countries must put supply management policies into place.

The responsibility of FAO is to assure food for all. Both FAO and Governments are accountable for hunger, malnutrition and the bad quality of food.

FAO will only succeed in its endeavours if it involves civil society in the decision making process and in the implementation of policies, that address the causes of the problem and do not promote or justify technical or trade solutions.

The world hunger problem also depends on the way the Common Agricultural Policy is organized. Governments are requested to give FAO the role of being strongly involved in the conception and evaluation of a new CAP. This CAP must guarantee a new European agricultural model with new measures and rules. This CAP must put the issue of food sovereignty at its core and must be based on solidarity in Europe, between Western Europe and Central and Eastern Europe, and with other countries. The CAP should thus contribute to stabilising markets, increasing prices to cover all production costs and proceeding to fair supply management.

APPENDIX H

GENERAL STATEMENT BY THE REPRESENTATIVE OF THE NGOS/CSOS CONSULTATION IN PREPARATION FOR THE ITEM ON FOOD SAFETY AND QUALITY

The participants in the NGOs-CSOs Consultation gave general support to the Recommendations from the Pan-European Conference on Food Safety and Quality held in Budapest, 25-28 February 2002.

Specific general concerns need, however, to be highlighted:

• The approach is too technical and not cultural or political enough, nor is it respectful of food sovereignty; and
• the approach is focused too much on products and not enough on producers, workers in agribusiness including migrant workers, and production methods.
• underlying causes for the weakness of the food safety net need to be emphasized, the main ones specific to the EU countries being:
• Problems caused by industrialisation, intensification of production and reduction of production costs;
• problems caused by longer production chains;
• loss of cultural and biological diversity;
• problems for small scale production facilities to satisfy HACCP controls;
• codex rules not appropriate to local markets but only for international exchange;
• need to improve labelling of food products, poor labelling practices;
• negative aspects of products due to intensive breeding, GMO use, novel foods, new technologies and irradiation, negative list of additives, etc.; and
• other European countries:
• Lack of legislation, means of control and information dissemination;
• poor capacities of governmental and non-governmental organizations, and weak organization of civil society with poor links to international networks;
• international rules are difficult for any type of exchange;
• traditional farmers’ produce is of good quality, even when lacking labelling and control measures;
• very low purchasing power causes consumers to choose low cost and poor quality products; and
• in some States there is illegal entry of products, making controls impossible and posing a risk to society.
• view of this situation, the following recommendations are proposed:
• Reform of CAP and other agricultural policies is necessary with full consideration of food safety principals.
• Governments should give FAO a new mandate for the Region: to work on agricultural policy issues as well as food safety issues and principals in view of its experience in other regions and for rationalization.
• Governments should apply measures to better protect local markets in order to avoid destruction of these markets, and to support shorter food chains; in this respect WTO rules should also be adapted accordingly,
• On the basis of the precautionary principle, an immediate moratorium on genetically modified seeds, food and feed, on-field trials with GMOs, as well as the general use of antibiotics and hormones in feed, should be introduced in all European countries.
• Capacity building programmes should be expanded to civil society organizations dealing with food safety, especially in economies in transition.
• Public education programmes should be expanded to migrant agricultural workers.
• Governments should support NGO participation in decision making in Codex Alimentarius Committees.

APPENDIX I

GENERAL STATEMENT BY THE REPRESENTATIVE OF THE NGOS/CSOS CONSULTATION IN PREPARATION FOR THE ITEM ON SUSTAINABLE MANAGEMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES

Participants in the Consultation reached agreement on the following:

• In general, there is no sustainable use of natural resources within the European region;
• environmental pollution caused by GMOs is irreversible and has a negative impact on the well-being of rural communities;
• desertification, erosion, land degradation and problems of soil fertility are on the increase;
• water management for agricultural purposes is inadequate;
• there is a large decrease in biodiversity and an increase in genetic erosion and pollution;
• domestic varieties of plants and animals are being abandoned and intensive agricultural practices are being adopted;
• uniformity of food endangers cultural identity;
• many countries face unsustainable management of land, water and other natural resources and displacement of agriculture due to massive concentration of tourism in specific areas;
• governmental policies and actions are limited and do not address the problems mentioned which in general results in the strengthening of negative trends;
• globalization, free trade agreements and dumping practices cause unfair competition with local production, destroying family farms and rural communities and endangering basic food security in developing countries.

The principal underlying causes for the above-mentioned problems are:

• Practices of multinational companies, industrialized agriculture and all forms of dumping;
• policies driven by short-term interests;
• political and economical instability; and
• those aspects of agricultural policies in countries (for example EU and USA) that support industrial agriculture and subsidize exports, which have negative impacts on family farms, both in developing and developed countries.

Based on the findings of the Consultation, the European NGOs’ representatives strongly recommend that:

• Governments and international organizations give a real meaning to sustainable development principles by developing transparent and feasible regulations and ensuring that they are respected in a compulsory way;
• all governments develop and implement sustainable rural and agri-environmental policies in order to promote environmentally friendly, socially acceptable and economically sound agricultural practices;
• accordingly, and appropriate distribution of public support to farmers be introduced;
• a CAP fit for a new European agriculture model be developed, with new measures and rules that can give a better value to local resources (local products, cultural heritage and typical quality production) and improve people’s livelihoods;
• the CAP put the issue of food sovereignty at the centre of its policy:
• agro-ecological choice in support of the multifunctional role of agriculture, and enhancement of biodiversity, the central role of  labour in agriculture and social welfare of farmers, and of animal welfare.
• food sovereignty and local trade be promoted in order to respect rural communities and identities and to benefit consumers all over the world;
• food sovereignty of other countries be respected;
• organic agriculture be considered as a model which gives the best possibilities of fulfilling all the principles of sustainable agriculture;
• an immediate moratorium on the use of GMOs be introduced;
• the Carthagena protocol on biosafety be ratified without delay;
• patents on life be banned and free access to genetic resources as well as farmers’ rights to save their own seeds be respected;
• the involvement of civil society representatives (farmers, consumers, environmental organizations) in the definition and implementation of food and agricultural policies be assured, as well as the necessary information and education, especially in rural areas, and
• policies which ensure access to land water and credit for farmers be implemented.