BRAZIL - BRESIL - BRASIL

His Excellency Arlindo Porto, Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Supply of the Federative Republic of Brazil

Allow me, Mr. Chairman, first and foremost, to congratulate you on behalf of the Government of Brazil and in my own capacity, for being elected to chair this World Food Summit and the Brazilian Delegation thinks that under the leadership of Mr. Prodi, the success of this meeting is assured. I would also like to congratulate Mr. Jacques Diouf for the tireless support which he and the Secretariat of FAO have given to this meeting which is of such great importance for us all. Allow me also, to express our thanks to Ambassador Medrano, Chairman of the Committee on World Food Security. The progress made, in the last few months in the preparatory process for this Summit would not have been possible without his personal commitment. I would like to express thanks in particular to, the Government of Italy for hosting this major event, and to the people of this city for their warm hospitality and friendly welcome.

We are gathered here with a common goal and challenge to revert the present situation in which 800 million people in the world are affected by the specter of hunger and malnutrition. This situation is totally unacceptable, ethically, politically and economically. Every human being has the inalienable right to be free from the scourge of hunger. Our presence here today, is a testimony of our acknowledgement that hunger eradication is an imperative need in order to ensure that all human beings have the most elementary right, the right to food and the full compliance with this right must become a priority for the international community, since it is an essential condition for the achievement of all other fundamental human rights.

The historical prospective of food security in the world is proof of the close links between hunger, social unrest and political instability both internally and internationally. In the course of history, whenever food security was seriously jeopardized, the inability to restore it was followed by social and political unrest. On the other hand, non-democratic political regimes can also deliberately generate action causing hunger and malnutrition. We must be fully aware that the persistence of hunger is a threat to nations and to the international community itself. It is unrealistic to assume that it's effects are not perceived in richer and more developed regions. The very nature of the question and its various causes and different manifestations, are well known. The main reason for the problem undoubtedly is poverty. It is, therefore, clear that measures must be taken to significantly reduce inefficiencies, not only on the side of supply, but also, and at the same time, to reinforce demand through generation of employment and incomes with the aim of achieving conversions between the population's purchasing power and the cost of an adequate diet. On the other hand, the process of adjustment that all countries are passing through as a result of the opening up of their economies, in a time of great technological changes, negatively affects large groups of their respective populations. This situation requires international cooperation - initiatives like the one that brings us here with a view to reinforcing the commitment to enhance global food security.

As a member of the CAIRNS group, Brazil believes that further effective agricultural trade liberalization would decisively promote world food security. Also, as a member of MERCOSUR we share the view that global and sustainable food security is a universal and pressing responsibility which no country can evade. Consequently, the ministers of agriculture of MERCOSUR who recently met in Brazil, adopted the text of a declaration in which they pledged inter alia to take the necessary actions to continue increasing agricultural production based on the sustainability of natural resources and reaffirmed the need to encourage those participating in this Summit, to further agricultural trade liberalization in order to enhance world food security. Restrictions on trade would force countries to count only on their own domestic production, thus, reducing their average revenue and the availability of a wide range of products as well as worsening the already existing problems of malnutrition.

Brazil has often stated and reaffirmed it, recently, during the 51st Session of the United Nations General Assembly that a country's capacity to fulfil the needs of its people depends on good social indicators, political stability, economic competitiveness and scientific and technological progress. Without sustainable development and international cooperation, however, problems arising from poverty, hunger, unemployment and marginalization of large populations in developing countries will not be solved. In this context, the Brazilian Government considers that the World Food Summit represents an important step forward in the continuous effort to disseminate information on the nature and magnitude of the problem and, at the same time, to arouse a greater sensibility of the international community, regarding the actions urgently needed to eradicate hunger and malnutrition.

Brazil, therefore, welcomes the Declaration and the Plan of Action to be adopted at this Summit as comprehensive and constructive documents representing the consensus and the political determination reached on this matter. We are confident that the accomplishment of the commitments made in the Declaration and the implementation of the Plan of Action will greatly contribute to solving the problem of famine. Many of the principles contained in the Plan of Action coincide with those that govern the Food Security Policy of President Fernando Henrique Cardoso. Among them, it is worth to mention the actions aimed at the reduction of social injustice and poverty which require the harmonious integration of social and economic policies as well as a commitment regarding a partnership between the state and civil society based on the understanding that food security is a matter of national concern. Created in 1995, the programme called Solidary Community has established priority actions in a social field and has encouraged the above mentioned partnership so as to fight hunger, poverty and social exclusion. Another example is the National Programme to Support Household Agriculture (PRONAP) to which US$ 1 billion was assigned for the 1996-97 crop to be distributed as a loan to small farmers all over the country.

The Brazilian Government is also implementing a land reform programme in order to settle many landless poor families. However, none of these actions will be permanent unless we can rely upon the essential support of the Brazilian National Congress as has occurred so far. The principle of partnership was a very important component of the Brazilian preparatory process for the World Food Summit. Our National Preparatory Committee included representatives of the Federal Government, non-governmental organizations, farmers' associations, agricultural workers as well as academic institutions which had the opportunity to express their views and provide contributions.

We consider however, that this partnership needs to be fostered not only at the national level but also between and among countries. It is our hope and conviction that from this Summit will come forth innovative initiatives of international cooperation which will benefit all countries especially the developing ones. Without a decisive and coordinated action to tackle the roots of the problem, the chances of reducing the number of starving people, especially children are small.

Mr. Chairman, it is of the utmost importance that all those gathered here today make a firm commitment to implement the Plan of Action in order to ensure that it will not remain just empty words but will represent what is really expected from this meeting, a gradual and effective change in the quality of people's lives throughout the world.