Foro Global sobre Seguridad Alimentaria y Nutrición (Foro FSN)

1. FAMILY ECOLOGICAL ORGANIC AGRICULTURE AS MODEL:

   The agriculture of tomorrow will necessarily have to adapt to the cultural, social, ecological, economic and political realities of Senegal. This is a technological challenge that decision- makers, researchers, private sector operators and industry players will have to lift.

   The gradual saturation of arable land, due to population growth, on the one hand, and the degradation and decline in fertility of the land currently cultivated, make agro-ecological intensification an unavoidable requirement.

   Advances in science and technology now offer new research tools and biological material that offer great prospects for improving agricultural productivity. Combined with endogenous knowledge and techniques, we can find agroecology which alone can bring sustainable agricultural and rural development to family farms and local communities.

13

63. Family Agriculture or Capital-intensive Agriculture:

Two modes of agricultural production coexist in Senegal: family agriculture and agricultural enterprises based on capital infusion. Family agriculture is the reality of peasant societies and of agrarian societies of the Southern Hemisphere. Ninety percent of the farmers of Senegal are doing family farming. They are responsible for most of the agricultural production and most of the products available for export. The revenues produced by family farming are the predominant contributor to the economy of Senegal. Only sugar cane entirely produced in a region by one agro-industrial enterprise is the exception. In spite of the current dominant character of family agriculture, more and more, the idea, promoted by urban intellectuals, is that family farming is not capable of being competitive in the global marketplace and must be replaced by industrial agriculture led by trained agricultural technicians. Family farmers would become farm laborers or be replaced by mechanization. This perspective is being promoted without reflection on the evolution of systems of agricultural production.

The Priority of Family Agriculture in the Pluvial## Zone:

The reasons for which family agriculture must be the priority of the politics of development are solid. Any agro-economic system, today, must achieve economic efficacy, socioeconomic equity and the sustainable management of natural resources.

First, there is no economic alternative to the maintenance in the rural milieu of a majority of Senegal’s population. In spite of the growth rate of 4% of the urban population, many of whom immigrate to the cities from the rural areas, the rural population also continues a growth rate of 2% per year. (There are education programs in family planning and birth control, now promoted by farmers’ organizations and NGO’s with some success, but large families are still the cultural norm.) The urban economy is already no longer capable of absorbing more rural immigrants. It leads only to increased poverty in the urban zone with shanty towns, unemployment and disillusionment, especially of young men and women looking for a chance in life. Given current economic priorities and scarcity, there is little hope for a reversal of this trend in the near term. It is essential to find good ways for the rural population and culture to remain largely intact.

The second reason follows from this. Given that it is necessary to maintain a rural population of considerable numbers, (and knowing that 40% of the rural population is already living below the poverty line at less than $1 per day) and, given that increased rural and urban populations require more food and sundries, it is necessary to increase local employment to provide rural family income. This can be done through stepped up agricultural productivity of more than 3% per year to meet the growing need plus work opportunities diversified into jobs other than in agriculture, but located in rural areas.

This accommodation cannot be obtained with agriculture based on capital intensification one of whose aims is a reduction in the workforce. Only a minute proportion of farmers, who have a comfortable income augmented from non-agricultural income, can support this type of agriculture. This agriculture has, without doubt, its place in the Senegalese economy and could play an increasingly role in agricultural exportation. However, it does not solve the problem of the rural population, both intrinsically valuable and still growing.

14

The third reason is that, taking account of the broad extent of poverty in rural Senegal, the only efficacious method to combat it is, in the short and medium term, not to finance a few, already solvent farmers, but to return to employment and agricultural productivity the majority of small farmers who have been excluded from such investment and do not have the wherewithal to improve their productivity on their own.

The principal question confronting Senegalese agriculture and the rural world is double: what to do for small farmers and, in particular, what to do for the large majority of small farmers who do not have access to irrigation; and, what to do for rural people who must abandon agriculture or develop a complementary activity in order to stay in their community. This is what one could call the farmer’s question in Senegal. It is posed in unique historical terms.

Western countries, which have succeeded in modernizing their agriculture, have done it in the context of the strong growth of industry and the resources of the State, of population control, and in a political context where it was possible to protect and subsidize agriculture.

Senegal, like the majority of sub-Saharan countries in Africa, must make a success of the transformation of its agricultural system and develop non-agricultural activities in the rural milieu in a context of liberalization and globalization, of rapid demographic growth and with a State which has, at its disposal, limited financial resources.

The policies of rural and agricultural development, specifically, must give a priority to the family agriculture and take into account the new national and international context of this agriculture. This politic does not exclude other forms of agriculture but it replaces them in an order of priority corresponding to criteria of efficacy and of equity concerning the distribution of public resources.

64. The Politicies of the Short Term: to Clean Up and Reenergize Family Agriculture:

Principal objectives of agriculture policies: The principal objectives of the agriculture’s policies are the struggle against poverty, the improvement of food security in both rural and urban milieus, the augmentation of revenue in the rural areas, and the augmentation of production and exportation of agricultural products.

For rural peoples, the three primary agricultural objectives, in particular the struggle against poverty, are certainly priorities while, at the same time, the State cannot neglect the necessity of improving the food security of its citizens, nor the augmentation of agricultural exports to improve the balance of payments in the international marketplace. It is therefore important to try to find as many strategies as possible which permit the reconciliation of these factors.

15

To Target the Most Profitable Pluvial# Cultures: In the zone of pluvial culture, the strategy must be to concentrate investments on production for which it is possible to obtain rapid results with a minimum of investment, and which affects the most farmers. Thus, it is on peanuts, cotton, millet, corn and beans, necessary for local food security and diet preference, but with surplus available for export, that it is necessary to concentrate these efforts. Simple technologies are available to effect this and are easily mastered by the farmers (seed selection of improved varieties, natural fungicides and insecticides, manure, smoke, compost, intermittent cover crops to renew the soil, indigenous farm equipment as well as that purchased from monetary profit from agricultural production.

Increased agricultural production is the most effective method, with the least cost, to increase the availability of materiel for animal fodder including the mulch residue of peanuts and the straw from grain which are the greatest resources for raising cattle, sheep, goats, and chickens especially for semi- intensive animal husbandry in the Northern zone and in the center of the peanut basin. Nevertheless, it is concurrently necessary that farmers’ organizations organize themselves more and more to plan ways to commercialize their products. Studies are necessary to confirm these strategies, but there are already many indications supporting this path, assets available for their rapid realization.

Agricultural research and statistics show that the principle constraint for farming in these zones is initial access to agricultural inputs like seeds, gasoline, water pumps, natural fertilizer, etc. But this necessity is divided into three aspects: the price at sale of their agricultural products, the price of agricultural inputs and the cost of credit with which to allow the commencement of the production process

The state decided in 1997, in the context of a new agricultural program, on an improvement in interest rates which fell from 13% to 7.5%. It also decided to spread the repayment of those debts of cooperatives and of GIEs (small business partnerships), still in arrears, over 5 years. Agricultural materiel was also exonerated for import taxes. These efforts were revealed to be insufficient. Many village cooperatives and GIE have not been able to negotiate the repayment of their debts over a period of years with the National Bank of Agricultural Credit of Senegal (CNCAS) most often because the appreciation of the arrears surpassed their capacity for reimbursement. The State could go even farther in taking measures to reduce these debts. That could be done by adjusting the interest rate charged for these debts and by partial annulment of the debts. It is not necessary to state precisely these modalities. That must be the object of a negotiation between the state and the farmers’ organizations.

The State must go farther still in reducing interest rates for credit in order to lead by example from 7.5% to, at most, 5% for a limited period. This question merits being examined above all if one wishes to have a rapid and important impact in the struggle against poverty by a stimulation of production. This reduction of interest rates could besides be reserved to credit for agricultural materiel in order to permit a rapid updating of equipment which is becoming more and more obsolete. That would avoid the poorest agricultural enterprises falling back into manual agriculture.

Lenders will be, undoubtedly, reticent to accept this decision and it is probable that they will not want to contribute financially. The government could institute it by transferring certain grants (subsidies) of which everyone agrees on the inefficacy.

16

The measures described above aim to rectify the situation of indebtedness of the poorest farmers and to permit them to be, anew, eligible for credit at a reasonable interest rate in order to reliance agricultural production for the maximum number of farmers. That is a reminder of past decisions to erase the debts of farmers which did not have the counted on effects. But this proposal is not expunge the debts but to reduce them and spread their repayment in order to make them manageable by small farmers.

The State could also verify that the sale price of agricultural inputs, in particular, of fertilizer, chemical products and of agricultural materiel are not raised egregiously by action of the monopoly of Chemical Industries of Senegal (ICS) and of SISMAR. In the acts, in the sectors upstream (production and commercialization of inputs) and downstream (transformation of peanuts and cotton), there is not sufficient competition to lower the price of inputs and augment the price of sale of agricultural products. The measures above have the advantage of concerning all farmers and all regions.

To create and strengthen interprofessional committees: The creation and the reinforcement of a committee in which all the stakeholders in the agricultural process from seeds to sale of products meet regularly to confer must be one of the prioritized strategies in the short term. Liberalization requires that all the economic actors in this agricultural process, particularly including the producers,1 take more and more charge of its politics, with the support of the State, to negotiate, among other things, a fair division of the benefits. Some efforts have been done, in this sense, but they are largely insufficient. The influence of the organizations of these producers is still very weak compared to that of agro- industrial enterprises, both public and private.

To develop micro-credit: In the short term, always within the objective of the struggle against poverty, one must increase the funds available for micro-credit. This small credit, (often the equivalent of $50 or less) has a very positive effect on non-agricultural activities which play a role more and more in determining the revenues and the food security of the poorest farmers, fishers, foresters, etc. It concerns, above all, women, and the rate of repayment of micro-credit loans has been shown to be high.

To develop small irrigation installations and vegetable gardens: The funding of small, easily managed installations for irrigation channels, in any zones where this is possible (like the river valleys in the south and southeast of Senegal, eg., the valley of the Senegal River) and irrigation by deep drilling to the water table for small vegetable gardens in arid villages could complete effectively and at low cost the strategies presented above.

To develop animal husbandry: One could also support a technically advanced, low cost plan to finance raising animals in rural areas, particularly in the center and the north of the Peanut Basin, zones where, on account of low rainfall, raising plants and animals is very difficult. One such strategy is certainly more efficient and less costly than the method of artificial insemination, previously attempted, which have not given the expected result.

1 Producers, in this case, refers to farmers of plants and animals, fishers, foresters at the front of the line of production.

17

To protect cultures: One other complementary strategy is to increase the investments of the State in the phytosanitary struggle in order to reduce the high losses of production due to diverse insect infestations in the course of the growing cycle (for example, grasshoppers and white flies).

To sustain animal breeding in the sylvan-pastoral zone: Because of its characteristics, the sylvan pastoral zone requires more specific measures, because the majority of its ethnic Pular population is below the poverty level and they are almost entirely reliant on raising animals but without family gardens for food security and the garden’s residue for the animals. Investments in farming equipment, training, and installations to drill for, and pump water to drink and irrigate gardens could have a good effect. For example, this would permit investments to create and maintain fire lanes, realizable in the short term. Some actions of this type are already running in the cadre of programs for the organization and management of pastoral areas.

The strategies for the short term proposed above present the advantage of attacking the problem of poverty by greater reliance on agricultural production. They are coherent with other objectives of State policy so that the accent is to reinvigorate this sector by investment in agricultural inputs. All portions of production would benefit from this. In particular, peanuts, pluvial grains, horticulture and cotton would see augmentation of their production. Rural revenues, farm community food security, and agricultural exports would increase as would products available for urban populations.

To improve the value of existing irrigation installations: The sector stimulation, presented above, would not be sufficient for rice culture irrigation. The farmers of the delta who are, by far, the most indebted would benefit more than the others by measures to restructure their debt into long term repayment at lower interest. They could then diversify themselves into horticulture, and production of two varieties of peanut seed. New model techniques of production, the reduction of the costs of irrigation, the drainage of the waters of irrigation, the resolution of the land question and the training of farmers are necessary before massive investments in private and public irrigation would be profitable. While waiting, the State, the private actors and the partners of development must concentrate on increasing the value of the one hundred thousand hectares already being farmed and on family agriculture in the valley.

To invest in the infrastructures and public services in rural areas: The Agricultural strategies above will be more effective if the State institutes rapidly policies of investment already ordered in the domain of rural infrastructures and large equipment (paved roads, graded roads, water, electricity, telephone and internet access) and in the domain of public services in the rural milieu (education, health, civil government, etc.). The Program of Rural Investment (PNIR) has begun to do things in this sense but it is still very limited.

65. Policies for the Mid-term: to reinforce institutional capacities and to develop human resources

Strategies in the short term must be continued, in their essence, into the mid-term. The priority of the mid-term policies must be such that one can call for an institutional new components and restructure. It is necessary thus to build institutions necessary to an agricultural economy liberalized and subject to international competition.

18

To reinforce the capacities of the State in the matter of agricultural policy: The State must give itself the capacities and competences indispensable to elaborate, negotiate, put into work and to evaluate the effective and equitable policies of agricultural and rural development in partnership with private stakeholders and farmer’s organizations. It is necessary to affirm more clearly the priorities chosen by the State, to define a coherent collection of policies and to deduce the programs and projects. This work must be done in a rather short period.

To put in place a system of information, research and a support council in the rural areas: The establishment of a system of information, training, research and a support council in rural areas is also indispensable if on wishes to support farmers in the adoption of improved technologies and thus the growth of agricultural productivity. This system must permit all rural peoples to have access to information, to training, to improved technologies and to necessary counsel in order to make decisions concerning their economic activities. The reinforcement of the capacities of the State and the institution of a new system of support for family agriculture is in part defined in the cadre of the Project of Agricultural Services and the support of the Organization of Producers (PSAOP).

Agricultural and rural training was not taken into account. The responsibilities of the private sector upstream and downstream of production have not been well defined. Only the project of stimulating peanut production takes into account satisfying the needs of interprofessional committees, representing all the stakeholders, in the definition and direction of the policies for the whole stream of peanut production and marketing. It anticipates the strengthening of a national interprofessional committee for peanut production, the establishment of an observatory for the whole peanut production process and the strengthening of farmers’ organizations. These measures must be generalized at least to the principle agricultural processes for rice, cotton, horticulture, animal husbandry, grains, etc...

The work of conception must thus be followed to integrate these aspects. The new components and the institutional restructuring of the agricultural sector will take time. It will be necessary at least to follow and readjust as it goes along. Nevertheless, some important progress has been realized in this domain.

To insure the success of the policy of decentralization: In the government plan of institutional policies, decentralization has a capital importance for the family agriculture. It has been launched with the law of 1996 making regions of new autonomous territorial collectives with large responsibilities for rural communities. Success supposes that the territorial collectives will be given the necessary human and financial resources and that they will apply principles of good governance and of good administration.

To strengthen the capacities of farmers’ organizations: The policy of liberalization and the policy of decentralization multiply the economic and political stakeholders of development. They obligate the economic stakeholders, including farmers’ organizations, to take these policies into account in their organizations and their partnerships. It is necessary for them to dialogue with the State, but also with the regional councils and rural councils that have responsibilities in the matter of planning and of establishing actions of development, of management of natural resources, of public services, of professional formation, of infrastructures and equipment. This dialogue exists with the State and with

19

the partners in development and begins to give results. It requires of farmers’ organizations more competencies and capacities at all levels. It is necessary for them also to affirm a greater autonomy through rapport with political stakeholders if they wish to defend the interests of their members in creating their appropriate political structures in conformity with the Law in Senegal.

To invest in rural infrastructures and public services: The strategies must also concern rural infrastructures, major equipment and public services already enumerated and whose access has very high costs for them: the civil state, education, health, professional formation, literacy training, etc... The absence, the insufficiency or the poor quality of these services and infrastructures put a strain on the costs of production in the rural milieu and the costs of access to urban markets. There is no longer any doubt that rural peoples are not treated equitably in comparison to city dwellers.

67. Long Term Policies: To Transform and Modernize Family Agriculture:

The definition of policies for the long term raises arduous questions for which it is difficult for farmers’ organizations to provide immediate answers in the form of direction and strategies. Some studies, some reflections and some large debates are indispensable. In effect, it is important that this prospective reflection be the occasion of rethinking the statements between the agricultural economy and the rest of the economy and between the rural and urban worlds.

Exponential agricultural growth in order to meet the demographic challenge:

The size of the growth of the population and its rapid urbanization obliges Senegal to set for itself an objective of exponential growth of agricultural production if it wishes to assure itself of a minimum of food security and to assure the competitiveness of its agricultural products in national and international markets. Our rate of demographic growth being near to 3%, we must envision a superior agricultural growth of 4% and even more if we wish to halt the further development of poverty. One must not meanwhile forget that the efficacy of this rate of growth could be improved if efforts are made to reduce inequality.

The choice of an agriculture based on intense capitalization does not constitute an effective and equitable solution. It is necessary thus to opt for a profound transformation of family agriculture on the plan structural and technological. This means that, to be successful, the current small plots of land must be expanded in order for family farmers to master and benefit from modern techniques of production.

Reformation of land policies in order to transform family agriculture: The transformation of family agriculture supposes a land policy which permits the growth of their size. For that, it is necessary to encourage the exit of people from agriculture who cannot even survive with supplementary activities and revenues. A broad land policy, understanding the need for new land legislation, allowing sale of agricultural land, and the creation of institutions charged with implementing it, is indispensable. This policy must contain rules preventing rural people from being dispossessed of their land by urban investors with disposable capital, able to buy land at very low prices from farmers desperate for a modicum of income to feed their families. Rather the policy must make it possible for other farmers, within the same community, to buy neighboring hectares at a price fair to the seller. The creation of a

20

transparent land market and the institution of a right of preemption for farmers at the level of the rural community are, without doubt, necessary.

This policy will accelerate the departure of a more and more significant number of farmers. It is not a question here of saying what must be the size of farms, nor at what rhythm must their departure be. These are decisions to examine carefully. By contrast, it is essential to accompany this policy by policies of support for the creation of economic activities and employment in the rural milieu so that rural people leaving their land can stay in nearby small villages with other employment. It is not possible for all leaving their farms to insert themselves in the larger cities and find there an economic activity. And, many would prefer to remain near their home communities. This policy necessitates important ways in which, at the end of ten to fifteen years, the majority of the rural population will no longer be agricultural nor practice agriculture as a secondary activity. The policy advocated above does not aim to oblige small farmers to leave, either voluntarily or by force, from agricultural production. It no longer acts to reduce the agricultural population to less than 5% of the national population as has been done in western countries. It is necessary to put in place mechanisms permitting small farmers to choose from knowledge of their true alternatives the best economic future for themselves and their families. Taking account of the possibilities of the urban economy and of economic alternatives in the rural milieu, the majority of them may choose, for reasons of food security, to continue agriculture part of the time.

The formation of family agriculture for the future: The systematic professional formation of rural peoples for some agricultural activities but more and more for non-agricultural activities must also be a priority. It is not possible to limit themselves to form cadres and technicians to form cadres of farmers. The economic competition, at the global level, requires farmers capable of repeated innovation and to master information in order to seize opportunities offered by the markets. It is necessary so that future Senegalese farmers will be educated and trained. In a global economy, there will e less and less place for illiterate small farmers. Basic education and the professional training of farmers and non-farmers constitutes one of the conditions for the long term survival of family agriculture.

The organization of national space and a better insertion in sub-regional and international spaces are essential for Senegal. The policy for the organization of land must be one of the major levers of transformation of family agriculture. It must aim to have several objectives.

The first objective, which concerns directly family agriculture, is to incite a better apportionment of agricultural space. More than two thirds of the rural population of Senegal are in the West, the length of the maritime coast and, more particularly, in its central part. By contrast, the Eastern part of the territory, above all the Southeast part which is moreover the most favorable for agriculture, is less populated. Investments in the infrastructures and equipment, and also in public services could reverse this situation.

The second objective would be to favor the emergence of what one could call a “new rurality”. Senegal includes more than forty thousand villages. Only with difficulty can one imagine equipping them with all the infrastructures and services to which these populations aspire. The policy of organization of the territories must favor the development of a fabric of rural burgs which would offer to the farmers the ensemble of services and basic infrastructures which could stimulate the development of economic and social activities in the rural milieu. This, at the same

21

time, would redress the inequalities between rural and urban populations concerning access to these services.

The fourth objective concerns the integration of Senegal in the sub-region. Senegal is very poorly connected to neighboring countries, which constitutes a handicap for the whole of the national economy, which includes the agricultural economy. The development of infrastructures for railroads, highways and telecommunication with neighboring countries would permit agriculture to compete with that of countries in the sub-region. UEMOA, which is an important step in economic integration of the sub-region, is not, nevertheless, sufficient and it is necessary to try to create a Free Trade Zone within the countries of ECOWAS.

The long-term policy for land management must permit improvement in the linkage of the agricultural and rural economy with national and external urban markets in order thus to construct a “new rurality”. These structural policies will be effective if policies of sustainable intensification complement those of the diversification of agriculture in favorable zones: the south of Senegal and the peanut basin, the valley of the Senegal River.

Elsewhere, in the center and the North of the peanut basin, the zone of sylvan-pastoral, an interdependent agriculture and extensive, but sustainable animal breeding must be able to be maintained, if necessary by subsidizing, in part, the rural people living in these zones.

These policies of intensification and diversification suppose a national system of information, of training, of research and of support-counsel in favor of rural people. They suppose agreement along the whole line of production thus to permit farmers to offer products responsive to market demands for quality and which are integrated, effectively and competitively, into the end processes of transformation and packaging. Experience shows that industries of transformation and societies of commercialization play an essential role in this sense. It is p to them to have a good knowledge of the demands of the markets and to orient the producers. It is also in the segments of transformation and commercialization where, more and more, the benefit is realized. The strategies above must not, however, imply that long term questions are simple to resolve.

What model of agriculture? Within liberalization and globalization, woven through the policies of structural adjustment, the World Trade Organization (WTO), but also, one often forgets, the treaty of the Monetary Union of West Africa (UEMOA), are two models which challenge or marginalize family agriculture.

The agro-industrial model of the West is at the eve of a technological revolution. The combination of biotechnologies, information and techniques of positioning by satellite are going to permit an agricultural enterprise to be conducted like a factory.

New varieties containing genetically modified organisms (GMO) are going to permit an increase of yield, but with heavy consequences for life and for the environment.

The experiences which one calls “the agriculture of precision” confirm that it will be possible, tomorrow, to automate the majority of the work of cultivation in large farms. Family agriculture again risks being marginalized.

22

In order to define this agricultural policy for the long term, the country needs to have a reflection on the models of agriculture which it wishes to promote and on the place and the importance of each model.

What model of food consumption? Another model is carried by the policies of liberalization and of globalization, the model of western consumption under the pressure of agro-industry and of multinational corporations. More and more one sees it cannot be generalized to most of the planet, that it is a model made for the billion consumers of the western countries. To imply to the five billion poor that they could catch up with the wealthy and consume like them is politically and socially dangerous. In effect, the inequalities between rich and poor and between developed countries and underdeveloped countries have never been as great as now. In leaving the only market to regulate the economy, one will never close the gap. There are thus political choices to make.

Senegal cannot by itself change the course of things, but it has at least the obligation to contribute to it. For the farmers’ organizations, it is first at the national level that it must struggle to convince the ensemble of their partners that family agriculture has a future and that it can contribute to national development. Without a consensus on this plan, it will be difficult to mobilize a majority in favor of the above proposed modernization of family agriculture. The farmers’ organizations cannot win a majority on the basis of their discourse alone. It is necessary to develop a knowledge and a proper reflection, but also to equip themselves with a capable expertise to support them in this sense.

It is necessary also for them to push the State to develop sub-regional and international alliances and solidarities in order to defend these ideas. The Farmer’s Movement promotes “Sustainable Family Agriculture which is Ecological Organic Agriculture”.

67. Agroecology in the face of the Globalization of the Economy:

Since the end of the Second World War, international trade has always been a powerful engine of growth in most countries.

The growing interdependence between markets and the production of various countries through the exchange of goods and services but also of international movements of capital and technology is characteristic of the process of globalization. This phenomenon of globalization has been markedly reinforced since the fall of the Berlin Wall in November 1989, which precipitated the opening of the countries of the East to the winds of liberal reform and the International Market. It became even more so with the conclusion of the Uruguay Round and the creation of the World Trade Organization in 1995.

It thus appears that the international market transcends borders and inevitably propagates within it the impact of decisions and policies sovereignly adopted, particularly at the level of its most dynamic poles.

This is especially the case when, for example, growth in the United States, Europe or Japan occurs where, for whatever reason, prices are rising in industrial countries, the shock wave relayed by The market is inevitably felt at the level of the whole planet. Disruptions arising from a sharp change in US interest rates or the exchange rate of the US dollar are also felt around the world.

23

The rise of foreign direct investment in the 1980s and the development of intra-firm trade through the play of multinationals are also signs of the phenomenon of globalization.

Ultimately, once the process of globalization has finally taken hold, leaving other alternatives only the search for competitiveness to adapt to the competition which is the golden rule, how to insert it Under penalty of being entrusted to the periphery of the system? How can we avoid being reduced to the exclusive status of a simple country - a client, in addition to being insolvent or heavily indebted? The adequate response to this kind of questioning necessarily refers to the need to understand the stakes of globalization. It is therefore important to understand the essential characteristics of the global economy through its organization and dynamics. It is also essential to understand the place and prospects of the developing countries and especially of the African region in the international economy. Finally, it would be useful to analyze the potential opportunities offered to developing countries in general and Africa in particular, which is resolutely open to the world by highlighting the constraints and demands of an in-depth and harmonious integration of its economy into sub-regional trade And regional level which must in itself be invigorated and beyond international trade

Beyond the gigantic size and the opacity of the borders, the international economy has in fact the main determinants of a national economy. It has its market, a geographical space for meeting offers and demands for goods and services, but also for factors of production, notably the capital factor. It has its organization and its rules to ensure and discipline the competition between the different actors. It secretes its poles of growth and a periphery that adapts as best it can. It is becoming increasingly transparent with the development of means of communication and satellite observations.

In general, the benchmarks for a more efficient international trade are codified by the WTO.

Integration into world trade in compliance with the liberal and competitive rules that the WTO aims to strengthen in the monitoring of national trade policies therefore requires, in particular in P.V. Such as those in Africa, a determined effort to increase the export base and competitiveness of production. The export sector, whose relative costs must be reduced more and more, would thus be promoted as the driving force of the economy.

Such an orientation towards large-scale exports implies an improvement and diversification of production and requires, for its financing, the mobilization of financial resources generally exceeding the possibilities of domestic saving; Hence the need for any country to have good external credit, guaranteeing free access to capital markets

The global capital market, which is articulated with goods and services, also has binding access rules. The scarcity of official development assistance (ODA) shows that financial resources, whether public or private, foreign or national, will increasingly be channeled to countries deemed to be at lower risk. These can be described as those who, while progressing in economic liberalization, successfully implement sound macroeconomic policies.

Access to the capital market is thus necessarily dependent on satisfactory performance by the institutions that govern the international monetary and financial system. At the heart of this system, the IMF and the IBRD, in a complementary and coordinated manner, ensure rigorous multilateral surveillance. They condition their financial aid as well as that of other donors (very attentive to their diagnosis and commitment) to the adoption and relentless pursuit of a process of reform and structural adjustment of economies. The guidance provided by these institutions in

24

the areas of macroeconomic stabilization, poor countries' debt servicing, and enhanced growth and development are part of the process of globalization. The lifting of all trade barriers and the elimination of any foreign exchange restrictions is thus established as a condition of access to the capital market and even of international financial assistance.

The criteria for the assessment of medium-term stabilization and economic adjustment strategies are known: they include fiscal consolidation and the sustainability of external accounts, firm monetary policy to fight inflation, The adoption of a realistic exchange rate, the opening of the economy to international trade, capital movements and competition.

The organization of the world economy, however, is in its multipolar essence. The unequal exchange in a world of competition therefore results in the emergence of more or less hegemonic blocs and the periphery of the system cannot escape the need to regroup to adapt better. The industrial countries still set the tone in this regard. Already dominant, they nevertheless group to optimize their chances against the competing blocks. The EU (European Union) and NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement) are just a few examples.

This correct analysis of the phenomenon of globalization that we take up, is that of many Senegalese and African economists.

68: Green Economy, an integral part of Ecological Organic Agriculture:

How to produce (by companies, by households): taking into account the environmental dimension, workers' rights, respect for human and animal health, ethics.

How to consume: should we continue to watch 20% of the world's population consume 80% of the world's resources while poverty and hunger kill millions of people?

How to allocate wealth: within and between countries, Official Development Assistance, what is the future for the 0.7% of the GDP of the rich countries?

The Market: is it not the "law of the fittest" nuanced by multilateral trade agreements? The market cannot become the supreme value of mankind. The market must be guided and governed by the principles of humanity, dignity, citizenship, responsibility, solidarity, prudence, precaution, safeguarding and cultural diversity for the benefit of the entire human community?

An agrécological vision of the green economy rests first on a different conception of the economy: an economy of promotion and not of exploitation for the sole purpose of seeking profit: the economic actions to be promoted must first allow Rural communities to live properly in the villages and to have prospects for the future in a secure rural world. To restore hope to the rural population, the conditions for a more balanced development between cities and countryside guaranteeing the long-term future of the national community must be ensured.

There is also a need to work towards the development of a profitable economy that ensures a sufficient volume of activities and income for the rural population by making the best use of the basic resources of the terroirs, adding value and diversifying Agricultural and non-agricultural activities through the reconstruction of production / processing / marketing / service "chains" that will help revitalize the rural economy. Such an objective also implies the promotion of a sustainable economy concerned with the reconstitution of natural resources and the maintenance of social mechanisms to manage a solidarity "living together"; Finally, a fair economy

25

(addressing the causes of poverty and reducing inequalities), which should ultimately ensure that the peasant enjoys a socio-economic status, security and living conditions at the same level as for all peoples citizens.

The advent of this renovated economy is possible if one takes into account the logics and dynamics of local actors. Its construction must not be based on the "product" (as in the chain approach), but on the "producer" and be based on the family which forms the basis of the social structure in rural areas.

The Peasant Movement proposes here an approach that it has already tried to support the evolution of the family farm. This revival of the agro-ecological family farm must be part of the reconstruction of a rural economy at the different levels (local, regional, national, subregional) ensuring upstream and downstream of agricultural production conditions for its valorization . The diversification of production (agricultural and non-agricultural), local processing of products, improvement of marketing conditions, price control and market expansion by respecting the rules of fair competition and First, closer peasant-to-peasant exchanges based on zonal and subregional complementarities, better access to information, technology and credit must enable quantitative and qualitative improvement in production, creation of a value Added to ensure better direct and indirect remuneration of the real actors of the rural world, and the creation of green jobs to retain the living forces in the village.

This revival of the rural economy must at the same time be underpinned by a long-range vision of local and regional development based on land tenure security, the creation and maintenance of basic infrastructure, (Training, health, recreation and culture) and the maintenance of social peace. For this new rural economy to become a reality, a number of political conditions must be met. Political guidelines must be put in place to counter the excesses of uncontrolled liberalization and the slippage of non-transparent competition and to support the initiatives of the rural people while preserving their interests at international, state and decentralized levels. in place. Framework conditions for the development of agroecology, sustainable availability of natural resources, appropriate regulation, adherence to good investment priorities, rural access to financing systems, the development of an appropriate research, information system, training and advice, good governance, must be created.

Each actor must take responsibility for controlling the drift resulting from current trends in six areas that are decisive for the future of the rural world: the trend towards privatization of basic resources and the risk of monopolizing the management of land and resources Naturalization, tendency to spin-off production and privatization of services and the risk of a decline in the quality of services in the field of production, a tendency to relocate investments and activities in the Loss of surplus value, a tendency towards opening up to the world market and total liberalization of prices, and the risk of new monopolies in the field of seed marketing and production, a tendency to reduce the notion of public interest And risk of marginalization of the most vulnerable in the area of local economy and development The risk of failure to take over the credit for productive investment and climatic risks in the area of financing the transformations to be carried out.

Farmers' leaders with the support of NGOs have a decisive role to play in constructing, defending and supporting a form of re-foundation of rural Senegalese and African society. In relation to the definition of the political orientations at the different levels, the peasant leaders will try to influence through lobbying the decision-makers in the interest of the rural world and

26

to provide their members with useful information on these policies to know and understand what can influence the evolution of their condition, and possibly mobilize to defend their interests.

In relation to the implementation of the framework conditions, the peasant leaders will propose certain measures to be taken, monitor their respect and act within the frameworks created. Finally, work of political watch and economic initiatives or support for grassroots farmers is their own responsibility in the field of action. But these peasant leaders (at different levels: village, rural community, nation) must evolve and adapt, keep their autonomy of reflection and action, ally with others if necessary, strengthen their capacity to mobilize to play their role. The National Platform for the Development of Agroecology will play a decisive role in supporting them.

The Farmer Movement in Senegal with the support of the Platform must answer three questions today: 1) How can the peasant live and develop his ecological organic family farm? 2) How can the farmer face liberal policies? 3) How can the peasant rebuild and consolidate the basic structures that constitute his "security perimeter" (family, village community and inter village)?

The green ecology within the framework of the ecological organic agriculture, must make it possible to reach to the development of the local populations on the Cultural, Social, Economic, Ecological and Political development which mean sustainable development.

VII. Conditions of Sustainability of the Ecological Organic Family Farm (EAOFF):

•   Development of a policy to support ecological organic family farms and integration of

  young people (graduates and non-graduates) in the agricultural sector.

•   Establishment of rural promotion centers for young people: education, training and apprenticeship in ecological organic agricultural trades.

•   Recognition, appreciation and respect for the cultural, social and economic, ecological and political dimensions of the FFA.

•   Promotion of favorable conditions for the viability of the agro-ecological family farm, particularly the fight against illiteracy.

•   Development of technical and economic support services.

•   Improvement of the rural environment.

  # pluvial – a climate characterized by an annual prolonged period of abundant rain, different from the rest of the year which is arid.

  Supply Inputs (crop and livestock production):

  • Accessibility, availability (distribution network) and variety. Guaranteed quality and affordable. • Develop proximity services for production and conservation of inputs (seeds and organic inputs) • Establishment of control services and legislation on standards and quality control of inputs.
  
  • Implementation of a fiscal and customs policy to lower the prices of factors of production
  
  • Establishment of one-stop shops to shorten administrative costs and procedures for production factors.
  
  • Establishment of central purchasing offices.

27

• Opt for the production of specific organic fertilizers related to the crop and soil types (inputs adapted to soil quality and ecological organic production methods).

Production:

• Promotion, diversification and integration of ecological organic sectors (fight against famine, poverty, food insecurity),

• Quality and quantity training.

• Development of water and land resources (water control wherever possible).

• Implementation of an agricultural insurance policy to contain the various risk factors that weaken producers and their production systems.

• Promotion of the control of product quality standards (recognition of the Organic Farming Standards in Senegal).

• Mobilization of the non-agricultural private sector (suppliers, industrialists, bankers, transporters, researchers, etc.) to support the family farm.

• Promotion of "NEW SUSTAINABLE PRODUCTION SYSTEMS THROUGH ECOLOGICAL ORGANIC AGRICULTURE".

Used farm equipment:

• Availability, accessibility and costs (reducing the high cost and access difficulties) of productive equipment in general.

• Reduction of taxes or exemptions on agricultural equipment and other factors of production (tax and customs facilities).

Environment:

• Management and protection, restoration of ecosystems (restoration and protection of productive capital and above all of soil)

• Regional policy for soil fertility management (improvement of cultural practices)

• Promotion of the use of alternative energy to wood (solar, wind, gas, etc.)

Land:

• Securing of land ownership (establishment of codes and registration).

• Secure agro-land policy for ecological organic owners and family farms.

• Land reform for the access of smallholders, women, migrants and young people to land ownership. • Updating pastoral codes.

• Problems of cross-border transhumance: consultation and negotiation between the actors.

Financing:

• Reduction of lending rates and creation of medium and long-term intervention mechanisms and structures adapted to the financing of ecological organic family farming.

• Incentives for the installation of young ecological organic farmers.

• Establishment of a regional agricultural bank and the establishment of a fund to guarantee and improve agricultural borrowing, with financing approaches adapted to ecological organic family farms and crop calendars.

• Establishment of a UEMOA / ECOWAS regional fund for rural modernization and maintenance of ecological organic family farming and local development.

• Marketing credit for the purchase and storage of agricultural products.

28

• Participation of farmers' organizations and ecological organic agricultural producers in the capital of the industrial units of the subsector.

• Partial withdrawal of the levies for the development of the ecological organic sectors.

Storage:

• Support for the establishment and / or rehabilitation of storage infrastructures, in particular against the problems of considerable post-harvest losses (a policy of storage and conservation of crops).

• Establishment of mechanisms for the storage and marketing of agricultural agro-ecological products. • Establishment and rehabilitation of cereal banks, in particular to ensure the security of producers and to help empower Ecological Organic Organizations (EAOO).

Transformation or Processing:

• Creation of agro-ecological agricultural processing units in rural areas, on the initiative or by participation of EAOO.

• Valuation of organic local raw materials by existing industrial units.

• Promote the versatility of industrial structures.

Marketing:

• Promotion of internal agro-ecological exchanges in the sub region.

• Organization of flow channels and markets and reasonable producer prices for agro-ecological products.

• Promotion of non-taxes on ecological organic agriculture factors of production.

• Organization of trade between EAOO (ex: for gari vs.onion) and networking of markets (stock exchange).

• Promotion of the comparative advantages of each country (Strengthening the advantages of each country).

• A price policy for agro-ecological producers taking into account both production costs and income improvement.

Trade and transport:

• Strengthening of supervision in the implementation of the texts governing the movement of persons and their property in member countries (stoppage of police and customs harassment restricting the free movement of products both within the country and between Countries of the sub region).

• Free movement of people and goods within and between states (North to South and South to North). • Opening up of production areas development of road networks (organization of carriers and development policy of high-quality railways at the subregional level, a policy of opening up access to rural roads).

• Development of the interstate maritime, railway and air transport network.

• Opening up of production areas through the development of communication infrastructures.

• Joint organization of air cargo.

• Promotion of agro-sylvo-pastoral fairs and crafts.

Communication:

• Development of West African sub-regional networks to intensify exchanges between farmers' organizations, consultation and negotiation for the establishment of support services, including procurement, applied research, advice, transformation / storage , Marketing, price.

• Development of regional "rural radio" programs.

29

• Regional program of access to the New Technologies of Information and Communication. • Establishment of a regional market information system (availability and production).

Training and Information:

• Training and information in ecological organic agriculture of managers, staff and members of farmer’s

organizations, particularly on the requirements of economic liberalism and the need to change it.

• Support for strategic reflection and strengthening institutional, technical and management capacities of AFEs.

• Policy to reduce the magnitude of illiteracy, lack of control over the management of farms and producer organizations and the lack ecological organic agriculture technological information.

• Management and management of takeover bids (Elected officers / Executives).

• Strengthening and improving national policies and regional Research & Development programs to encourage the creation of more appropriate technologies and the enhancement of endogenous knowledge and practices.

• Production and dissemination of economic information.

• Ecological organic technological exchange between EAOO networks, agricultural research centers in the sub region.

• Public subsidies for the continuing training of producers in agroecology.

• Co-management of development projects to take into account the creation and governance of local authorities as a catalyst for local development and participatory democracy.

• Reorganization of support for producers on the basis of an agricultural consultancy program (agricultural advice and research specifying the responsibilities and performance obligations of each partner (public agricultural and research consultancy services, NGOs, producers).

Monitoring and evaluation :

• Systematic involvement of EAOOs in the monitoring and evaluation of all agricultural and rural sector programs and projects in order to integrate ecological organic agriculture.

30