International Planning Committee for Food Sovereignty
Italy
International Planning Committee for Food Sovereignty - Global
In general, the IPC working group on agricultural biodiversity is very positive to the creation of these guidelines. From the different regions the common aspects are:
Regarding the objectives
Align the objectives with the objectives of the SSF Guidelines and VGGTs.
Considering also the milk sector.
The Guidelines should look at the public policies. It should create a legal framework that could be easily replicated in national policy frameworks.
Consider to start from a mapping of practices of small-scale food producers in livestock and the already existing policies at national level that protect smal-scale food producers or pastoralists.
Regarding the scope
For the small-scale livestock, it would be important to keep the FAO references used already in the 1st report.
It is important to also use the UNDROP and UNDRIP as framework to define the small-scale livestock.
Consider the issue of scale of food producers: small-scale food producers cannot follow all the laws applied to the agro-industry system.
Regarding the nature
Voluntary Guidelines are fine for two main reasons: easier negotiations on one hand, and on the other, better implementation to the national and local context.
The guidelines on small-scale livestock should be considered as complementary to the SSF Guidelines and the VGGTs.
Regarding the process
Follow as much as possible the processes followed by the SSF Guidelines and VGGTs.
Important to facilitate autonomous processes of Civil Society Organizations, that might ensure the gender and geographical balance.
The process should follow the Guidelines for Ensuring Balanced Representation of Civil Society in FAO and the FAO Strategy for Partnership with CSOs.
International Planning Committee for Food Sovereignty
Italy
International Planning Committee for Food Sovereignty - Africa
Nous sommes d'accord en général avec les objectifs proposés. Toutefois, nous souhaiterions que l'accent soit mis sur les pasteurs et les populations autochtones, qui font également partie de l'élevage à petite échelle.
Il serait important de considérer ces directives comme complémentaires des Directives volontaires pour une pêche durable à petite échelle dans le contexte de la sécurité alimentaire et de l'éradication de la pauvreté et des Directives volontaires pour une gouvernance responsable des régimes fonciers. Il s'agit déjà d'excellents exemples de la manière dont les processus politiques mondiaux peuvent avoir un effet local.
Le processus devrait suivre les directives visant à assurer une représentation équilibrée de la société civile au sein de la FAO et la stratégie de la FAO pour le partenariat avec les OSC. C'est essentiel pour assurer une participation efficace des petits producteurs alimentaires au processus.
International Planning Committee for Food Sovereignty
Italy
International Planning Committee for Food Sovereignty - MENA region
The objectives of the process should also consider a first phase of collecting existing practices of small-scale food producers in the livestock sector. Not only the practices, but also the already existing policies that protect the work of small-scale livestock or differentiate the small-scale livestock from the industrial model. This would help in highlighting the needs and gaps to be filled with the guidelines.
It is important that the guidelines focus on the small-scale food producers and not on all farmers. The scales are fundamental to be applied in this kind of global tools. We are suffering from the agro industry proposing always the same phytosanitary rules to our scale, and those rules cannot be afforded.
International Planning Committee for Food Sovereignty
Italy
International Planning Committee for Food Sovereignty - Latin American and Caribbean
Por lo que se trata de los objetivos, están muy bien y también será importante la valorización de la biodiversidad ganadera y su relación con cada ecosistema. Así mismo, sería importante plantear la conexión de cercanía y también dedicarle un espacio a la lechería. Se podría pensar también en una construcción colectiva de los objetivos donde participen las organizaciones del sector y sectores relacionados/vinculados.
Para el alcance de las directrices, seria importante tener una guía global, que se pueda después implementar al nivel regional y local a través de otros procesos, como por ejemplo la Década por la Agricultura Familiar de la FAO. Entendemos que no es fácil de llegar a una definición univoca de ganaderos y ganaderas a pequeña escala, pero se puede en esto caso hacer referencia a la definición de campesino/a de la Declaración de las Naciones Unidas sobre los Derechos de los Campesinos y de Otras Personas que Trabajan en las Zonas Rurales y también a la Declaración de las Naciones Unidas sobre los Derechos de los Pueblos Indígenas, debido al hecho que son actores indispensables para la ganadería en pequeña escala.
Sobre el proceso de construcción de las líneas guías es importante facilitar lo más posible a consultas autónomas presenciales de la sociedad civil (cada organización global pueda organizar la consulta y enviar la propuesta a la FAO). Y después de esto, empezar la negociación con un texto que pueda incorporar ya las propuestas de gobiernos y sociedad civil.
International Planning Committee for Food Sovereignty
Italy
International Planning Committee for Food Sovereignty - Europe and Central Asia
In Europe, especially in ECVC, we are working on some political proposals to support an ambitious transition to peasant farming. There is an urgent need for Europe to transition to genuine social, economic and environmental sustainability. It is time to think about how we can viably move away from industrialized livestock farming models and ensure that in Europe, the number of animals reared does not exceed what each given territory is capable of sustaining, starting by how much animal feed that can produce. At the same time, farmers must also be duly remunerated for the fruits their labor. This is what we refer to as the re-territorialization of livestock farming.
This process could be really important for our initiative. The Guidelines should serve indeed to facilitate political processes at the regional level to implement legal frameworks to ensure the sustainable livestock and pastoralism. The Guidelines should look at creating a legal policy environment that would facilitate the small-scale livestock in their daily work and livelihoods.
The nature should be voluntary guidelines (as the SSF Guidelines or the VGGTs) in order to facilitate the process of negotiation and avoid blocking from some more agro-industry oriented countries. We need to have a tool that can facilitate the creation of specific policies at national level. The voluntary guidelines at global level can also represent an easier tool to be implemented to the national or local context.
The process should consider the different regional perspectives, and it should somehow support the CSOs in having autonomous consultations with a respect on the gender and geographical balance in order to not leave anyone behind.
International Planning Committee for Food Sovereignty
Italy
International Planning Committee for Food Sovereignty - Asia and Pacific perspective
Regarding the objectives, the region suggests that the process should follow the SSF Guidelines for a more transformation approach that builds in the importance of knowledge, territory and sovereignty, without a focus on ‘productivity’. E.g. to promote the contribution of small-scale livestock producers to an economically, socially, and environmentally sustainable future for the planet and its people and contributing to eradication of hunger. Therefore, it would be important to avoid the focus on productivity in this case.
For what concern the scope, it can be reasonable given the diversity of the meaning of small scale around the world. However, it worth considering the report’s comment that ‘small-scale production systems continue to provide livelihoods for the producing households and important ecosystem services – such as habitat provision, biodiversity (both wild and agrobiodiversity) and vegetation management – for the benefit of society (FAO, 2022a). Small-scale livestock farmers and pastoralists are the custodians of much of the world’s animal genetic diversity (FAO, 2007).’. These values are important and could really help in framing the scope of the guidelines.
Regarding the process, it would be best to start with small-scale livestock farmers’ organisations to do the democratic discussions and knowledge sharing, which could then provide the base for the next stage of discussions. Limiting the scope of their involvement to what is already proposed by policymakers reduces the transformative potential of this exercise.
Suggested read: Jonas, T., Trethewey B., (2023) Agroecology for Structural One Health, Society for International Development.
Mr. Stefano Mori
International Planning Committee for Food Sovereignty - Global
In general, the IPC working group on agricultural biodiversity is very positive to the creation of these guidelines. From the different regions the common aspects are:
Mr. Stefano Mori
International Planning Committee for Food Sovereignty - Africa
Nous sommes d'accord en général avec les objectifs proposés. Toutefois, nous souhaiterions que l'accent soit mis sur les pasteurs et les populations autochtones, qui font également partie de l'élevage à petite échelle.
Il serait important de considérer ces directives comme complémentaires des Directives volontaires pour une pêche durable à petite échelle dans le contexte de la sécurité alimentaire et de l'éradication de la pauvreté et des Directives volontaires pour une gouvernance responsable des régimes fonciers. Il s'agit déjà d'excellents exemples de la manière dont les processus politiques mondiaux peuvent avoir un effet local.
Le processus devrait suivre les directives visant à assurer une représentation équilibrée de la société civile au sein de la FAO et la stratégie de la FAO pour le partenariat avec les OSC. C'est essentiel pour assurer une participation efficace des petits producteurs alimentaires au processus.
Mr. Stefano Mori
International Planning Committee for Food Sovereignty - MENA region
The objectives of the process should also consider a first phase of collecting existing practices of small-scale food producers in the livestock sector. Not only the practices, but also the already existing policies that protect the work of small-scale livestock or differentiate the small-scale livestock from the industrial model. This would help in highlighting the needs and gaps to be filled with the guidelines.
It is important that the guidelines focus on the small-scale food producers and not on all farmers. The scales are fundamental to be applied in this kind of global tools. We are suffering from the agro industry proposing always the same phytosanitary rules to our scale, and those rules cannot be afforded.
Mr. Stefano Mori
International Planning Committee for Food Sovereignty - Latin American and Caribbean
Por lo que se trata de los objetivos, están muy bien y también será importante la valorización de la biodiversidad ganadera y su relación con cada ecosistema. Así mismo, sería importante plantear la conexión de cercanía y también dedicarle un espacio a la lechería. Se podría pensar también en una construcción colectiva de los objetivos donde participen las organizaciones del sector y sectores relacionados/vinculados.
Para el alcance de las directrices, seria importante tener una guía global, que se pueda después implementar al nivel regional y local a través de otros procesos, como por ejemplo la Década por la Agricultura Familiar de la FAO. Entendemos que no es fácil de llegar a una definición univoca de ganaderos y ganaderas a pequeña escala, pero se puede en esto caso hacer referencia a la definición de campesino/a de la Declaración de las Naciones Unidas sobre los Derechos de los Campesinos y de Otras Personas que Trabajan en las Zonas Rurales y también a la Declaración de las Naciones Unidas sobre los Derechos de los Pueblos Indígenas, debido al hecho que son actores indispensables para la ganadería en pequeña escala.
Sobre el proceso de construcción de las líneas guías es importante facilitar lo más posible a consultas autónomas presenciales de la sociedad civil (cada organización global pueda organizar la consulta y enviar la propuesta a la FAO). Y después de esto, empezar la negociación con un texto que pueda incorporar ya las propuestas de gobiernos y sociedad civil.
Mr. Stefano Mori
International Planning Committee for Food Sovereignty - Europe and Central Asia
In Europe, especially in ECVC, we are working on some political proposals to support an ambitious transition to peasant farming. There is an urgent need for Europe to transition to genuine social, economic and environmental sustainability. It is time to think about how we can viably move away from industrialized livestock farming models and ensure that in Europe, the number of animals reared does not exceed what each given territory is capable of sustaining, starting by how much animal feed that can produce. At the same time, farmers must also be duly remunerated for the fruits their labor. This is what we refer to as the re-territorialization of livestock farming.
This process could be really important for our initiative. The Guidelines should serve indeed to facilitate political processes at the regional level to implement legal frameworks to ensure the sustainable livestock and pastoralism. The Guidelines should look at creating a legal policy environment that would facilitate the small-scale livestock in their daily work and livelihoods.
The nature should be voluntary guidelines (as the SSF Guidelines or the VGGTs) in order to facilitate the process of negotiation and avoid blocking from some more agro-industry oriented countries. We need to have a tool that can facilitate the creation of specific policies at national level. The voluntary guidelines at global level can also represent an easier tool to be implemented to the national or local context.
The process should consider the different regional perspectives, and it should somehow support the CSOs in having autonomous consultations with a respect on the gender and geographical balance in order to not leave anyone behind.
Suggested documents to deepen the issue: https://www.eurovia.org/publications/livestock-farming-in-the-european-…
Mr. Stefano Mori
International Planning Committee for Food Sovereignty - Asia and Pacific perspective
Regarding the objectives, the region suggests that the process should follow the SSF Guidelines for a more transformation approach that builds in the importance of knowledge, territory and sovereignty, without a focus on ‘productivity’. E.g. to promote the contribution of small-scale livestock producers to an economically, socially, and environmentally sustainable future for the planet and its people and contributing to eradication of hunger. Therefore, it would be important to avoid the focus on productivity in this case.
For what concern the scope, it can be reasonable given the diversity of the meaning of small scale around the world. However, it worth considering the report’s comment that ‘small-scale production systems continue to provide livelihoods for the producing households and important ecosystem services – such as habitat provision, biodiversity (both wild and agrobiodiversity) and vegetation management – for the benefit of society (FAO, 2022a). Small-scale livestock farmers and pastoralists are the custodians of much of the world’s animal genetic diversity (FAO, 2007).’. These values are important and could really help in framing the scope of the guidelines.
Regarding the process, it would be best to start with small-scale livestock farmers’ organisations to do the democratic discussions and knowledge sharing, which could then provide the base for the next stage of discussions. Limiting the scope of their involvement to what is already proposed by policymakers reduces the transformative potential of this exercise.
Suggested read: Jonas, T., Trethewey B., (2023) Agroecology for Structural One Health, Society for International Development.