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Newsletter of Via Campesina Africa I • No. 0 • December 2009
We are very pleased to send
Love
you this first issue of (Limpopo Province, South Africa, from 28th to 30th October 2009)
"Wakulima", a monthly
publication by La Via
Campesina Africa (Region 1).
Wakulima means “peasants” or
“farmers”, “the one who works
the land”, in Kiswahili language,
a local language common to
several countries of our region.
This publication aims to be the
voice of all the peasants and
small farmers in Africa, and in
particular in Southern Africa,
Photo: Tineke D'haese
Eastern Africa and Central
Africa. In it, we find the dayto T he “Guardians of Land, Love and Life”
was the theme of rural women’s assembly
find solutions through their struggles and
joint campaigns.
day stories of the African family
based small farmers: their which brought together 250 women from 9 “For us, land is life. It is an expression of
difficulties, their struggles, but Southern African countries (Botswana, our existence and is integral to our
Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, ecosystems on which we survive as a
also their achievements. This is
South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia and species the water, seeds, plants and
also a way for all of us to know
Zimbabwe) representing peasant animals. Our culture and humanity is
better this part of the world and
organizations, small farmers, rural women’s deeply rooted in the land and how we use
to know one another better. We organizations, farm workers unions and it. For us land is the basis for the future of
will always try to get the NGOs. The women gathered together in our children and the restoration of our
newsletter translated into the the province of Limpopo, South Africa from dignity and hope”, say the women in their
three “main” languages of the the 28 to 30 October 2009, to discuss and final declaration ( continue p. 2).
continent: English, French and work through their common problems and
Portuguese.
News from Madagascar International
Please feel free to translate it
into your local languages if you Copenhagen: La Via
Land Grab in Madagascar
feel it will be of help and interest Campesina joins the
for your people. We will try to still relevant today (Pag. 2)
be a mirror of what are the main mobilisations
challenges and what is the
actuality for Via Campesina Small farmers cool down
members organizations, but the earth! (Pag. 3)
also to reflect what is
happening for our movement at
the international level, and News from Mozambique
issues of interest in other
countries of our region. Jatropha! A socio
We hope you will enjoy our economic pitfall for the
newsletter.
country (pag. 4)
The Editors
News from the Region: Uganda and Tanzania (pag. 3)
Wakulima ● Via Campesina Africa I. December 2009 2
Southern Africa Rural Women: Guardians of Land, Life and Love
“The global economic crisis, the food crisis and the energy crisis, protect our local markets from dumping of cheap foods at the
especially climate change, are all the creation of the rich and expense of achieving regional food sovereignty; that our
powerful in the world, yet the poor, especially rural women who governments and SADC enact measures that prevent dumping
are the producers of food and the guardians of life, sit with empty of toxic waste that destroys life on our soils, rivers and oceans;
plates and go to bed hungry. All of our governments have that our governments and SADC allocate greater resources to
committed themselves to reducing and eradicating hunger and fighting preventable diseases linked to poverty (TB, Malaria)
poverty by 2015 as the MDG state, but instead the number of and implement an urgent plan of action to contain and
hungry and poor people is increasing day after day. It is ironic that eradicate the HIVAIDS pandemic; that our governments and
in an instant, the governments of rich countries were able to find SADC acknowledge that polygamy, as a cultural practice,
billions of US dollars to bail out the banks (the agents of financial oppresses women and therefore discourage this practice; that
capital) yet after years and years they do not show the same our governments and SADC recognize that domestic violence,
willingness to find resources to solve hunger, climate change, rape and abuse are destroying our societies and communities,
etc.”, they continue. therefore it requires common programs to retrain and resource
“The food sovereignty of the region, our indigenous seeds, our our Police, the Justice Systems, our social and cultural
forms of local and traditional production are also being eroded as institutions and Education System.
our governments do little to protect local agriculture for large For the participants, the assembly was very inspiring, as it was
scale agroindustry that puts profits before human beings.” the first time such an event happened in our region of the
world.
The declaration also mentions the spread of HIVAIDS, which is
closely associated with cultural practices such Women went on into their minibuses back to their countries,
as polygamy. Throughout the region there is a growing concern full of a new energy and hope, and made an appointment for
that polygamous relationships are the basis for many rural 2010, maybe this time in Mozambique, for their second
women’s oppression and exploitation. After three days of deep assembly.
analysis of the problems they are facing in their everyday life,
they made the following demands: that the governments of the Note: The assembly was coordinated by Women on Farms
region honour their commitment to the Maputo Declaration, where Project (convening organization), African Institute for Agrarian
they all agreed to dedicate 10% of national budgets to agriculture; Studies (AIAS), Eastern and Southern Small Scale Farmers
from this 10%, at least 60% should be allocated to small scale Forum (ESAFF), Land Access Movement South Africa
farmers; scrap marketled land reform and land tenure policies (LAMOSA), Mozambique National Union of Farmers (UNAC),
and instead enact popular peopleled reform of land ownership; Namibia National Farmers Union (NNFU), National Small
that our governments and SADC implement measures that Holders Farmer’s Association of Malawi (NASFAM), Trust for
protect our biodiversity, the atmosphere, the environment, native Community Outreach & Education (TCOE), Via Campesina
seeds, and our water resources; that our governments and SADC Africa 1.
Land Grab in Madagascar still relevant today
Last year we heard a lot about the case of the South hundreds of farmers’ families. Due to this situation, de
Korean company Daewoo, and the contract supposedly Malagasy Farmers Coalition (CPM, member of La Via
dealt with the Malagasy Government, about the rent for 99 Campesina), feels there is a real danger for the farmers of the
years of 1.3 million hectares of arable land in the country, country, and more particularly in 13 districts of the provinces
i.e. half of the total of cultivable lands. After a lot of protests, of Sofia, and is appealing to the local and national authorities
at national and international levels, and as one of the points not to sign any agreement with VARUN, and are asking for
of discord in the complicated political situation in this international solidarity to support their struggle. For more
country, it seems that the Daewoo issue has been put into information, or to send a solidarity message to our friends
the trash bin, even if civil society and more particularly from Madagascar, please write to cpm@moov.mg with copy
farmers are still waiting for an official announcement by the to vcafrica@gmail.com*
current government.
But there is now another very important concern for the
small farmers and local communities of the island: the
actions of the Indian steel giant VARUN, mainly in the
regions of Sofia and Atsinanana. This company, which
arrived in Madagascar in March 2008, first announced they
would carry on activities around mining exploration
(uranium, oil, among other natural resources), but after they
created several Malagasy companies, they also have
projects in the agribusiness sector, for which they need
huge quantities of fertile lands already occupied by
* Sources: Press Release by Defense des Terres Malgaches, and La coalition Paysanne Malgache, nº20, SeptOct 2009
Wakulima ● Via Campesina Africa I. December 2009 3
News from the region
UGANDA
TANZANIA: Public fury halts
After a tough debate among the Assembly members, a new biofuel onslaught on farmers
land bill was finally adopted in Uganda, on November 26th.
According to the text, which still must be approved by the
Tanzania has suspended investments worth millions of
President of the Republic of Uganda to become law:
dollars after a storm of protest over the eviction of
● A landlord can evict a tenant only after a court order and
farmers to make way for biofuels. The country will not
start any new agrofuel project before the government
only on the grounds that the occupant has not paid ground
reviews the selection criteria for each investment. The
rent.
government has also halted allocation of huge chunks of
● A landlord who has occupants on his land cannot start
land to biofuel investors.
selling it off without notification of the occupants.
Under fire from international and local environmentalists,
● A tenant may handle a certificate of occupation, issued by the government said it will stop further acquisition of land
the landlord, but cannot assign or pass it over to somebody by biofuel investors pending clear procedures and
else without first notifying the owner and giving him first policies on such investments.
priority to buy the land.
● Somebody who attempts to evict, evicts or participates in
Already, 40 companies have biofuel projects in the
country.
the eviction of a lawful tenant risks up to seven years in jail.
The 400,000 hectares of agrofuels in the Wami basin that
The text seems to protect the land occupants a little better. would displace thousands of rice farmers was reported by
Sometimes communities are living there for hundreds of GRAIN in 2007.
years. But land is still private property that can be sold and Source and complete article:
bought. http://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/news//2558/667648//qy9vngz//index.html
Source: the New Vision online, www.newvision.co.ug
International
Copenhagen: La Via Campesina joins the mobilisations
Small farmers cool down UNFCCC. to get out of poverty.
We believe that these points have to La Via Campesina supports and takes
the earth! made in Copenhagen. We believe that part in nonviolent actions of civil
disobedience when it is justified
Small farmers – women and men from the people's voices from around the
world have to be heard. The growing politically in order to develop a society
around the world will gather in
with more justice and dignity. We clearly
Copenhagen in December to defend their global democratic movement for justice
proposal for solving the climate crisis. of many social movements preparing for reject violence as a means of action as
Sustainable farming and local food COP 15 shows the importance of these we reject the violence of the policies
discussed behind closed doors. Policies
production are actually cooling down the issues..
allowing companies to get carbon
earth. Peasant agriculture allows carbon
credits to develop monoculture
to be sequestrated in soils and uses less People's voices make many tunes, they
plantations are violent policies. In
fossil fuelbased machines and chemical can whisper or shout, they sing or play,
they talk or debate. The history of social remote villages, they lead to land
inputs. Moreover if we eat local, less
movements shows that protests take evictions, farmers’ resistance,
energy is used to ship food around the
planet. Given the huge impact of many shapes too. In La Via Campesina, repression and environmental
devastation.
industrial agriculture on greenhouse gas civil disobedience has always been part
emissions, a massive conversion from of the strategies carried out to support
We strongly condemn the repressive
industrial monocultures to smallscale food sovereignty, along with debates,
laws that are being passed in Denmark
sustainable agriculture and the political work, and the promotion of real
to muzzle dissent. In the run up of the
development of local markets would alternatives in our fields. When
UNFCCC, we call for mobilisation and
actually allow a massive reduction of all hundreds of farmers occupy a piece of unity among all social movements in our
greenhouse gases. (1) Combined with a land grabbed by a transnational large and rich diversity. We believe that
serious programme to reduce company, when thousands of them
a confident democracy can only be
consumption, such a plan would actually gather in front of the WTO to ask for an strengthened by allowing people from
make irrelevant any discussion on carbon end to the liberalisation of agriculture around the world to defend and
trading, bioengineering and other markets, we defend our right to live. Our
implement climate justice, food justice
technological fixes and trade right to feed the world and to feed
and social justice.
mechanisms currently discussed in the ourselves. Our right to be respected and
(1) Explanatory data to be published in
Copenhagen – Dec 2009.
Source: http://www.viacampesina.org/main_en/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=811&Itemid=75
Wakulima ● Via Campesina Africa I. December 2009 4
News from Mozambique
Jatropha! A socioeconomic pitfall for Mozambique
UNAC and Justiça Ambiental came together to realize a Myth No. 4: Jatropha does not present any risk to food
study on the Jatropha production in Mozambique. Here is security but is a development opportunity for subsistence
the resume of the executive summary of the document farmers
that you can read in full on In Mozambique Jatropha is planted as a direct replacement for
food crops raised by subsistence farmers, and given that
http://www.viacampesina.net/downloads/PDF/ReportJatro around 87% of Mozambicans are subsistence farmers and
produce 75% of what they consume, major concerns arise
In Mozambique, the debate on agrofuels has steadily when one considers the plan to encourage subsistence
advanced over the last five years, fueled by industry farmers to plant large amounts of Jatropha. This concern is
speculation and demand, grand promises and foreign even further exacerbated because subsistence farmers have
interests. Investors have applied for rights to close to 5 very weak links to markets and the lack of storage capacity,
million hectares in Mozambique in 2007 alone, nearly one communication and information makes it difficult to benefit from
seventh of the country’s officially defined “arable” land cash crops. (…)
and there is a rush to create favorable conditions for
investors at the cost of the civil rights of Mozambicans. A Conclusions and Recommendations
good example of this was clear with the World Bank The report concludes that the dominant arguments about
Jatropha as a foodsecuritysafe biofuel crop, a source of
funded National Policy and Strategy for Biofuels that
purposely blocked civil society participation, lacked additional farm income for rural farmers, and a potential driver
transparency and was only made publicly available once of rural development were misinformed at best and dangerous
complete and approved by parliament. Because of at worst. While further independent research will give more
detail, this investigation seriously challenges Jatropha as
Africa’s water scarce climate and the continent’s large
providing for sustainable fuel and development in
extent of supposedly 'marginal' land, Jatropha has been
Mozambique. Given the trend in evidence emerging
given the most attention as a potential agrofuel crop.
However, many question the claimed benefits of Jatropha internationally, demonstrating the failures of Jatropha to meet
expected outcomes, and in fact endangering food sovereignty
and believe that the current rush to develop Jatropha
production on a large scale is illconceived, understudied and rural livelihoods, this report recommends that support for
Jatropha development in Mozambique be halted until some of
and could contribute to an unsustainable trade that will
not solve the problems of climate change, energy security the major development issues surrounding subsistence
or poverty. Therefore, this study evaluates Jatropha farming are addressed and rural communities obtain food
production in Mozambique and the most common claims sovereignty. A similar conclusion was reached by
Mozambique’s civil society and subsistence farmers in 2008,
made in favor of Jatropha in order to delineate the
differences between the rhetoric and reality. resulting in the emergence of a declaration with specific
recommendations that should be respected, including
Myth No. 1: Jatropha grows well on marginal land prioritizing food production, greater support for subsistence
and can produce high yields on poor soils farmers, increased support for cooperatives, ensuring farmers ́
Unfortunately, no cases from the literature or from any of rights, respecting community land rights, and promoting food
the communities, industry experts or individuals sovereignty.
interviewed could even mention a single example of this Who is Via Campesina
being true in Mozambique. On the contrary, almost all of
We are the international movement of peasants, small and
Jatropha planted in Mozambique has been on arable
mediumsized producers, landless, rural women, indigenous
land, with fertilizers and pesticides, but have still fallen
people, rural youth and agricultural workers. We defend the values
short of the claimed growth rates and yields. (…) and the basic interests of our members. We are an autonomous,
pluralist and multicultural movement, independent of any political,
Myth No. 2: Jatropha requires low water use and economic, or other type of affiliation. Our 148 members are from
minimal maintenance 69 countries
In Mozambique it was found that irrigation was required from Asia, Africa, Europe, and the Americas. For more
during the early development phase, even in areas where information: www.viacampesina.org
the rainfall ranged between 800mm and 1400mm. (..:)
In the region Africa 1, the current members are: UNAC
(Mozambique), CPM (Madagascar), MVIWATA (Tanzania),
Myth No. 3 : Jatropha is resistant to disease and Landless Peoples' Movement (South Africa), COPACOPRP
pests (DRC), UNACA (Angola). The regional coordination office is
This study found extensive evidence pointing to based in Maputo, hosted by UNAC.
Jatropha’s vulnerability to diseases and problems ́ with
fungi,viruses, and insect pests. (…) Of even greater For any further information please contact us at:
concern in Mozambique is the growing evidence from vcafrica@gmail.com,
both the subsistence farmers, and experts, of Jatropha Office in Maputo: +258 21 32 78 95
http://viacampesinaafrica.blogspot.com/
pests spreading to surrounding food crops. (…)