June 06, 2008	Friday	Jamadi-us-Sani 01, 1429

ROME: Small farmers’ groups on Thursday reacted with “disgust” to the conclusions of the UN food security summit, saying they would further the same failed policies that led to the world food price crisis.

“We are dismayed and disgusted to see the food crisis used to further the policies that have led us to the food crisis in the first place,” said Maryam Rahmanian of Iran’s Centre for Sustainable Development.

Dozens of non-governmental organisations and small farmers’ groups held a forum in Rome this week to coincide with the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation summit on food security.

The FAO summit, which is set to make a final declaration later today distributed a draft text the other day that Rahmanian said: “Will not fill any plate.” “The recommendations for more liberalisation would lead to more violations of the right to food,” she said in a statement.

Since the 1996 World Food Summit, “we have warned continually that the current model would lead to a food crisis, and it has,” she told a news conference.

Rahmanian lashed out at multi-national food corporations whose profits have shot up through the crisis.

Brazilian activist Flavio Valente said it was “about time we treated this as a crime against humanity”. American activist Dena Hoff said in a statement: “In the first quarter of 2008, profits of Monsanto have already shot up by 108 per cent, while Cargill registered profit increases of 86 percent. ... More food aid would help these companies, but do not offer any solutions for the poor and hungry.” The final declaration merely delegates responsibility for addressing the food price crisis to the UN task force set up by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in April, Valente said.

“The only consensus (at the summit) was between the UN agencies and the Bretton Woods institutions,” he said. “The task force is taking away the right of countries to vote.”—AFP