Jun 12, 1998
LATIN AMERICA: RURAL DEVELOPMENT IS KEY TO REDUCING POVERTY
Santiago, Jun 10 (IPS/Gustavo Gonzalez) -- Rural poverty and trade in agricultural commodities will be the key themes at FAO's upcoming regional conference in Latin America and the Caribbean, in Nassau, Bahamas.
The two issues reflect the central concerns of the region's 33 governments, which will be represented by their agriculture ministers at the conference, said Gustavo Gordillo, the director of the Latin American and Caribbean office of FAO (United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation).
At its next global conference slated for November 1999, FAO will analyse the results of the regional gatherings held this year.
Gordillo told foreign correspondents in Santiago Monday that FAO was evaluating the damages caused by the El Nino weather phenomenon in agriculture and the impact on food production in a number of countries.
Bolivia, Peru and Central America requested missions to assess the need for emergency aid provided by the UN agency in cases of natural disasters caused by climatic factors. It is feared that the food deficits attributed to El Nino in 10 Latin American and Caribbean countries could worsen, as well as the rural poverty which is present to a varying degree throughout Latin America.
Gordillo underlined that 57 percent of the rural population of Latin America and the Caribbean is afflicted by poverty, higher than the regional average - including the urban population - which stands at around 40 percent.
At its 25th regional conference in Nassau, FAO will present a proposal for setting priorities in poverty reduction, which is to mainly be based on a strategy for rural development. "It is not a question of coming up with magic formulas arising from a vacuum for reducing poverty and fomenting rural development, but of incorporating the successful experiences of a number of countries and reflecting on the various approaches," said Gordillo.
The UN official stressed the need for decentralisation, for programmes with closer links to the people, as one of the fundamental aspects in an effective strategy for tackling poverty and rural development. Civil society must play a stronger role in designing and implementing programmes, with governments taking a supportive role, he added.
Ten Latin American and Caribbean countries are facing the most critical scenarios today, including food shortages and scarce resources for importing food products.
FAO is carrying out special food security programmes in nine of those countries, including Bolivia, Haiti, Cuba, Guatemala and Nicaragua, on the request of the respective governments.
Resolving problems of food availability must also be based on the development of international agricultural trade, from the point of view of both exporters and importers of food products, said Gordillo.
A "mini Uruguayan round" is scheduled for 1999, to be exclusively dedicated to the solution of agricultural problems left pending by the negotiations which gave birth to the World Trade Organisation (WTO).
In Nassau, FAO's regional office will present a report on the multilateral discussions on reforming agricultural trade, aimed at supporting and orienting Latin American participation in the next WTO negotiations.
"FAO will provide support through technical assistance, studies on specific issues, analysis of proposals and training of specialists, in order to help countries in the region prepare the position they will take at the negotiating table," said Gordillo.
Agricultural trade varies widely in the region, which has both net exporters and importers of grains and other commodities such as coffee, sugar and bananas.
There is widespread agreement that the WTO has made insufficient progress in areas like the liberalisation of agricultural trade, access to markets and the elimination of production and export subsidies.