Dutch Prime Minister supports 'Farmers Fighting Poverty'
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Agriterra and AgriCord, the alliance of agri-agencies, have been supporting farmers and their organisations for many years. On the one hand with financial resources. On the other hand, Agriterra establishes one-on-one partnerships between farmers from the Netherlands and their colleagues in developing countries, so that the farmers in developing countries benefit from the knowledge and experience of the Dutch farmers.Â
This approach, established in ‘Farmers Fighting Poverty', works. ‘Farmers Fighting Poverty’ contributes 35% to direct poverty reduction. The farmers’ organisations that are involved in the program became more professional and serve their members through advocacy and services. The incomes of the farmers, of which 41% are women, grew significantly. The Dutch government is already aware of the impact of ‘Farmers Fighting Poverty' and fully supports this work. However, to make a difference on large-scale, more is needed.
Therefore, Prime Minister Balkenende cited during the session on food security at the G8 summit ‘Farmers Fighting Poverty’ as example of a successful approach to fight hunger and poverty. In the final declaration of the G8 Summit, world leaders pledged 15 billion Euros to spend on improving agriculture and food production in countries in development. But where will that 15 billion go to?
AgriCord supports farmers directly, not through NGO’s, governments or other channels. This works, because farmers are organised now and one can communicate with almost every village. However, governments spend their money for the most part through the old channels. Now it is time for a change. If world leaders want to put their promising words into action, then the program of AgriCord is an excellent opportunity.
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