AgriCord President witnesses poverty at first hand

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Mr. Piet Vanthemsche, the recently installed chairman of AgriCord who also presides the Belgian Farmers Union, just returned from his first field visit in Benin. The field visit was organised by Vredeseilanden, a Belgian organisation for development cooperation. On his visit, Vanthemsche was accompanied by representatives from Belgian business, politicians and media. Agriterra’s liaison officer for Benin joined the mission as well, in order to introduce Vanthemsche and his delegation to the West-African country.

Vanthemsche about Benin

“Who doesn’t know what poverty actually means, should visit Benin some time. Four times the size of Belgium; 8.4 million residents; the 16th poorest country in the world (177 in the Human Development Index of the UN); 58% of the population is involved in agriculture; agriculture contributes for 32% to its gross domestic product. The average size of a farm is 3.3 hectare. Agriculture in Benin covers only about half of the need for food of the population. The average income is 2 dollars a day. In 2007, a sudden increase of food prices led to riots and instability; a lot of families had enormous difficulties with the food provision.”

The visit took place from 29 August until 3 September and was mainly centered around the importance of family farming in the fight against poverty. Many visits to small scale rice farmers were scheduled, as well as an AgriCord dinner, where rural organisation leaders from Togo, Burkina Faso, Niger and other countries introduced their organisation and activities to the Belgian delegation.

Vanthemsche about the local farmers

“During my stay I have had quite a few conversations with local rural leaders. AgriCord, the organisation I recently became chairman of and is led only by rural organisations, organised separate meetings with these leaders. It was a very strange experience for me to be able to discuss with farmers who deal with food uncertainty on a daily base. They’re exploiting their farms under the most ungrateful and difficult circumstances. Then you realize what kind of privilege it is to live in the prosperous Flanders. We work to build up a good existence, to build up a life. They work to survive, in extreme poverty.”

Thanks to the work of Vredeseilanden - amongst several other organisations - soon Beninese rice will be available in the supermarkets of the Belgian chain Colruyt.  As another result of their  efforts,  the organisations of rice farmers in Benin will receive a Fair Trade Certificate for their rice production. So very soon Fair Trade rice from Benin will be available all around Belgium.

Not only have the Beninese farmers managed to sign a contract with a Belgian supermarket concern, they are also assured of a fair price for their products. And since the farmers have improved the quality of their rice, they now have a better position on the West-African market. In short, initiatives such as these deserve to be reproduced. Therefore the delegation hasn’t limited itself to visiting the field, but has also discussed with governments and the private sector, and researched the possibilities to increase production, trade and export of the production of family farmers.

Vanthemsche about his experience

“This visit has been a real eye-opener. It strengthened me in my belief that our plead for a strong Common Agricultural Policy is just and justified, and that we should keep investing in a strong rural organisation that is capable of defending the interests of farmers.”