Real World Radio interviewed Jose Mateus, leader of the National Farmers Union of Mozambique, member of La Via Campesina, who is participating in activities at the World Social Forum in Dakar, Senegal.

Mateus regretted that many peasants of his country end up working for big agribusiness transnational corporations, because they don’t have the support of the State to access lands. “We don’t have finance (…) so peasants have to work for multinationals. They stop producing food for their families and go to work for one of these companies”, said Mateus.

The member of La Via Campesina thinks it is necessary to “build a strong alliance in Africa” to strengthen the peasant sector and deal with governments responsible for allowing the entrance of agribusiness transnational companies into their territories.

Mateus highlighted the presence of large foreign companies in Mozambique that produce tobacco and flowers for export. He also said that the main challenge of peasants is to “raise awareness on the population because there is a lack of understanding among people about this problem.”

Mateus also talked about the issue of climate change at the World Social Forum. He recognized that Mozambican farmers don’t know enough about climate change, among other issues. We need a “school to build the political capacities of young people from movements and the civil society”, said the leader of the National Farmers Union of Mozambique.

Photo: http://viacampesina.org