At the negotiations of the 17th Conference of the Parties (COP 17) to the UN Convention on Climate Change held in Durban, South Africa, it was reported that the world agroindustrial sector is responsible for 45 to 60% of the global greenhouse gas emissions that cause climate change.

Some civil society organizations from all over the world claim that the creators of the so called “green economy” (i.e. Corporations, Northern governments, financial institutions) take key elements of the criticism made by social organizations to the capitalist system to use them to their advantage. So they are now talking about “climate-smart agriculture”. The World Bank and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) appear as some of the promoters of this idea.

On April 13 and 14 a seminar called “Green capitalism, agriculture and forests” was held at the Universidad Andina Simón Bolívar in Quito, Ecuador. The activity was organized by the Third World Ecology Research Institute.

During the seminar, RALLT activist Soledad Vogliano said that green economy is based on a new formulation of global agrarian policies called “climate-smart agriculture” which, according to FAO, would lead to a “sustainable intensification of agriculture”.

Real World Radio’s correspondent in Costa Rica, Henry Picado, participated in the seminar, where he recorded Vogliano’s presentation.

The activist warned about the new strategy of agribusiness and biotech industries that consists in taking the peasant discourse about agriculture practices that help cool the planet. La Via Campesina, an international peasant network comprising peasant organizations from all over the world, explains that peasant farming cools the planet because they don’t use large machinery or agrotoxics, they sell local products, avoiding the transportation of food along long distances, etc. The peasants especially advocate for agroecology.

Agribusiness tries to disguise its actions through the use of the peasant discourse, says Vogliano. She reports there is a “colonization of peasant resistance. Biotechnology wants to go there. They are making a confuse use of our ideas interpreted in a way to open the door to industry, in order to include the idea that sustainable agriculture, food sovereignty and biotechnology are possible at the same time”.

Meanwhile, the member of RALLT said that even though this proposal does not mention the use of GMOs in climate-smart agriculture, some private agencies like the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the International Seed Federation openly defend the inclusion of GMOs
and they mention it as a way to adapt to climate change.

Lastly, Vogliano said that in spite in Rio+20 agriculture does not appear to be a vital item in the agenda, it is actually one of its key issues. She said that social organizations have to confront green economy in agriculture in order to avoid this from being included in the governments’ agenda.

Photo: http://sientemag.com