The National Coordination of Rural and Indigenous Women (CONAMURI), the National Coordination of Peasant Organizations (MCNOC), the Paraguayan Peasant Movement (MCP), the Organization on the Struggle for Land (OLT), the National Organization of Independent Native People (ONAI) and the Peoples’ Agrarian movement called the people to participate in this forum under the theme: “Healthy Food, Sovereign People”

Discussions focused on the existing threats on food sovereignty, such as the advance of agribusiness in Paraguay will take place today and tomorrow. Also, several panels will be held, which will deal with the risks and threats of the management of natural resources and other issues related to seeds; threats against rural populations; environmental regulations; water; open-pit mining; militarization of territories and criminalization of the struggle, according to a statement issued by La Via Campesina about the forum.

After these discussions, on Friday, the “National Campaign for Food Sovereignty” will be launched to promote the participation of urban and rural people in the promotion of food sovereignty.

The campaign also aims to spread information about agribusiness gathered by an observatory which is still in its building stage, in order to denounce agribusiness companies and to raise awareness on the risks and threats affecting peasant, indigenous and urban populations, amid a loss of food sovereignty.

Also, the campaign will aim to promote agroecology as the answer to the agribusiness model.
“The unity between the countryside and the city is fundamental to understand the situation of the world, which is reflected on the higher food prices, land grabbing, domestic migrants in the cities caused by their displacement from their lands and the search for alternatives and experiences to recover dignity”, reads the statement published on CONAMURI’s website.

They also explain that Paraguay is one of the countries whose food sovereignty is severely threatened by the agri-exporter model and agribusiness, especially with soy monoculture plantations, the introduction of GM seeds and the indiscriminate use of agrotoxics.

“As a consequence of this model, there is a higher concentration of land (2.6% of the population owns 85.5% of the national territory); lower quality of the soil and water; loss of biodiversity; lower quality of life, more diseases related to the indiscriminate use of agrotoxics, among other effects that affect the daily life in the countryside, both for indigenous and peasant communities”, reads the statement.

In order to stop this situation, the forum will discuss new possibilities, among them the idea to draft bills on this important issue.

Photo: http://conamuri.org.py/