A/HRC/26/48 peasants and other people working in rural areas. A list of speakers would be kept for the general statements, which would allow political and regional groups, then Member States, then civil society organizations and national human rights institutions to take the floor. The reading of the draft declaration would be clustered into three groups of articles: articles 1 to 4, articles 5 to 8 and articles 9 to 13. The reading would take place over one and a half days; there would not be a list of speakers, but discussion would be open to the floor. The final report would include summaries of the debate, summaries of the panel discussions and recommendations by the Chairperson-Rapporteur. The Chairperson-Rapporteur said that, before the session, she had conducted informal consultations with delegations and representatives of regional and political groups, as well as informal bilateral meetings with representatives of Member States, and that she looked forward to fruitful group work that would draw from the various views of the participants. She underlined the basic principles for conducting the session of the working group, namely, transparency, inclusiveness and objectivity. The Chairperson-Rapporteur asked if there was any opposition to the programme of work and, hearing no objections, declared the programme adopted. 12. Two non-governmental organizations voiced their support for a draft declaration and expressed their satisfaction with the work done by the Advisory Committee, including the extensive consultations and the proposed text. Furthermore, they noted that peasants were often victims of discrimination and that their protection was important in view of their role in feeding humanity. III. Panel discussions A. Panel discussion I. The importance of peasants, including their positive contribution to food security, the fight against climate change and the conservation of biodiversity 13. Several panellists agreed that peasant agriculture was crucial for mankind, noting that traditional peasant farming methods and peasant agriculture could often be a driver in limiting the effects of climate change and economic crises. Panellists highlighted the crucial importance of peasants and other people working in rural areas for food security and the fight against hunger, in particular in developing countries. They expressed the view that better protection and promotion of the rights of peasants would help further the realization of the right to food. Panellists emphasized the economic benefits, such as enlarged internal markets and increased employment and income, that could be developed by focusing on the rights of peasants through their agricultural practices. 14. The panellists also highlighted the wealth of knowledge and experience that peasants had in the area of biodiversity and emphasized that ensuring the biodiversity of crops such as wheat, rice and corn would benefit mankind by strengthening the resilience of agriculture. One panellist stressed that increasing organic matter content in soils was fundamental to mitigating climate change. She observed that such an increase could be achieved by diversifying cropping systems, better integrating crops and animal production and increasing tree presence and non-cultivated vegetation on farming lands. The panellists also noted that local markets would also be an essential part of the solution to climate change. Panellists highlighted the key role played by peasants and other people working in rural areas with respect to the conservation and development of biodiversity, and in particular agrobiodiversity. They argued that it was crucial for humankind that they should be able to continue to carry out that role, and that it should be strengthened. 15. Several panellists referred to the contribution of industrial food systems to deforestation, intensive chemical farming, loss of biodiversity, the transportation of inputs 5