A/HRC/25/57 agriculture and because of their weaker ability to organize themselves and, thus, to gain a voice in the political process (A/HRC/9/23, para. 17). The declaration under preparation can be an important tool to improve their protection and to give greater visibility to the specific threats that they face. D. A new paradigm 29. In sum, we have entered a new century, and the questions we face now are different from those of fifty years ago. A new paradigm focused on well-being, resilience and sustainability must be designed to replace the productivist paradigm and thus better support the full realization of the right to adequate food. The equation is complex, but it is one that can be solved. 30. Firstly, certain types of agricultural development can combine increased production, a concern for sustainability, the adoption of robust measures to tackle unsustainable consumption patterns, and strong poverty-reducing impacts. Governments could achieve this by providing strong support to small-scale food producers, based on the provision of public goods for training, storage and connection to markets, and on the dissemination of agroecological modes of production. In addition, measures should be taken to develop local markets and local food processing facilities, combined with trade policies that support such efforts and at the same time reduce the competition between the luxury tastes of some and the basic needs of the others. 31. Secondly, just as multiple food systems must be combined to improve resilience through enhanced diversity, different forms of farming can coexist, each fulfilling a different function. The example of Brazil suggests that family farms can be supported even in the vicinity of highly competitive, large-scale agricultural producers and that such coexistence can be viable, provided the government is aware of the different functions that different agricultural models serve to fulfil, and adopts a balanced approach towards them (A/HRC/13/33/Add.6, paras. 43 and 44). In many countries, however, this coexistence has failed, and the balance has shifted almost entirely in favour of the large-scale export-led agricultural sector. The lesson that emerges is that the transition to agrifood policies that support the realization of the right to food requires major political efforts to restructure support around agroecological, labour-intensive, poverty-reducing forms of agriculture. IV. The interdependence of reforms 32. There is a connection between the obstacles faced by low-income countries in their attempt to improve their ability to protect the right to food of their populations, and the need for reform in middle- and high-income countries. While a number of reasons explain the lack of investment in food production to satisfy local needs – including in particular the burden of foreign debt (which leads countries to focus on cash crops for exports) and the often weak accountability of governments to the rural poor (A/HRC/9/23, para. 17) – the addiction to cheap food imports is also caused by massive overproduction in better-off exporting countries, which is stimulated by subsidies going to the largest agricultural producers in those countries, and which ensures access to cheap inputs for the food processing industry. And it is facilitated by the growth of international trade and investment and the corresponding increase of the role of large agribusiness corporations in the food systems. 33. This is the interdependence of reforms. While the rebuilding of local food systems in developing countries is vital to expand opportunities to small-scale food producers and, at the same time, to improve access to fresh and nutritious food for all, it depends 13

Select target paragraph3

Connect to a paragraph
Connect to an entity
Disable highlights
Add to table of contents