Bannf, Alberta, Canada
10 October 2000
"FARMERS TELL THEIR OWN STORY BEST"
Farm leaders from the 18 Cairns Group countries met in Alberta, Canada, from October 10-13, 2000. The farm leaders met alongside their respective ministers who were in Banff for the 21st Ministerial Meeting of the Cairns Group. The farm leaders first participated in the ministerial process in 1998 and their continued involvement has deepened and strengthened the commitment of the Cairns Group to fundamental reform of world agricultural trade.
At the closing session of the ministerial meeting, the chair of the Cairns Group, the Hon Mark Vaile (Minister for Trade in Australia) said, "the involvement of the farm leaders has become a very valuable part of the Cairns Group process. Take it as read that it will continue". The host of the ministerial meeting and Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food in Canada, Lyle Vanclief, said, "without question, the inclusion of the farm leaders sends the right message. We are in this together and we have to push collectively. The farm leaders have given strength to the effectiveness of the Cairns Group".
This message was not lost on Dr Franz Fischler, EU Commissioner for Agriculture, who was at the 21st Ministerial Meeting in Banff as a guest of the Cairns Group.
The farm leaders first met in Sydney, in April 1998, for a very simple reason - to tell their own story about the havoc wrecked on their farms by protectionism in world agriculture. The farm leaders wanted to tell the world how millions of farmers in Central and South America, Asia, South Africa, Canada and Australasia are poorer because of agricultural protectionism in Europe, the United States, Japan and Korea.
The farm leaders account for one-third of world agricultural trade. Yet, the markets they trade into are corrupted and distorted by protectionism. The farm leaders case is based on a fundamental truth in economics - that 'trade creates wealth'. Equally true is that 'barriers to trade destroy wealth'. Agriculture is the one sector of world trade where high barriers in the richest countries of the world are destroying the wealth of millions of farmers in developing countries. This intolerable situation is a man-made problem. It can be unmade. All that it takes is the political will of the majority to stand up to the protectionist demands of a minority.
www.cairnsgroupfarmers.org/download/bannfbook.pdf[]
For the farm leaders, Banff was a turning point. At previous meetings the farmers told their story and articulated their objectives. But the Banff meeting was an opportunity to plan their strategy to bring about change. The farm leaders released a publication in Banff called 'Solving the Problem - a look at the political economy of agricultural reform'.
Using OECD data, the publication shows how agricultural protection has worsened over the past three years and that it is now back to the peak levels of the mid-1980s, before the launch of the Uruguay Round. That this problem is as big today as it was 15 years ago indicates the powerful political forces that are brought into play to maintain the status quo. Logically, equally powerful counter forces will have to be brought to bear on the problem if it is ever to be solved.
As well as planning their strategy and delivering a Statement to Cairns Group Ministers, the farm leaders met with Dr Youssef Boutros-Ghali, Egypt's Minister for Economy and External Trade. Dr Boutros-Ghali told the farm leaders that the open and fair trading system promoted by the Cairns Group was a more suitable and attractive model for agriculture in Egypt and other nations in Africa than the high cost protectionist model. Dr Boutros-Ghali gave an address to the Cairns Group where he said "Egypt has come to the view that agriculture trade liberalisation worldwide is the only sustainable way of addressing the problems of net food importing countries".
The farm leaders participated in an 'International Agri-Food Industry Conference' hosted by the Agri-Industry Trade Group and the Canadian Alliance of Agri-Food Exporters () in Canada. These organisations are an alliance of 62 associations, organisations and businesses in primary production in Canada who have the common goal of a more liberalised system of trade for world agriculture. Other participants in the conference included the Global Alliance for Sugar Trade Reform, which represents 13 countries committed to reform of world sugar policies in the WTO ()
Following the meeting in Banff a smaller delegation of farm leaders travelled to Geneva in Switzerland to deliver the message of the Cairns Group to Mike Moore, Director-General of the WTO. The delegation then proceeded to Brussels to make it known within the European Commission that the Cairns Group is stronger and more determined than ever before to push for reform of world agriculture policies. The next meeting of the Cairns Group farm leaders will be in Uruguay in late 2001.
Next Meeting Report:
3/9/2001 Punta del Este, Uruguay
Previous Meeting Report:
28/11/1999 Seattle, USA