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agriculture | farmers | food


Grassroots organizing, regional trade agreements and food sovereignty in Africa
Grassroots movements have made great strides towards putting the power of the food system in citizens’ hands, but ongoing bi-lateral and regional trade negotiations threaten to curtail these advances.
Policy space for Mexican maize: Protecting agro-biodiversity by promoting rural livelihoods
With maize trade scheduled to be fully liberalized under NAFTA in 2008, many farm groups are calling for a renegotiation of the treaty’s agricultural provisions to prevent further damage. This analysis examines the room for alternative policies in Mexico under existing economic and environmental agreements, including NAFTA. It concludes that the Mexican government retains access to many useful policy instruments that could promote rural livelihoods while arresting the losses of important maize diversity. What is lacking is the political will to make use of them.
Namibia: Beef deadline looms
The deadline is looming for the day when the preferential treatment that Namibia has enjoyed for its beef, lamb and table grape exports to the European Union ends on January 1 2008.
SK-US free trade deal may open 10 out of 18 types of rice products
Contrary to its long-standing assertion that rice will be excluded from a free trade agreement (FTA) with the US, South Korea’s government is reviewing measures to open some less sensitive rice products.
US envoy says solving farm issues is key to possible FTA with Japan
US Ambassador to Japan Thomas Schieffer sounded a positive note Wednesday over a possible free trade agreement between the world’s two major economies and indicated that resolving farm issues would be the key.
KoA No FTA Newsletter #2
Farmers release animals in protest, 500 attend all-night vigil; KoA protest delegation holds all-night vigil, congressional briefing in DC; Limiting access to healthcare: FTA and pharmaceuticals
FTA could mean nearly full opening of Korean agricultural market
South Korea’s negotiators on a free trade agreement (FTA) with the United States reportedly said they would halve the number of agricultural products currently protected from tariff removal from 235 to around 100, sources said.
S Korean farmers use animals to oppose US FTA
The farmers, wearing jackets emblazoned with messages disapproving of the talks to seal a free trade agreement (FTA) between the two countries, stormed into the bustling Myeongdong fashion district in several carloads and released one pig, six goats and about 300 radishes.
Not under the same sky: bilateral free trade agreements (FTAs), agriculture and food sovereignty
An initial report on the spread of Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) throughout the Asia-Pacific and their impacts on agriculture and food sovereignty, in the context of the current state of play of the WTO, and the devastating legacy of agricultural liberalisation through World Bank/International Monetary Fund structural adjustment programmes.
Imported chicken cripples economy in western Africa
Europeans love chicken breast. What do they do with the chicken legs? The current answer: Freeze them and ship them to Africa where they sell at a price far cheaper than fresh local chicken.
Agriculture and development in the EPA negotiations
This December 2006 study from the Swedish Board of Agriculture aims to shed light on various issues related to the EPA regions’ and the EU’s export and import interests in the agro-food sector.
Cattle farmers protest US-South Korea beef talks
Korean cattle farmers protested today as US and South Korean officials discussed easing restrictions on imports of American beef, an issue Washington says threatens to scuttle a possible free trade agreement.
Korea, Canada make progress on farm issues in FTA talks
Korea and Canada have made progress on agricultural issues in their latest free trade talks, brightening the prospect for a formal agreement, the Ministry of Agriculture and Forest said Tuesday in Seoul.
Mexicans protest sharp hike of tortillas, other food staples
Thousands of people marched in Mexico City to protest the sharp hike of basic food products, including tortillas, and to demand the government exclude food staples from the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). "No corn, no country," the protesters shouted in the first major demonstration to confront conservative President Felipe Calderon since he took office December 1.
Why Koreans have a beef with free trade
Half the South Korean population is against the FTA, especially workers and farmers who have seen trade agreements like the North American Free Trade Agreement lead to job flight, decaying communities, and increased social polarization. But what really unites Koreans against the FTA is the undemocratic nature of the negotiation process and the threat to South Korea’s national sovereignty.
US reaffirms beef issue must be resolved before FTA conclusion
"The FTA is not going to happen unless the [Korean] market is fully reopened to US beef," says Wendy Cutler, assistant US trade representative.
Via Campesina inaugurates the World Social Forum
"We fight against those that are seeking to impose the neoliberal model upon us, a model that seeks to privatize our land, our seeds and our water; a model of free trade that makes it impossible for us to make a living in a dignified manner."
Afrique de l’Ouest: APE - Ce que les paysans attendent de la CEDEAO
Le Réseau des organisations paysannes et des producteurs de l’Afrique de l’Ouest (ROPPA). Cette organisation est en campagne contre les APE dans leur formule actuelle, et propose de ne pas les signer. Basiaka Dao est le président de la Confédération paysanne du Faso, membre du ROPPA. Il dit en quoi ces accords ne sont pas bons pour les agriculteurs et les économies des pays de la CEDEAO.
‘FTA to force 210,000 to stop rice farming’
A lawmaker claimed Thursday that almost all South Korean rice farmers would lose their jobs if the rice trade were fully liberalized as a result of the free trade agreement (FTA) that is currently under negotiation with the United States.
Rafidah skirting main FTA issues
International Trade and Industry Minister Rafidah Aziz has not addressed the main concerns surrounding the US-Malaysia Free Trade Agreement (FTA), claimed a regional grouping of fishermen and farmers today.