Food and farming futures for small producers and indigenous peoples

The food sovereignty paradigm affirms the fundamental right of peoples to define their food and agricultural policies. This implies that food providers and consumers are directly involved in policy making and institutional choices. New forms of citizenship need to be explored along with methodological innovations in deliberative and inclusive processes (DIPs) to enhance citizen voice and agency in decision-making today.

‘What kind of food and farming futures do we want. For whom, for what, why, how and with what consequences?” are key questions explored in the deliberative and inclusive processes described below.

  • Prajateerpu. A Citizens’ Jury/Scenario workshop on Food and Farming Futures for Andhra Pradesh, India.
     
  • Farmers Views on the Future of Food and Small Scale Producers
     
  • Farmer and citizen assessments of the risks and benefits of transgenic crops and regulatory frameworks for biosafety in the context of:

    i) plans for agricultural development and transformation of the small family farm sector in West Africa
    ii) centres of potato crop origin and diversity in the Peruvian Andes where there are plans to introduce and cultivate transgenic potatoes on a wide scale

 

 

Links 

Farmers’ views on the future of food and small scale producers

The outcomes of an e-conference on the ‘Future of Food and Small Scale Producers’ are presented in this report. The electronic discussion primarily involved indigenous, small and family farmers, landless and fisherfolk as well as their representative organisations. Also available in Français and in Español

Prajateerpu: A citizens jury / scenario workshop on food and farming futures for Andhra Pradesh, India

Prajateerpu was devised as a means of allowing those people most affected by the government's 'Vision 2020' for food and farming in Andhra Pradesh to shape a vision of their own. Grounded in the diverse traditions that are often collectively described as participatory action research, this deliberative process aimed to link local voices and visions of food and farming futures with national and international policy making.

Prajateerpu: a Citizens jury / Scenario workshop on food and farming futures for Andhra Pradesh (PDF 253KB) (Economic and Political Weekly 37 (27), July 6, 2002)

Prajateerpu, power and knowledge: The politics of participatory action research in development

Part 1: Context, process and safeguards
Part 2: Analysis, reflections and implications

The people’s vision – UK and Indian reflections on Prajateerpu (source: Participatory Learning & Action 58)

Senekelaw ka kuma - Paroles de paysans
This video film describes the process whereby malian farmers considered expert evidence on the pros and cons of GMOs and developed policy recommendations on the future of food and farming in Mali .

Mali’s Farmer’s Jury: an attempt to democratize policy making on biotechnology (source: Participatory Learning & Action 58)

Deliberative Democracy and Citizen Empowerment
 (source: Participatory Learning and Action 40)

 Links

Citizens Space for Democratic Deliberation on GMOs and the future of farming in Mali (Espace citoyen d'interpellation démocratique sur les OGM, Mali)

Prajateerpu. A citizens’ Jury/Scenario Workshop on Food Futures for Andhra Pradesh, India

LogoLink is a global network of practitioners from civil society organisations, research institutions and governments working to deepen democracy through greater citizen participation in local governance.

Prajateerpu: The people's verdict is a website describing the campaign for food sovereignty in Andhra Pradesh India