PARIS, December 15 /PRNewswire/ -- At the request of the French permanent delegation to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), momagri's representatives addressed the ambassadors of about thirty member nations in Rome on November 9, 2008 and presented strategic proposals for an international agriculture and food policy.
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Pierre Pagesse, Chairman of momagri, Christian Pèes, Vice President and Jacques Carles, Executive Vice President, indicated that, because of the systemic nature of financial and food crises, it was now urgent to initiate, in cooperation with the FAO, the formation of an international task force to regulate global agricultural markets. Indeed, farming activities throughout the world are tackling the same difficulties: destructive price volatility inherent to the specific nature of agricultural markets and amplified by the out-of-control financialization of markets. Results of the momagri economic model are showing that the volatility of agricultural prices will intensify, unless pertinent international regulating measures are put into practice.
In his address, Pierre Pagesse stated: It is imperative to implement governance regulations that reconcile the principles of a market economy with the specificities of farming. Agriculture is the only economic sector where dumping is institutionalized. Agricultural markets do not obey to the same laws that apply to manufacturing or services. They are subject to extreme price volatility that threatens the viability of all agricultural economies. Farmers cannot survive in a market that has become highly chaotic. They need the visibility that only an international agricultural organization tailored to their specific needs can provide.
Expanding on the situation, Jacques Carles presented momagri's management tools and proposals to assist in drafting an international agriculture and food policy. These proposals would permit a way-out of the subsidies policies that protect farmers in wealthy nations, while also providing genuine development opportunities for livelihood farming.
Christian Pèes, next underscored that the time has come to abandon the ideological confrontations that oppose liberals and protectionists. We must define regulations that will prevent a genuine global food disaster. If not, the world will have to cope with crises generated by a return to protectionism, which would then be the sole device available to nations to ensure the food security of their populations.
For momagri, the FAO should be the federating force for such governance. To reach this objective, momagri seeks to pursue with FAO representatives the joint study guidelines currently in progress.
About momagri
momagri is a Paris-based think tank that promotes a new vision for agriculture. Founded and chaired by Pierre Pagesse, Chairman of the French Groupe Limagrain, the organization includes representatives of agricultural enterprises and officials from the healthcare, economic development, strategy and defense fields. It aims to support the regulation of agricultural markets by way of new evaluation tools (such as economic models and indicators) and new proposals for an international agriculture and food governance based on free-trade principles.
Press Contact: Dominique Lasserre, +33(0)1-43-06-42-70, dominique.lasserre@momagri.org
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