Highlights for Wednesday, 18 May 2005

On the final day of the World Agricultural Forum (WAF) Congress, participants met in three roundtable sessions on finance, partnerships and markets during morning and afternoon sessions. In the closing session, Hon. James Bolger, Chairman of the Advisory Board, WAF, expressed a sense of hope for the future of agriculture and agri-food systems. 

During a morning panel on finance, panelists highlighted the use of small banking schemes, including cooperative and commercial banking, in Central America, Africa and Europe. A second roundtable on partnerships explored how to merge private and public sector initiatives to increase corporate social responsibility and improve the livelihoods of local farmers. A third panel discussed agri-food systems and how to meet consumer demand for sustainable products along the supply chain. Above Photo: Hon. James Bolger (left) congratulates Leonard Guarraia (right) for his leadership during the Forum.

Above photos L-R: Dick Fleming, President and CEO, St. Louis Regional Chamber and Growth Association, inquired about panelists’ experiences in building equity for farmers and entrepreneurs. Bhupinder Singh Mann, National President Bharti Kisan Union, India, drew attention to the suicide rate of Indian farmers who cannot repay their loans and questioned how loss making ventures can be turned into profit making so farmers can repay their loans. Jose Garcia Gasques, Coordinator General of Strategic Planning, Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Food Supply of Brazil, drew attention to the Brazilian microcredit experience, which began in 1994, and where the rate of return is around 99%. Hassane Amina Wangari, WABNET, highlighted her experience with microcredit, saying that microfinance is the best way to fight poverty and to return dignity to women. 

Above photo L-R: Jim Thompson, Tensie Whelan, Paul Carothers, and David McLaughlin

Tensie Whelan, President, The Rain Forest Alliance, explained its certification initiatives on coffee, bananas and timber, noting that the goals and objectives include improved rural livelihood and well-being in Central America and Mexico. Jim Thompson, Global Development Alliance Secretariat, USAID, noted that of the US$112.6 billion of US aid flows, about 45% consists of private capital flows to the developing world. Highlighting his company’s experience with corporate social responsibility, David McLaughlin, Senior Director of Environmental and Social Performance, Chiquita Brands International, said its values-based management approach is based on certification schemes for social and environmental sustainability and food safety. Paul Carothers, Vice President of Global Public Affairs, Kraft Foods, discussed Kraft’s sustainable coffee programme, which uses the Rainforest Alliance Partnership to sustainability mainstream coffee markets.

Heinrich Toepfer, Chairman, Agriworld GMBH, discussed his experience in the international grain trade, saying that successful farmers have one crop in the field, one crop in the store, and one in the bank. Anan Sirimongkolkasem, President, Thai Broiler Processing Exporter’s Association, mentioned that the Thai poultry industry brought in over US$1 billion a year before the Asian bird flu epidemic, and that the industry is currently sustained because of government support. Rob Horsch, Vice President of International Development Partnerships, Monsanto Company, said Monsanto helps countries by using technologies where markets aren’t relevant and that technological innovation and business system innovation are two drivers of growth. David Hughes, Professor, Imperial College London, said challenges in the agri-food system include, inter alia: how to communicate the social attributes of products to far away shoppers; complications of the WTO negotiations; and how supply chains will be measured on social and commercial performance. Ken Roberts, Assistant Administrator of the Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS), US Department of Agriculture, discussed what is in the agri-food business for developing countries and said the FAS is helping in post-conflict situations such as Iraq and Afghanistan.

As the WAF Congress drew to a close, Bolger summarized the Forum�s discussions and said the Forum put into context how agriculture can help achieve security and global peace. He said lessons learned from each of the thematic sessions include, inter alia, that: the outcome of political initiatives will have an impact on how we collectively feed the world; water is the sustainer of all life; biofuels should be used where there is agricultural waste, in particular in developing countries; scientific research and technology transfer will lead to greater productivity and support the needs of the human race; and markets do work, but operate differently in many countries. He indicated that the role of science was not widely discussed at this Congress, but that it is a key tool to feed today�s world. Leonard Guarraia, Chairman and CEO, WAF, thanked the Board of Directors, the Forum organizers, and participants for having a constructive three-day session and closed the Forum at 3:38pm Central Time.