From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Date: Tue, 11 Sep 2001 00:46:55 -0400
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Subject: A World with Justice, without Hunger Is Possible - Fidel
A World with Justice, without Hunger Is Possible - Fidel
Via NY Transfer News * All the News That Doesn't Fit
Granma International Digital - 10 September 2001
<www.granma.cu>
A WORLD WITH JUSTICE, AND WITHOUT HUNGER, IS POSSIBLE
by Raisa Pages
[Fidel at the closing ceremony of the 1st World Forum on Food
Sovereignty]
ARGUING his reasons with visionary passion, President Fidel Castro
highlighted that a new world, which our species more than deserves,
is possible and will exist.
The first forum on food sovereignty took place in Havana from
September 3 through 7 with the participation of 300 delegations from
60 countries.
According to Fidel, this discussion is taking place at a highly
threatening moment for our species in terms of food provision, given
that in the past 100 years the world population has multiplied more
than fourfold.
"I agree with you in affirming that there is more than enough food on
the earth for the world," he said to participants, citing the example
of China, which provides sufficient food for a population of 1,260
million inhabitants over 100 million hectares. That Asian country
imports very few foodstuffs, but rather exports them, demonstrating
that properly conceived policies--even with errors, given that
nothing is perfect--can bring an end to hunger.
The Cuban president pointed out that our nature is being destroyed.
In the past 40-50 years, erosion and salinity have damaged some 2000
million hectares.
Climates are changing and rainfall is steadily becoming more intense,
droughts more prolonged and cyclones more violent. Phenomena unknown
15 years ago have now become regular occurrences, like hurricane
Mitch in Central America for example.
He charged how producers in poor African countries who, with great
manual effort, harvest coffee, cacao, cashew nuts and cloves receive
only one-hundredth of the amount received by those selling those
products in the rich countries.
He questioned whether distributing land among campesinos without an
accompanying social and technical-scientific program, would alleviate
hunger and social injustice.
How would they exploit those lands? With what machinery? What
high-productive seeds? What markets would they have when agricultural
development is concentrated in developed nations like the United
States, which in addition can give themselves the luxury of
subsidizing their agriculture because they monopolize all the wealth
in the world.
"We buy things that are increasingly more expensive and receive
increasingly low pay for what we sell," Fidel indicated.
Based on statistics, he reported that between 1960 and 1997, the
purchasing power of basic products in the underdeveloped nations
descended to less than 80% of what it had shown for 30 years.
Speaking from experience he asked: "What can campesinos do without
schools, doctors, hospitals, vaccines, protection against illnesses;
without credit, prices and markets, receiving increasingly less for
their products and investing increasingly more sweat and time in
producing their agricultural products.
Fidel continued to address the social development that should
accompany agricultural exploitation, "like electricity, education for
children, without which everything being demanded today would be
meaningless.
"I know you were not thinking only of what appeared in the
proclamation, but are hoping that civilization will come, that
humanity will get there," Fidel affirmed to the participants.
"We want campesinos and fishers, or the overwhelming majority of the
people, to have acceptable life prospects," he highlighted.
Copyright (c) 2001, Granma International Digital.
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