The Life of Food
July 2009
Banner photo: Oxheart tomatoes [© Creativ Studio Heinemann]
On the Ground in Africa
Restoring a sense of pride in farming [© Sven Torfinn/Panos Pictures]
I am from a small village in Koulikoro in the central region of Mali. Unlike many youth of my generation, I was lucky to have the opportunity to continue my studies and eventually complete postgraduate studies in agronomy.
A natural career path for someone with my education would have been to go into the civil service or the NGO field, so my choice to become a farmer was upsetting to those close to me. During the colonial period, farming began to be looked upon as the lowliest occupation, a perception that persisted. Now, after nearly 20 years of struggle, the farmers' movement is changing that. But our most important battle now, as then, is to restore farmers to their rightful place in Malian society. Farmers should be proud of their noble profession--the most vital one for a poor country. It is thanks to the work of farmers that we can live with dignity.
To be a farmer in Africa still means first of all to belong to the most marginal and excluded 75 percent of the population. It means that one is underrepresented or not represented at all in those arenas where the future of our countries is decided. The result is that the major political choices and programs go against the interest of farmers. We struggle to gain access to resources, and the lack of access to credit, health care and education for our children remain issues.
African farmers are marginalized even in our own local markets, as the price of imported produce prevents us from selling our own produce at reasonable prices that will allow us to make a living.
Unsustainable methods of production are imposed upon us without our consent--genetically modified seeds, "Green Revolution" methods. These create dependence on large foreign interests: suppliers of hybrid and GM seeds, fertilizers and pesticides. When production costs increase without corresponding increases in market prices for farmers' produce, farmers are driven into debt.
All these problems mean that farmers in the end are often forced to give up agriculture or to sell their land. They end up adding to the slums in the cities that are filled with the disinherited, and even being tempted to cross over to Europe in small boats.
Through small-farmer alliances such as Via Campesina and ROPPA, Malian farmers collaborate with farmers in other parts of Africa and throughout the world. Small farmers everywhere suffer the same effects of neoliberal policies. What has enabled us to survive has been indigenous knowledge and practices. This is the basis for achieving food sovereignty--a country's capability to feed itself on the basis of local food production. This is why we must preserve this knowledge at all costs; it is the route to becoming more independent and economically stronger.
In Mali, farmer organizations played a central role in drawing up a new agricultural policy that has been voted into law. It recognizes the importance of food sovereignty, of protecting family-based agriculture, of reasonable income for farmers, of protecting local markets against dumping, of greater land security for farming families, and providing social welfare for farmers. There is urgency now to see this implemented.
It is by continuing to organize, continuing to educate ourselves and continuing to learn about the political system that farmers will be able to overcome our challenges. Then, anything is possible.
I am optimistic, because in spite of the magnitude of the challenges, there has been incredible progress. Pressure from peasant organizations is influencing agricultural policies now throughout Africa.
Farmers are beginning to take their real place in the development of their countries--this will be the basis of major changes in the near future.
This article is drawn from an interview with Ibrahima Coulibaly, president of Coordination Nationale des Organisations Paysannes (CNOP) in Mali. CNOP defends farmers' interests and is working to define a clear vision of agriculture in Mali.
