16 - Small farmers in 1999 shout "Oi!"...

…Can you not hear me up there? This shit aint working out for us down here! Cheap imports and a strong currency are somehow making milk from Italy cheaper than the milk I just squeezed out of this cow right here! And how on earth are we meant to finance investments with double-digit interest rates? Market pricing is squeezing our profits to below profitability. We have already lost over 1.3 million hectares to market pressures. Can’t you see? Are we really that expendable?” It certainly did seem so. But then again, what has changed since abolition? I’m sure people would say a great deal. I’m sure they’re right. But financial pressures and public policy’s priorities have been squeezing farmers into the ground and forcing them to crawl to slums in the cities or over 100 years. This is despite their benefits to the environment, health, culture & society, their efficiency per square meter, food security for the poor and all the multidimensional aspects of family farming we looked at earlier.

Could all this have happened because of the neo-liberal path we walked down a few moments ago? Maybe. But just to make sure the knife is twisted, say hello to my little friend.

His name? William Thomas Oswald. His occupation? Trade negotiator. (Known as WTO by his friends and foes alike). This character is a strange creature born after world war two, like all the other global governors: The UN, the IMF and the World Bank. His destiny, he assures us, is to strive to create a romantic world where every nation in the world loves its neighbour so much, that none would be rude enough to stick its tariffs up at the other. Sounds like a wonderful idea. But wait a minute. How come small family farmers in Brazil are not walking around whistling with that romantic spark in their eye?

I know a guy who knows The WTO like the back of his hand. His name is Adriano Campolina, and he is the policy officer at Actionaid. Adriano specialises in dealing with the WTO, and getting ‘him’ to see that his policies are not having the promised positive effect on the small farmers who’s rights Adriano fights for. I go back to Actionaid several weeks after meeting with Glauci. It’s always a pleasure to walk into such a pleasant working environment, and the warm welcoming smiles of the people I come across.

Adriano is a little late and apologises profusely. “The traffic! It’s a nightmare”. He looks more like a banker or a consultant on a dress-down Friday than a man fighting the system in the belief that another world is possible. His look is a reflection of his professionalism, knowledge and experience rather than a conservative slant. After reading his chapter in an impressive book on trade, food security and small farmers, I note his name hoping to somehow track him down, and I am delighted to realise he is a contact Glauci suggested I speak with. 

Link> http://www.globalexchange.org/campaigns/index.html