Division for Sustainable Development
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Participation in CSD-8
New York, 24 April - 5 May 2000
Summary
The multi-stakeholder dialogue segment on agriculture, held on 24 and 25 April 2000, involved representatives of business and industry, workers and trade unions, farmers and non-governmental organizations, as well as representatives of indigenous people and scientists.
The segment focused on four themes:
- choices in agricultural production techniques, consumption patterns and safety regulations: potentials and threats to sustainable agriculture;
- best practices in land resource management to achieve sustainable food cycles;
- knowledge for a sustainable food system: identifying and providing for education, training, knowledge-sharing and information needs; and
- globalization, trade liberalization and investment patterns: economic incentives and framework conditions to promote sustainable agriculture.
Lead organizations, invited by the Commission secretariat, were responsible for consulting with their constituencies to draft the "dialogue starter" papers and to organize the participation of the delegations from their sectors.
These lead organizations included the International Agri-Food Network for business and industry; the International Federation of Agricultural Producers and Via Campesina for farmers; the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions/Trade Union Advisory Committee to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the International Union of Food, Agricultural Hotel, Restaurant, Catering, Tobacco and Allied Workers’ Associations (IUF) forworkers and trade unions; and the Sustainable Agriculture/Food Systems Caucus of the NGO Steering Committee to the Commission for non-governmental organizations.
The first hour of each session started with short presentations by the stakeholder groups followed by reactions by two Governments, with the remainder of the time allocated for the interactive dialogue.