NTFP-EP joins several Dutch and international civil society organizations, agricultural organizations, private companies, and academics around the world in signing a manifesto in support of sustainable agriculture and a substantial reform to the international food production systems.

The manifesto specifically calls on the agriculture ministry and the foreign trade and development ministry of the Netherlands to ensure that the national Agriculture Agreement works for farmers, both within and outside the Netherlands. As a major player in the trade, production and consumption of food and agricultural products, the domestic policies of the Dutch government has a significant impact on food security and local ecosystems of the Global South.

Read the full text of the manifesto here.

“The intensive agricultural sector is responsible for 80% of deforestation worldwide and 37% of greenhouse gas emissions, and is the main cause of biodiversity loss. The Netherlands is also contributing to these developments: our intensive cattle farming model not only accounts for high emissions of nitrogen and greenhouse gases but also, through the import of cattle feed, ensures that enormous tracts of land around the world cannot be used for growing food,” says the manifesto.

Additionally, the manifesto calls on policymakers to prioritize local rural markets in the Global South, phase out wasteful long food chains in trade, ensure fair and sustainable trade agreements with countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America, ensure a gender-responsive agricultural policy, and to invest in small-scale farmers who work sustainably and strengthen the local food markets in their regions.

For more information about the manifesto, please contact:

Karin van Boxtel, Both ENDS, k.vanboxtel@bothends.org
Nout van der Vaart, Oxfam Novib, nout.vandervaart@oxfamnovib.nl