This theme is also of current topical interest in Europe: the restructuring of agricultural policies forms the core of debates with the European Commission which wants agro fuels to provide at least 10% of the energy used for transport by 2020. This however means that arable land will have to be used to meet the energy needs of 800 million car users, instead of feeding 2 billion starving persons.

During the training session, Ndiakhate Fall and Dianto Bachriadi informed youth workers of the North-South interdependence and of the ground realities observed in their countries, a viewpoint that differed from that provided by the mass media and by government reports. Dianto used the example of the area devoted to the cultivation of oil palm trees in Indonesia, which has multiplied by six in the last 20 years and is one of the main causes of deforestation. The equivalent of 6 hectares of forestland (imagine the number of football grounds that would represent!) disappear every minute. The palm oil extracted is used in Europe to manufacture cosmetics, food products and agro fuel. The presentation continued with the example of Senegal, where the cultivation and marketing of peanuts have replaced food crops. Youth workers were therefore able to discover the consequences of Senegalese and Indonesian agricultural policies from a first-hand witness.

In the following two sessions, other speakers presented the European context: the European Coordination Vía Campesina discussed a common agricultural policy during the training course, while Minga, a French association working in the field of equitable world trade informed trainees of the practices of retail chains that crush producers and make a profit on their sales.

If you would like to have more information on "Hemispheres", don’t hesitate to contact us!

This project is conducted with funding from the European Union.