Dispossession
Dispossession

Author: Pete Daniel

Publisher: UNC Press Books

Published: 2013-03-29

Total Pages: 351

ISBN-13: 1469602024

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Between 1940 and 1974, the number of African American farmers fell from 681,790 to just 45,594--a drop of 93 percent. In his hard-hitting book, historian Pete Daniel analyzes this decline and chronicles black farmers' fierce struggles to remain on the land in the face of discrimination by bureaucrats in the U.S. Department of Agriculture. He exposes the shameful fact that at the very moment civil rights laws promised to end discrimination, hundreds of thousands of black farmers lost their hold on the land as they were denied loans, information, and access to the programs essential to survival in a capital-intensive farm structure. More than a matter of neglect of these farmers and their rights, this "passive nullification" consisted of a blizzard of bureaucratic obfuscation, blatant acts of discrimination and cronyism, violence, and intimidation. Dispossession recovers a lost chapter of the black experience in the American South, presenting a counternarrative to the conventional story of the progress achieved by the civil rights movement.

Freedom Farmers
Freedom Farmers

Author: Monica M. White

Publisher: UNC Press Books

Published: 2018-11-06

Total Pages: 209

ISBN-13: 1469643707

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In May 1967, internationally renowned activist Fannie Lou Hamer purchased forty acres of land in the Mississippi Delta, launching the Freedom Farms Cooperative (FFC). A community-based rural and economic development project, FFC would grow to over 600 acres, offering a means for local sharecroppers, tenant farmers, and domestic workers to pursue community wellness, self-reliance, and political resistance. Life on the cooperative farm presented an alternative to the second wave of northern migration by African Americans--an opportunity to stay in the South, live off the land, and create a healthy community based upon building an alternative food system as a cooperative and collective effort. Freedom Farmers expands the historical narrative of the black freedom struggle to embrace the work, roles, and contributions of southern Black farmers and the organizations they formed. Whereas existing scholarship generally views agriculture as a site of oppression and exploitation of black people, this book reveals agriculture as a site of resistance and provides a historical foundation that adds meaning and context to current conversations around the resurgence of food justice/sovereignty movements in urban spaces like Detroit, Chicago, Milwaukee, New York City, and New Orleans.

Pathologies of Power
Pathologies of Power

Author: Paul Farmer

Publisher: Univ of California Press

Published: 2005

Total Pages: 429

ISBN-13: 0520243269

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"Pathologies of Power" uses harrowing stories of life and death to argue thatthe promotion of social and economic rights of the poor is the most importanthuman rights struggle of our times.

Farmers' rights
Farmers' rights

Author: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

Publisher: Food & Agriculture Org.

Published: 2018-06-05

Total Pages: 116

ISBN-13: 9251099324

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Farmers’ rights refer to rights arising from the past, present and future contributions of farmers in conserving, improving, and making available plant genetic resources. This educational module explains the foundation of the concept and outlines the important role played by farmers and local and indigenous communities in the conservation and sustainable management of plant genetic resources for food and agriculture.

Community Seed Banks
Community Seed Banks

Author: Ronnie Vernooy

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2015-05-15

Total Pages: 323

ISBN-13: 1134608608

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Community seed banks first appeared towards the end of the 1980s, established with the support of international and national non-governmental organizations. This book is the first to provide a global review of their development and includes a wide range of case studies. Countries that pioneered various types of community seed banks include Bangladesh, Brazil, Ethiopia, India, Nepal, Nicaragua, the Philippines and Zimbabwe. In the North, a particular type of community seed bank emerged known as a seed-savers network. Such networks were first established in Australia, Canada, the UK and the USA before spreading to other countries. Over time, the number and diversity of seed banks has grown. In Nepal, for example, there are now more than 100 self-described community seed banks whose functions range from pure conservation to commercial seed production. In Brazil, community seed banks operate in various regions of the country. Surprisingly, despite 25 years of history and the rapid growth in number, organizational diversity and geographical coverage of community seed banks, recognition of their roles and contributions has remained scanty. The book reviews their history, evolution, experiences, successes and failures (and reasons why), challenges and prospects. It fills a significant gap in the literature on agricultural biodiversity and conservation, and their contribution to food sovereignty and security.

Realising Farmers' Rights to Crop Genetic Resources
Realising Farmers' Rights to Crop Genetic Resources

Author: Regine Andersen

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2013-07-18

Total Pages: 233

ISBN-13: 1136157697

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Farmers' Rights are essential for maintaining crop genetic diversity, which is the basis of all food and agricultural production in the world. The International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture recognizes Farmers' Rights and provides for relevant measures. However, implementation is slow, and in many countries there is resistance. This book shows the necessity of realizing Farmers' Rights for poverty alleviation and food security, the practical possibilities of doing so, and the potential gains for development and society at large. It provides decision-makers and practitioners with a conceptual framework for understanding Farmers’ Rights and success stories showing how each of the elements of Farmers' Rights can be realized in practice. The success stories have brought substantial achievements as regards one or more of the four elements of Farmers' Rights: the rights of farmers to save, use, exchange and sell farm-saved seed; the protection of traditional knowledge; benefit- sharing; and participation in decision-making. This does not mean that these examples are perfect. Challenges encountered on the way are conveyed and offer important lessons. The stories represent different regions and localities, including Europe, Asia, Africa and Latin America, as well as various categories of stakeholders and types of initiatives and policies.

Farmers' Crop Varieties and Farmers' Rights
Farmers' Crop Varieties and Farmers' Rights

Author: Michael Halewood

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2016-03-10

Total Pages: 420

ISBN-13: 1136537546

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Crop plant varieties developed by local farmers, commonly referred to as ‘farmers' varieties’, are problematic because there are no fixed taxonomic or legal definitions of them. As a result, policies to increase the share of benefits farmers receive from the use of such varieties struggle to have an effect. Aiming to clarifying these issues, this volume explores the nature of farmers’ varieties in the context of their biological, social and legal significance. The book addresses the complexities of defining what farmers’ varieties are and how they differ from one another and from generic varieties. It then charts the evolution of the concept of ‘farmers’ rights’, from the dawn of ‘genetic resources’ as a subject worthy of international attention, to the first legal recognition of the concept, through to current efforts to develop national level policies and laws. Further, the book examines outstanding policy-making challenges linked to the absence of fixed taxonomic or legal definitions of farmers’ varieties. Case studies are included from Africa, Asia, Europe and South America in which farmers, researchers and policy advocates have been confronted with the issues raised in this book. Various solutions are considered based on revised or new definitions of farmers’ varieties that reflect the biological and cultural realities in which they are produced, and the relative costs and benefits of attempting to implement each of the policies discussed.

Farmers' Rights – Educational Module V
Farmers' Rights – Educational Module V

Author: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

Publisher: Food & Agriculture Org.

Published: 2021-09-27

Total Pages: 114

ISBN-13: 9251346658

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The role of farmers as custodians and innovators of plant genetic diversity that feeds the world population was not formally recognized at the international level until the adoption of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. The International Treaty is the first legally binding instrument that recognizes the enormous contribution of local and indigenous communities and farmers worldwide to the development and conservation of crop diversity. This module examines its origins and provisions in the International Treaty and presents some practical activities for the realization of Farmers’ Rights. It aims to (i) understand the crucial role of farmers in the conservation and sustainable use of plant genetic resources for food and agriculture; (ii) describe the evolution of Farmers’ Rights up to their recognition by the International Treaty; (iii) explain the components of Article 9 of the International Treaty; (iv) illustrate the implementation of Article 9 at the national level with practical examples and best practices; and (v) strengthen stakeholders’ capacities for implementing Farmers’ Rights as reflected in Article 9 of the International Treaty. The realization of Farmers’ Rights falls under the responsibility of national governments, and the adoption of measures for the promotion of Farmers’ Rights, therefore, remains at the discretion of national authorities. Although there is no binding agreement for the implementation of Farmers’ Rights, it is clear that farmers need to be supported to continue their role as stewards of plant genetic diversity in agriculture.

Options for encouraging, guiding and promoting the realization of Farmers’ Rights as set out in Article 9 of the International Treaty
Options for encouraging, guiding and promoting the realization of Farmers’ Rights as set out in Article 9 of the International Treaty

Author: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

Publisher: Food & Agriculture Org.

Published: 2023-11-15

Total Pages: 85

ISBN-13: 9251381887

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Farmers feed the world, by producing the food on which we all depend. Since farmers are the developers and custodians of crop diversity in the field, their rights in this regard are critical to maintain their pivotal role in providing food security and nutrition – never more so than in the current era of climate change and other major challenges facing humanity. The International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources (International Treaty) is the first legally binding international agreement to formally recognize the contribution of local and Indigenous communities and farmers to the conservation and development of plant genetic resources for food and agriculture. Article 9 of the International Treaty provides for the recognition, realization and promotion of Farmers’ Rights as they relate to plant genetic resources for food and agriculture. Farmers’ Rights can be realized through a series of measures and practices that can be put in place to protect, promote and realize these rights. The promotion and realization of these rights enable farmers and farming communities to continue performing their role as developers and custodians of crop diversity, and to feed the world for the generations to come. This publication presents the “Options for encouraging, guiding, and promoting the realization of Farmers' Rights, as set out in Article 9 of the International Treaty". It contains 27 options developed by an expert group, drawing on the experiences of Contracting Parties and stakeholders. Contracting Parties and interested stakeholders are invited to consider the full range of options for implementing Farmers' Rights at the national level, in accordance with their needs and priorities and as appropriate.