SAO PAULO, 7 March 2006 — Formulating a document containing recommendations for 193 countries in the world is one of the major tasks facing the participants at the 2nd International Conference on Agrarian Reform and Rural Development that opened in the southern Brazilian city of Porto Alegre yesterday.
“the debates are expected to lead to a final declaration which will include an action plan to orient UN member countries,” said Jose Tubino, representative of the United nations Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) in Brazil. He added, “I would say that there will be a big responsibility at the national level, where, in each country, the conference’s recommendations will have to be converted into national government policies and development plans.”
According to Tubino, the final declaration should incorporate suggestions made by representatives of organized civil society who will participate in the “Land, Work and Dignity” forum, parallel to the official event.
The event, organized by the FAO in partnership with the Brazilian government, will have seven central themes to orient the debates: Access to land, training for accessing government services and policies, challenges and potentialities in territorial development, agrarian reform, social justice and sustainable development and food sovereignty and access to resources.
