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Corporate Social Responsibility
News
9.23.2005 ET
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Small Scale Family Coffee Farmers GATHERED in Salvador DECLARE: 'The Coffee Crisis is Not over, AND we must be a part of finding the solution'
(CSRwire) Salvador, Brazil - A delegation of almost 200 small scale family
coffee farmers gathered in Salvador, Brazil this week to make their
reality and single most important demand heard at the second World Coffee
Conference (WCC).
Their reality - the coffee crisis is not over for the 25 million small
scale family coffee farmers worldwide.
Their demand - they want to have a voice and be active members of the
international coffee debate, becoming an integral part of the solutions
that will shape their futures as well as those of their families and
communities.
The WCC, sponsored by the International Coffee Organization (ICO), is
being held in Salvador from September 23 to 25.
The delegation represents coffee farmers and cooperatives throughout the
world that do not have the financial or human resources to express their
concerns first-hand at the conference. Lorenzo Castillo, head of the
Junta Nacional del Café in Peru, said "The US$550 registration fee and
the manner in which the World Coffee Conference was organized limit the
access and participation of small coffee producers, responsible for 75% of
the world's coffee production." Castillo continued, "Meetings like this
must create an environment that guarantees opportunities for small coffee
producer participation."
Carta de Salvador, drafted this week by the delegation, will be delivered
to Nestor Osorio, president of the ICO, at the WCC on Saturday. The
declaration highlights that the coffee crisis continues worldwide, it
outlines the problems faced by small scale family coffee farmers and
proposes solutions. The text will be made available after it is presented
to Osorio.
In another effort to give voice to the farmers left out of the Conference,
the Brazilian National Confederation of Agriculture Workers, CONTAG, will
hold a Family Agriculture Coffee Fair this weekend. The Fair will run
this Friday, Saturday and Sunday outside of the Pestana Bahia Hotel where
the conference is being held. Coffee samples from producers worldwide
including India and Ethiopia as well as musical and cultural presentations
will be featured.
Finally, a series of workshops for the delegation coordinated by Oxfam
International, CONTAG, IUF (International Union of Food Workers), the
Dutch Coffee Coalition, and GLACC (Global Alliance on Coffee and
Commodities) were conducted over two days prior to the WCC. The workshops
addressed issues such as the development of the Common Code for the Coffee
Community (4Cs), sustainability, labor rights, corporate buying practices
and trends in the coffee sector. Constantino Casasbuenas of Oxfam
International stated, "We felt it was very important to bring the members
of this delegation together and offer an opportunity for information
sharing and debate on key issues that affect their daily lives."
Casasbuenas continued, "Their input is crucial. Any sustainable solution
to the coffee crisis needs to involve these coffee farmers."
To interview Lorenzo Castillo or Constantino Casasbuenas, or for more
information, please contact Helen DaSilva (hdasilva@oxfamamerica.org or +
55 71 9606 3489) or Renato Guimarães (nato.guima@gmail.com or +55 71 9991
4386). Please inquire for interviews in French, German or Dutch.
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Oxfam International is a confederation of 12 organizations working
together with over 3,000 partners in more than 100 countries to find
lasting solutions to poverty, suffering and injustice. Oxfam seeks
increased worldwide public understanding that economic and social justice
are crucial to sustainable development. We strive to be a global
campaigning force promoting the awareness and motivation that comes with
global citizenship while seeking to shift public opinion in order to make
equity the same priority as economic growth.
The Coffee Crisis is an economic and humanitarian calamity triggered by
plunging coffee prices and a glut of product on the coffee market. The
Crisis has ravaged coffee-growing communities in developing countries
since 1999. After hitting a 30-year low in 2001, the price of coffee has
continued to fluctuate over the last several months and small scale
producers are still unable to earn a decent income. As a result, millions
of families lack basic necessities such as health care, education, and, in
some cases, adequate food. Many coffee farmers have been forced to
abandon their land and migrate elsewhere in search of employment.
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