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                                             Distr.
                                             GENERAL
                                             A/CONF.151/26 (Vol. III)
                                             14 August 1992

                                             ORIGINAL:  ENGLISH


             REPORT OF THE UNITED NATIONS CONFERENCE ON 
                     ENVIRONMENT AND DEVELOPMENT

                  (Rio de Janeiro, 3-14 June 1992)


                             Chapter 32

                 STRENGTHENING THE ROLE OF FARMERS*


                           PROGRAMME AREA

Basis for action

32.1.  Agriculture occupies one third of the land surface of the Earth,
and is the central activity for much of the world's population.  Rural
activities take place in close contact with nature, adding value to it
by producing renewable resources, while at the same time becoming
vulnerable to overexploitation and improper management.

32.2.  The rural household, indigenous people and their communities,
and the family farmer, a substantial number of whom are women, have
been the stewards of much of the Earth's resources.  Farmers must
conserve their physical environment as they depend on it for their
sustenance.  Over the past 20 years there has been impressive increase
in aggregate agricultural production.  Yet, in some regions, this
increase has been outstripped by population growth or international
debt or falling commodity prices.  Further, the natural resources that
sustain farming activity need proper care, and there is a growing
concern about the sustainability of agricultural production systems.

32.3.  A farmer-centred approach is the key to the attainment of
sustainability in both developed and developing countries and many of
the programme areas in Agenda 21 address this objective.  A significant
number of the rural population in developing countries depend primarily
upon small-scale, subsistence-oriented agriculture based on family
labour.  However, they have limited access to resources, technology,
alternative livelihood and means of production.  As a result, they are
engaged in the overexploitation of natural resources, including
marginal lands.

32.4.  The sustainable development of people in marginal and fragile
ecosystems is also addressed in Agenda 21.  The key to the successful
implementation of these programmes lies in the motivation and attitudes
of individual farmers and government policies that would provide
incentives to farmers to manage their natural resources efficiently and
in a sustainable way.  Farmers, particularly women, face a high degree
of economic, legal and institutional uncertainties when investing in
their land and other resources.  The decentralization of
decision-making towards local and community organizations is the key in
changing people's behaviour and implementing 
sustainable farming strategies.  This programme area deals with
activities which can contribute to this end.

Objectives

32.5.  The following objectives are proposed:

      (a)   To encourage a decentralized decision-making process
through the creation and strengthening of local and village
organizations that would delegate power and responsibility to primary
users of natural resources;

      (b)   To support and enhance the legal capacity of women and
vulnerable groups with regard to access, use and tenure of land;

      (c)   To promote and encourage sustainable farming practices and
technologies;

      (d)   To introduce or strengthen policies that would encourage
self-sufficiency in low-input and low-energy technologies, including
indigenous practices, and pricing mechanisms that internalize
environmental costs;

      (e)   To develop a policy framework that provides incentives and
motivation among farmers for sustainable and efficient farming
practices;

      (f)   To enhance the participation of farmers, men and women, in
the design and implementation of policies directed towards these ends,
through their representative organizations.

Activities

(a)   Management-related activities

32.6.  National Governments should:

      (a)   Ensure the implementation of the programmes on sustainable
livelihoods, agriculture and rural development, managing fragile
ecosystems, water use in agriculture, and integrated management of
natural resources;

      (b)   Promote pricing mechanisms, trade policies, fiscal
incentives and other policy instruments that positively affect
individual farmer's decisions about an efficient and sustainable use of
natural resources, and take full account of the impact of these
decisions on household food security, farm incomes, employment and the
environment;

      (c)   Involve farmers and their representative organizations in
the formulation of policy;

      (d)   Protect, recognize and formalize women's access to tenure
and use of land, as well as rights to land, access to credit,
technology, inputs and training;

      (e)   Support the formation of farmers' organizations by
providing adequate legal and social conditions.

32.7.  Support for farmers' organizations could be arranged as follows:

      (a)   National and international research centres should
cooperate with farmers' organizations in developing location-specific
environment-friendly farming techniques;

      (b)   National Governments, multilateral and bilateral
development agencies and non-governmental organizations should
collaborate with farmers' organizations in formulating agricultural
development projects to specific agro-ecological zones.

(b)   Data and information

32.8.  Governments and farmers' organizations should:

      (a)   Initiate mechanisms to document, synthesize and disseminate
local knowledge, practices and project experiences so that they will
make use of the lessons of the past when formulating and implementing
policies affecting farming, forest and fishing populations;

      (b)   Establish networks for the exchange of experiences with
regard to farming that help to conserve land, water and forest
resources, minimize the use of chemicals and reduce or reutilize farm
wastes;

      (c)   Develop pilot projects and extension services that would
seek to build on the needs and knowledge base of women farmers.

(c)   International and regional cooperation

32.9.  FAO, IFAD, WFP, the World Bank, the regional development banks
and other international organizations involved in rural development
should involve farmers and their representatives in their
deliberations, as appropriate.

32.10.  Representative organizations of farmers should establish
programmes for the development and support of farmers' organizations,
particularly in developing countries.

Means of implementation

(a)   Financing and cost evaluation

32.11.  The financing needed for this programme area is estimated in
chapter 14 (Promoting sustainable agriculture and rural development),
particularly in the programme area entitled "Ensuring people's
participation and promoting human resource development for sustainable
agriculture".  The costs shown under chapters 3 (Combating poverty), 12
(Managing fragile ecosystems:  combating desertification and drought),
and 13 (Managing fragile
ecosystems:  sustainable mountain development) are also relevant to
this programme area.  

(b)   Scientific and technological means

32.12.  Governments and appropriate international organizations, in
collaboration with national research organizations and non-governmental
organizations should, as appropriate:

      (a)   Develop environmentally sound farming technologies that
enhance crop yields, maintain land quality, recycle nutrients, conserve
water and energy and control pests and weeds;

      (b)   Conduct studies of high-resource and low-resource
agriculture to compare their productivity and sustainability.  The
research should preferably be conducted under various environmental and
sociological settings;

      (c)   Support research on mechanization that would optimize human
labour and animal power and hand-held and animal-drawn equipment that
can be easily operated and maintained.  The development of farm
technologies should take into account farmers' available resources and
the role of animals in farming households and the ecology.

(c)   Human resource development

32.13.  Governments, with the support of multilateral and bilateral
development agencies and scientific organizations, should develop
curricula for agricultural colleges and training institutions that
would integrate ecology into agricultural science.  Interdisciplinary
programmes in agricultural ecology are essential to the training of a
new generation of agricultural scientists and field-level extension
agents.

(d)   Capacity-building

32.14.  Governments should, in the light of each country's specific
situation:

      (a)   Create the institutional and legal mechanisms to ensure
effective land tenure to farmers.  The absence of legislation
indicating land rights has been an obstacle in taking action against
land degradation in many farming communities in developing countries;

      (b)   Strengthen rural institutions that would enhance
sustainability through locally managed credit systems and technical
assistance, local production and distribution facilities for inputs,
appropriate equipment and small-scale processing units, and marketing
and distribution systems;

      (c)   Establish mechanisms to increase access of farmers, in
particular women and farmers from indigenous groups, to agricultural
training, credit and use of improved technology for ensuring food
security.


* * * *

      *     In this chapter, all references to "farmers" include all
rural people who derive their livelihood from activities such as
farming, fishing and forest harvesting.  The term "farming" also
includes fishing and forest harvesting.

END OF CHAPTER 32