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Farmers to meet with WTO leaders
The GO5 Coalition joins farmers from 52 countries to claim the people's right to food sovereignty

Longueuil, March 23, 2006 - At a meeting in Geneva on March 22 with Pascal Lamy, Director-General of the WTO, and Crawford Falconer, Chairman of the Trade Committee, GO5 Coalition members joined forces with farmers from 52 other countries around the world to present a declaration proclaiming the people's right to food sovereignty. This declaration had been ratified in December within the framework of the WTO conference in Hong Kong.

By endorsing this declaration, Québec farmers have made it clear that they share the same concerns as farmers in other countries about the outcome of the WTO negotiations. They are especially afraid that free trade as advocated by the WTO favors the commercial interests of multinationals. Farmers point out that approximately 90% of global agricultural production is intended for national markets, while less than 10% of production is actually traded internationally.

GO5 Coalition members fear that the creation of an international trade system eliminating all trade barriers would limit farmers' ability to feed people in their own countries first and obtain a fair price for their products. "Dairy, poultry and egg farmers in Québec and Canada are not alone in this fight. We feel solidarity with millions of farmers in other countries who share our vision," declared Marcel Groleau, President of the Fédération des producteurs de lait du Québec and spokesperson for the GO5 Coalition. .

Furthermore, GO5 members hope that the milk, eggs and poultry produced under supply management will be considered by the WTO as sensitive products. "That will make it possible for Canada to maintain its national production and protect it against subsidized foreign products," Groleau added. For farmers in Québec, the supply management system is a fair model that makes it possible to sell milk at fair market value without subsidies. "Supply management provides a stable supply to processors and a fair income for farmers," concluded the Coalition's spokesperson.

The Québec farm delegation in Geneva is composed of Marcel Groleau, President of the Fédération des producteurs de lait du Québec, Serge Lebeau, Senior International Trade Advisor of the Union des producteurs agricoles and Yves Baril, President of the Fédération des producteurs de volailles du Québec.

The full text of the declaration can be consulted on the Internet site of the GO5 Coalition for a fair farming model, supply management: www.go5quebec.ca

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