Mission Statement - SAFS Caucus

The Sustainable Agriculture/Food Systems Caucus at the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD)

Major groups within civil society have self-organized themselves to participate in United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development(CSD) activities each year since 1993. The Sustainable Agriculture/Food Systems (SAFS) Caucus is an international working group for those non-governmental, farmers' and peoples' organization representatives active at the crossroads of international and domestic policy related to sustainable agriculture, food security and food systems.

As one of several formally recognized caucuses that meet at the CSD annually, the SAFS Caucus holds meetings and sponsors information sessions as a regular part of the CSD schedule of events. Our educational and advocacy activities focus on implementation (and/or critique in some cases) of United Nations Earth Summit and World Food Summit agreements by facilitating dialogue on sustainable food system issues and building grassroots networks that can effectively participate with governments and United Nations institutions in promoting policy changes to achieve humane, ecological, social and economic sustainability in the food system.

The goal of this work is to fill a gap in representation and advocacy by NGO/farmer grassroots organizations and to bring their voices for sustainable food and farming systems policies to the United Nations. The SAFS Caucus facilitates capacity building to influence decision makers by enabling farmers, community based agriculture and food systems leaders, academic colleagues and sustainable agribusiness representatives to effectively make their points of view heard in international forums such as preparatory meetings for the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD). Our primary activity in this arena is promoting dialogue and building consensus among NGOs and farmers' organizations, while collaborating with representatives of other Major Groups in civil society (Indigenous Peoples, Women, Workers and Trade Unions, etc.), government and international agencies and institutions in building support for a shared agenda to achieve sustainable agriculture.

With experience gained from activities on the ground, at national and regional level, and at international forums such as the Earth Summit in Rio, the International Conference on Nutrition, the World Food Summit in Rome, the Conventions on Desertification and Biological Diversity, among others, participation in the Sustainable Agriculture and Food Systems Caucus (SAFS) is one path for this kind of involvement.

The questions raised cover a broad range of issues. How do the needs and interests of communities and local groups -- of farmers, people interested in eating safe and nutritious food, public interest and social justice advocates, animal welfare and environmental ethics supporters -- get translated into regional, national and international arenas where the ground rules for many issues, including trade, food labeling, public investments in research, health and information systems - are decided?

As a caucus, SAFS provides structure and organization to joint efforts by its members, who collaborate on input to negotiated language and plans of action. Since there is no hierarchical directorate or official doctrine for SAFS, members have the right and the responsibility to facilitate an open environment for initiatives and strategy to be pursued through the SAFS network. SAFS essentially provides the place and methods for dialogue and capacity building, and for the opportunity to find common ground.

The objective of the SAFS Caucus is to host open dialogues, educational forums, and strategy sessions that will introduce and encourage long-term and global concerns for sustainable agriculture and food systems into future strategic thinking, action and agreements. The goal is to provide insight and support for a diversity of local, regional, and international relationships in a global food system, and to establish a form of food security for all people of the Earth while insuring healthy environments, food safety and respect for all creatures.

(minor revisions, 3/02)