Volunteers lobby for change in ag policies
By ROWENA PLETT
Staff writer
Harry Bennett of Marion was one of 15 returned Peace Corps volunteers who traveled from eight states to Washington, D.C., in November. They teamed up with leaders of rural communities in West Africa to advocate for changes in U.S. ag policy.
The diverse group ranged from small farmers to a U.S. resident originally from Mali, West Africa.
They were sponsored by the National Peace Corps Association and Oxfam America, an organization committed to battling poverty.
All shared a commitment to support rural communities in the U.S. as well as in developing countries such as those in which they served during their Peace Corps service.
The group hoped to influence their senators and representatives to urge the U.S. to take bold steps at the upcoming World Trade Organization negotiations to benefit rural communities around the world.
According to Bennett, huge U.S. and European Union agricultural subsidies have had the effect of lowering the price of products such as cotton and rice on the world market, leaving millions of farmers in developing countries in dire straits.
He said subsidized commodities in the developed world cause overproduction. They then are sold on the world market at less than the cost of production.
Farmers in underdeveloped countries receive no subsidies, he said, but are forced to sell at the same low price and are not able to make a profit or provide for their families.
"We are not talking about poverty, we are talking about misery," said Soloba Mady Keita, a small cotton producer and mayor of a rural community in western Mali, West Africa.
One member of the group who is a leader of a farmers' organization of cotton growers in West Africa addressed a legislative aide from Senator Pat Robert's office.
He said, "You gave us $10 million in aid and it didn't go where it should have gone. But the same year, our cotton crops lost $13.7 million because of subsidized commodities. We would rather have a real price for our crops than to have aid."
The farmer makes $400 a year and has five children.
"Let's find a way to make these countries viable in the marketplace and stop this cycle of poverty," Bennett's group advocated. "Aid perpetuates poverty."
The group also was concerned about the net effect upon rural communities in America of the disproportionate distribution of subsidies to farmers.
In the U.S., subsidies benefit large corporate farming interests more than the average farmer, which Bennett says is unfair. He noted in Marion County 67 percent of farm subsidies go to the top 10 percent, driving up the price of land and other costs.
He and his group lobbied for a cap of $250,000 per farm, as supported by Congressman Sam Brownback. Bennett said only nine farms in Kansas would be affected by lowering the cap from $350,000 to $250,000.
An aide to Roberts indicated the senator is willing to consider setting a lower cap for the new farm bill to be written in 2007.
Bennett thinks government leaders in Marion County should concentrate on agriculture for economic development because the county has a lot of farmers who contribute a lot to the economy.
"Farming is the bright spot in Marion County's economy," he said.
According to information provided by the Environmental Working Group, Marion County received $76,012,539 in government subsidies over 10 years, 1995-2004, including payments for commodity, conservation, and nutrition programs.
"That $76 million is economic development," he said. "Perhaps we should look at this whole thing of concentrating commodity payments at the top and use those monies more to aid the sector that needs it the most."
He encouraged people to meet with Jerry Moran when he makes his stops in Marion County on his listening tour and let him know what they think.
"Maybe you could redefine how you want that money to work," he said. "If we truly want to have the ability of small to medium-sized farms to have a place in agriculture, maybe funds should be shifted to that kind of agriculture.
"Let the ag money come, but let the local people shape the place and have more input on how you want this money to work.
"We have to face up to it that our strength here is in the land that we have, that we can produce food here. It's what has paid the bills, put money in the bank, and built houses."
Haywood to meet
with veterans Tuesday
Richard Haywood, veterans' service representative for the Kansas Commission on Veterans' Affairs will be at the Marion County Health Department, Marion, from 1 to 3 p.m. Tuesday.
In an effort to better serve all veterans, widows, and dependents, call 620-342-3347 so all files will be available.
