Aims

The main aim of the Working Group - with about 50 registered and 25 active members from farmers', development, and environment organisations as well as research institutions - is the promotion of international justice, human rights and economical, ecological and social sustainability. It actively works on the incorporation of these issues into agricultural policy, sustainable developmental policy and international agricultural relations.

Activities

The Group commissions and conducts studies and information material, it lobbies and does advocacy work on the results of the studies, organises workshops, seminars, meetings and press briefings, co-ordinates campaigns and supports national and international NGO networking.

Project Groups

• Sustainable Agriculture, Rio- Follow up
• Reform of the EU-Agricultural Policy / WTO
• Agro-biodiversity, international agro-research, seeds
• Questions of World Hunger; follow-up of the World Food Summit, Food security/ nutrition safety

Major issues

The major issues the Group deals with are:

• The Agenda 2000
• The Common Agricultural Policy Reform and Sustainable Agriculture
• Agricultural Policy in Developing Countries
• International Agricultural Trade, WTO, FAO
• Eating Habits
• Gender Aspects
• Genetic Engineering and World Hunger
• Plant-genetic Resources
• Biosafety
• Local Agenda 21, Regional Markets, Regional Politics 
• Ecological Farming
• Integrated Plant Protection
• Codex alimentarius

The Working Group Sustainable Agriculture is also engaged in activities in the field of food security and questions concerning the global food situation as well as the follow up of the World Food Summit 1996 in Rome. It actively deals with the reform of the agricultural policy of the EU and the WTO.

Way of Working

• 2-3 meetings a year, meeting of the project teams and plenum conferences 
• several study meetings and public conferences
• ad hoc preparation teams, press relations and political dialog concerning several issues