The IUF, together with 10 civil society allies, is calling for an urgent meeting with the Director General, Dongyu Qu to discuss the FAO’s plans to enter into a formal partnership with CropLife International, the global trade association of pesticide producers.
- In a letter sent to Dongyu Qu on February 25, 2021, the IUF and civil society allies warn that the proposed partnership with Croplife would undermine “the principles set out in the FAO’s Code of Conduct on Pesticide Management”, and be “incompatible with FAO’s mandate as a UN institution and the international Human Rights framework.”
- The meeting request follows several months of exchanges with the FAO raising concerns over the proposed partnership
- In response to an earlier joint letter, sent in November 2020, the FAO replied that it took seriously its mandate to act independently, neutrally and honestly and was fully committed to ensuring that the voices of all actors were heard. However, there was no commitment to a meeting
- The February 2021 letter questions how FAO’s objectives of “supporting sustainable agriculture production, preserving biodiversity and human health” can be served by an alliance with CropLife, especially in the absence of effective safeguards to prevent conflicts of interest
- The letter quotes from a shocking new report showing a dramatic increase in pesticide poisoning cases, up to 385 million cases per year
This partnership agreement is incompatible with FAO’s mandate as a UN institution and the international Human Rights framework.
