Press Release

World Farmers' Organizations Elect New IFAP Executive: Ajay Vashee from Zambia Takes the Helm

June 9, 2008 , Paris, France - At its 38th World Farmers' Congress, the International Federation of Agricultural Producers (IFAP) elected the IFAP President, three Vice-Presidents, Treasurer, twenty-one members of the Executive Committee, as well as the Chairs of IFAP's committees and working groups. For the first time in IFAP's sixty-two year history, a representative from a developing country was elected President. Ajay Vashee, farmer leader, President of SACAU, a regional farmers' organization for Southern Africa and former President of the Zambian National Farmers' Union, takes the helm of IFAP with a vision that puts farmers' perspectives at the center of global politics. Aiding him in this task are three Vice-Presidents and a Treasurer, who constitute the Bureau: Elisabeth Gauffin from Sweden, Raul Montemayor from the Philippines, Carlos Simancas from Colombia and Peter Gaemelke from Denmark as Treasurer. Together they will make sure farmers' organizations worldwide are united under the democratic umbrella of IFAP.

Ajay Vashee described his plans for IFAP in the coming two years: "My ambition is to consolidate the gains IFAP has made for farmers and take them even further over the next two years. Together with farmer organization members worldwide, we will create a strategy to solve the world food crisis, help farmers to develop and get paid for the ecosystem services they provide humanity, address agriculture and climate change and evaluate sustainable bioenergy production. The world is counting on its farmers to achieve all of these things, and we will ensure our farmers have the capacity and support to get the job done. Our regional committees will build the capacity of the organizations they are working with to carry out the policy priorities of the member organizations in developing countries. We will make strident efforts to ensure IFAP is seen as an equal partner with governments and international institutions in any discussions that relate to agriculture. IFAP has high-level standing within the United Nations system (CBD, FAO, OECD, UNCCD, UNEP, UNFCC, WHO, WMO, WTO, etc...), and we will be developing innovative partnerships with others to achieve our goals."

Vice-President Elisabeth Gauffin, Sweden, noted, “Never has the distance between the farmyard and global politics been shorter, and we have to speak for ourselves in these discussions. We will work together to ensure positive outcomes for the worlds’ farmers." She will continue to serve as the Chair of the Development Cooperation Committee, which focuses on the creation and strengthening of independent farmers’ organizations throughout the world.

Raul Montemayor, Philippines, will be serving his second term as Vice-President of IFAP. One of his priorities will be to empower farmers in the marketplace. "We must make certain that the increases in farmgate prices translate into increased income for farmers, and not unchecked speculation by global commodity traders."

Carlos Simancas, Colombia, will contribute to IFAP by helping to design global policies with governments and intergovernmental agencies for the benefit of farmers. “We aim to promote capacity building of small farmers and to facilitate projects that enable them to achieve greater market access, gain support for infrastructure investment, and increase exchange of farmers’ experiences with governments and intergovernmental agencies,” emphasized Simancas.

In addition to serving as Treasurer, Peter Gaemelke, Denmark, will be organizing the IFAP Conference Climate Change: Farmers' Solutions, in which the Prime Minister of Denmark will participate. The conference is scheduled for the May 27, 2009, and will prepare for the UNFCCC COP 15 that will take place at the end of November 2009 in Copenhagen.

Ajay Vashee stated, "Our Executive Bureau is a talented group of world farm leaders, and we will work diligently to bring agriculture to the forefront of the global stage."

IFAP World Farmers' Congress documents and information are available on the IFAP website, including pictures and video links. Visit the Congress page for more information.

IFAP is the farmers' voice at the world level, and has been advocating farmers’ interests at the international level since 1946. IFAP’s mission is to develop farmers’ capacities to influence decisions that affect them at both the domestic and international levels. www.ifap.org

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