100% organic agriculture, as a solution to climate change and future of food and agriculture: The Ecological-State of Sikkim
Monday 15 October, 2018, from 1 to 2 pm at the Press Room of the Chamber of Deputies in Rome
On October 15, 2018, from 1 to 2 pm, at the Press Room of the Chamber of Deputies – Via della Missione n. 4, Rome – a press conference will be held with Hon. Pawan Kumar Chamling, Chief Minister of the Indian state of Sikkim, who has converted to organic 100% of the agricultural production of the State of Sikkim. Joining him will be Dr Vandana Shiva, President of Navdanya International and Founding Councillor of the World Future Council, the Hon. Rossella Muroni, group leader LeU in the Environment Committee, the president of the Montecitorio Agriculture Commission Hon. Filippo Gallinella (M5S), the Hon. Federico Fornaro, president of LeU and leader in the Agriculture Commission, the Hon. Maria Chiara Gadda, Pd parent company in the Agriculture Commission, the Hon. Sara Cunial (M5S), and Lucio Cavazzoni, former president of Alce Nero. The event will also be attended by a delegation from Sikkim which includes M.r. S.N. Poudyal, Minister of agriculture Sikkim, Mr. P.D. Rai, Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha, Mr K Bhutiya, Secretary Horticulture, Mr. A.C. Chand Resident Commissioner Sikkim House, Delhi.
The Chief Minister of Sikkim is in Rome on the occasion of the Future Policy Award ceremony. The award is dedicated to the best global policies for agroecology and organized by FAO, the World Future Council and IFOAM Organics International. Dr Vandana Shiva is also a member of the expert jury.
The press conference at the Chamber of Deputies follows the International Biodiversity Congress, organized by Navdanya along with other International Partners including IFOAM, CISSA, Shumei, UNDP, German Cooperation and Regeneration International, and held in Dehradun, India, from 4 to 6 October. The Chief Minister of Sikkim and Dr Vandana Shiva, together with the women of Himalaya, have jointly announced a commitment for a Himalaya entirely organic and biodiverse, aimed at spreading the model that Sikkim has built over a period of 15 years, which has shown how a 100% organic agricultural model, based on the principles of agroecology and local circular economy, is not only possible, but also advantageous, as farms that practice organic and biodiverse farming are 20% more productive than those that practice monocultures with the use of chemical inputs.
The agroecological model is able to give life to a virtuous cycle between farmers, environment, territory and community, as well as the basis of joint commitment aimed at the global transition towards Poison-free Food and Farming by 2050.
As such Sikkim is a concrete and successful example of Economic Democracy and is a leading example for the rest of the world, for the future of our food and our economy in times of climate change.
The announcement of the initiative in favor of converting from the conventional agri-food system follows a series of recently collected data with respect to the greater profitability of organic farms and the growing interest of consumers in the sector, in addition to evidence of the negative effects of the current food production system on the environment and on health, as comprehensively demonstrated by the recent publication of Navdanya International, the Manifesto “Food for Health”, published by Terra Nuova Edizioni.
For more info and interviews:
Navdanya International Press Office
tel. +39 329 8622125 – + 39 328 6334318
Background information:
Celebrating Biodiversity with Navdanya
Food for Health Campaign
Journalist accreditations:
Requests for accreditation by journalists, photographers and video/cinematic operators must be sent to the same e-mail address of the organizing secretariat – info@navdanyainternational.it – by 3 pm on Friday 12th, reporting complete personal data (name, surname, place and date of birth), the number of the registration card to the order (or the details of the identity document for those who do not have it), the indication of the reference head and the equipment that you intend to bring (camera brand and type, computer brand and type, recorder brand and type etc etc). Journalists who want to accredit themselves after the deadline can do so directly at the Press Office of the Chamber.