President of Senegal Supports Make Trade Fair Campaign
"It is indecent to ask us to enter into unequal competition with developed partners when they should be the ones to adjust free and fair trade." Senegal President Abdoulaye Wade.
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| President Wade of Senegal, with Oxfam's National Trade Campaign Coordinator Birane Ndaiye Diéye, signs a petition calling for fair agriculture policies. By: Oxfam International |
The president of Senegal lent his support to the fair trade movement at FIARA, the International Agricultural Fair held in Dakar earlier this month.
President Abdoulaye Wade signed an Oxfam petition urging richer countries to end distorting farm subsidies and dumping on less developed countries. The West African region and its small producers have been particularly hard hit by unfair trade practices.
"It is indecent to ask us to enter into unequal competition with developed partners when they should be the ones to adjust free and fair trade," said President Wade.
FIARA is a regional agricultural fair showcasing the work of small producers in West Africa, a region with 10 of the world's poorest 20 countries. The goal of the fair is to provide international exposure to Senegalese agriculturalists, showcasing agricultural products, equipment and technology for small businesses in West Africa.
Oxfam played a leading role at the event sponsoring partner organizations from Senegal, Burkina Faso and the Gambia. Oxfam uses the FIARA conference as a venue to advocate for West African farmers who are adversely affected by current unfair trade policies. At the event Oxfam set up a booth to collect names for the petition.
The Oxfam West African region has long been an advocate Oxfam's Make Trade Fair campaign. This past summer Oxfam's producer allies in Senegal, Mali and Burkina Faso sent a petition with 250,000 signatures to Trade Ministers of their respective countries in anticipation for the WTO 5th ministerial conference in Cancun. In July Oxfam used the five largest Senegalese radio stations as a way to focus attention on US President George W. Bush's visit to the region. The message: unfair cotton subsidies are hurting West African cotton farmers.
The combination of all these efforts strives to raise awareness of the plight of West African farmers and help to change the international trade policies that hurt their region.