Celebs Talk with Members of Congress about Farm Bill Reform
24 May 2007
Oscar-nominated actor Djimon Hounsou and Grammy-nominated singer Angelique Kidjo added a celebrity dimension to Oxfam’s campaign to reform the Farm Bill last week.
Hounsou and Oxfam America’s president Ray Offenheiser spent a day meeting with more than a dozen senators and representatives on Capitol Hill. In the evening, Kidjo joined them at a 100-person reception for members of Congress, their staff, and allied groups sponsored by Representative Donald Payne (D-New Jersey) and Representative Earl Blumenauer (D-Oregon).
The celebrities have a personal reason for getting involved in Oxfam’s campaign to reduce misguided agriculture subsidies. Hounsou and Kidjo are both from Benin, a small country in West Africa where many cotton farmers are unable to make a living because of US subsidies, which fuel overproduction and drive down prices. An International Food Policy Research Institute report focused on Benin indicates that a 40 per cent reduction in farm-level cotton prices leads to a 21 percent reduction in income for cotton farmers and results in an increase in rural poverty of 6–7 percent.
"As an African, especially from the Republic of Benin where cotton is the main source of income for farmers, it is difficult for me to stand by and witness people losing their chance at a decent life because their crop has almost no value," Hounsou said.
Hounsou and Kidjo encouraged members of Congress to think about the impact of American agriculture policies on poor African farmers. Because of unfair trade policies, they are struggling to make a decent living and support their families.
“We have to make this change,” Angelique Kidjo said. “This is our chance!”
Oxfam is working to reform the 2007 Farm Bill so that it better protects the environment, feeds the hungry, and gives farmers here and abroad the chance to make a decent living. Together with a diverse group of allies, we’re calling on Congress to reduce misguided commodity subsidies and redirect the money to the programs that need it most: conservation, nutrition, rural development, and the research and development of renewable source of energy.
