2014)(al) It is certainly not an everyday occurrence
congratulates a young woman from Bavaria for her decision to also run a small farm and tells her to be proud of that decision
but the general secretary of the worldwide peasant organization “Via Campesina”
an association of more than 160 independent peasant organizations in 63 countries
 Mpofu has experienced on her own body and in her own mind
what it means to want to be a small-farmer
 She and her husband work on their plot of about ten hectares in the South-East-African Country
that she has had and still has to overcome
in the pursuance of her profession as a farmer
as those facing a young farm-woman in Bavaria
speaker for agrarian policies and food and agriculture of the “One World Mission” Mpofu visited on the invitation of a number of organizations
BDM (Association of German Milk Producers)
Bund Naturschutz (Association for the Protection of Nature) as well as some other organizations
to give a talk and hold discussions with the visitors
organizer of the evening and organizer and speaker for the agrarian alliance of the districts of BGL (Berchtesgaden) and Traunstein
the deputy chairpersons for the BGL of the Milk-Producers Alliance BDM
town- and district councilor for the town of Laufen and spokesperson for the attac group Rupertiwinkel
the former head of the ANL (Academy for the Protection of Nature and the Countryside) and the many other visitors
 Strasser showed himself as very pleased about the great interest the talk of Mpofu had obviously created amongst the local population
A short film about small-farmers in Ethiopia was shown as an introduction to Mpofu´s talk
how much pressure there is on these farmers
from big investors and big corporations and how much these farmers suffer
 The investors and corporations are primarily not concerned with helping the people in Africa and to relieve or eliminate their suffering
 Land-grabbing and profit-maximization are the driving forces of their investments
wherever there is cheap land and corporations attempt to push out the traditional small farmers and install an industrial
The food sovereignty of the population is thereby negated
 Mpofu reiterated there is enough food for everyone in Africa and used as an example the tons of corn
millet and abundance of other products that she and her husband produce on their small farm
because of restricted access to markets at fair and cost-covering prices and the competition from highly subsidized imports from countries like South-Africa (in Zimbabwe)
especially in the densely populated areas along the coast of Western Africa
result primarily from the restrictive trade rules
that favor big corporations and prohibit the seeding of traditional
indigenous food stuff by the small scale farmers
the low social standing of the small-scale farmers
 There were also questions about the corruption in African countries
that crop up invariably when Europeans talk about Africa
 This corruptness is supposed to hamper a good and sufficient production of food and other things
as well as in Europe and other parts of the world
there are good and bad governments and bureaucracies
 To reduce bad conditions to these facts only
bad governments could be voted out of office
if the people would show more interest in politics and its dealings
 This is a message that should be spread by concerned people there
 It is also necessary to raise the social standing and acceptance of small-famers in Africa
who make a good and secure supply of food for all of the population possible
to make sure to preserve and build up good soil and the breeding of animals should also be done in a way to ensure this goal
at one of the last points in the discussion
if she should become a farmer and Mpofu advised her to do that and be proud of her decision
"Mañana," is a reflection of their years touring the globe
from dreamy days on Mexican and Hawaiian beaches to a seductive flamenco dance in the hills of Sacromonte
The duo will perform at the Thomas Center Saturday night
inviting listeners to experience the world through its gypsy violin and guitar
will be a wonderful place to see these guys
I talked to violinist Willie Royal about "Mañana" when they were in town about a year ago
"Our intention with 'Mañana' was to take the listener on a journey to somewhere far off
either in the imagination or deep within your own heart," Royal explained
The album features 11 tracks of the duo's beautiful instrumentation and soulful approach
and even delves a little bit into Southern rock
He grew up in such exotic locations as Turkey
He actually has some roots here in Gainesville
having attended Santa Fe Community College in the 1970s
was born in the tiny Bavarian village of Teisendorf
halfway around the world from his musical partner
while serving as a signalman in the German navy
After hearing an album by gypsy guitarist Manitas de Plata
Tickets are $15 and are available at Omni Books and at the door on night of show
In the mood for some jalapeno-flavored acoustic rock
Check out Calexico Wednesday night at Common Grounds
Ariz.-based Calexico is a Mexican-flavored project of bassist Joey Burns and drummer John Covertino
who explore Southwestern culture and compose an eclectic brand of music with tastes of spaghetti Westerns
country and surf music all rolled up into one package
formed Calexico after meeting Convertino in Los Angeles in 1990
They moved to Tucson in 1994 and started stockpiling instruments obtained from a local music store and began experimenting in their home recording studio
acoustic folk numbers and Tex-Mex/Western cuts
The album was initially pressed only in Germany but was released in the United States the following year by Chicago-based Quarterstick Records
The group has seen quite a bit of action in the last year or so
Last year's "Feast of Wire" was well received by critics
including three shows at the South By Southwest Music Conference
"Convict Pool," is a collection of three new songs and three covers
including Love's "Alone Again Or" and the Minutemen's "Corona."
I'm gonna go out on a limb here and guess the name Calexico is half California
The third annual Battle of the High School Bands is scheduled for April 2 at the Downtown Community Plaza
Any bands made up of high school students can enter
Bands must send a CD or tape of their music to Dwight Schmidt at Eastside High School by Monday
Students should contact their school's Key Club officers for an application form or e-mail docschmidt@hotmail.com.Contact Douglas Jordan at douwiljor@yahoo.com
before the talk of small farmer Elizabeth Mpofu from Zimbabwe
general secretary of the international peasant organization “Via Campesina” and Co-founder of regional farmers-organizations
on the evening of the same day in the “Alten Post” Teisendorf
did freelance journalist Alois Albrecht have the chance to do an interview with Mrs
that she would cover in her talk in the evening
not only with the country in South-East Africa
but also with the general situation of small-farmers in other African countries
after the removal of the white minority government of Ian Smith
the approximately 4,500 white landowners of huge tracts were
as was stipulated in the time between September 10 and December 15
worked for the few white large land-holders who owned about 70 percent of the fertile arable
This changed in 2000 when President Robert Mugabe’s government decided to expropriate this land through state acquisition following the failure of the willing-seller-willing-buyer market approach
The acquired land was redistributed mainly to the landless and land-short from overpopulated communal areas under two resettlement schemes: A1 and A2 scheme
This resulted in declines in agricultural production particularly those crops dominated by white landholders
This was also compounded by periods of drought
since 2008 the production started to increase
Some new A2 farmers also received their 99-year leases around that time
giving the assurance that the land is now theirs
I am one of these farmers and I own about ten hectares
as well as vegetables and we have a few cows
You engage yourself in Via Campesina and some more small-farmers organizations
I would like to continue and strengthen with my engagement the traditional small farming
keep bio-diversity and attain food sovereignty
This will help other farmers and their regions
You are now on a tour of Germany for a few days
to explain your life as a small farmer in Africa
 What dangers do you see at present for the traditional small farming sector
some of the conflicts in African countries present a danger to small farmers
I see however an even greater danger through the constant mingling and efforts for control in African affairs by the Europeans and Americans through G8
together with politicians and lobbyists of big agrarian conglomerates
inclusion or influence of African societies or small farmers
 These deals serve actually only these giant agrarian conglomerates and their maximization of profits
Can you name some specific examples and their effects on African small farmers
the “New Alliance for Food Security and Nutrition in Africa” is a good example of that
 This “Alliance” was decided on at the 2012 G8 meeting at Camp David
Maryland and announced by President Barack Obama
British Prime Minister David Cameron gave the promise to mobilize the “Full Might of the Private Sector” for this Alliance
 The Alliance portrays itself as an element of the “Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Program” (CAADP)
 In reality it differs substantially from the goals of this program
 The public was excluded from all negotiations for the Alliance
general summary makes it difficult for small farmers to gain a complete
all-encompassing impression of the Alliance
the Alliance wants an industrialization of agriculture
land-grabbing in a big way will be made possible and the use
passing on and exchanging of seeds between small farmers will be prevented
 Too much emphasis is also being put on plants
instead of assuring food-sovereignty for the people
only 22 percent of the arable land is slated to go to small farmers
 In Malawi there are at present already 200,000 hectares peddled off to big investors and the growing of tobacco is touted as contribution to food-security
agricultural corridors have been created for large investments and new laws are being formulated
that will criminalize the informal exchange of seeds between farmers
many NGO´s see the “Alliance” with great criticism
only in Germany has ten of these NGO´s and no fewer than 80 worldwide
 This Alliance is in my view very comparable to TTIP and TiSA
where the negotiations also take place in a completely undemocratic manner and the perpetrators will try to dupe the public into accepting the results
there could develop not only a new colonialism
but an almost worldwide economic dictatorship