On June 14, 2010, GPF, together with the Presbyterian UN Office, invited Chavannes Jean-Baptiste to speak to a New York audience on Food Sovereignty and Sustainable Agriculture in Haiti.
Chavannes has been on the front lines of struggle for Haitian farmers for many years as Head of the Peasant Movement of Papaye (MPP) and Coordinator of the Joining Hands Initiative in Haiti. Chavannes founded the MPP in 1974 and has been the director for the past 34 years. Chavannes is also a founding member of La Via Campesina, the largest worldwide movement of farmers and peasants.
Chavannes Jean-Baptiste shared the concerns of Haitian farmers about a donation by the US agribusiness giant Monsanto of 475 tons of hybrid corn and vegetable seeds to Haiti. He spoke of the industrial agricultural system that multinational corporations are promoting and the resistance by many of the people in Haiti that identify themselves as peasants and farmers.
Chavannes spoke in Creole French while his colleague Lionel de Renauncourt translated the discussion into english for the audience. The event was co-sponsored by the Presbyterian Hunger Program, a relief and development arm of the Presbyterian Church (USA); Global Policy Forum; and The World Council of Churches.
