Thank you.
In my view, what we should stop doing, right away, are those vast bilateral programs which were designed without consulting the people and which for the most part did not take into account the deeper aspirations of the local people. They do not value the knowledge and practices of those people who made their living from agriculture for many generations. This is knowledge that was generated through a dynamic process. This is not static knowledge, it is dynamic. It tries to constantly adjust to reality, which is extremely important.
We know that governments have a responsibility to put into place policies that will assist development, but governments do not have the proper tools or structures to implement the basic development capacities jointly with the people. This can better be done through civil society organizations, with governments having a policy and standard-setting role.
I believe this is very important. It is the change Canada needs to make. It should develop projects in which the people will have a voice, that value their knowledge and aspirations, and also value their means of livelihood such as seeds. These are part of their livelihood. They were developed on the basis of very appropriate knowledge, that has even been proven scientifically correct, even if people did not always take the time to test this knowledge and to verify its validity.