Goals and Directors of the World Sustainable Agriculture Association 1991-1996

Dedicated to the well being of all people in harmony with Nature

Goals of the World Sustainable Agriculture Association

The ultimate goal of WSAA is to promote sustainable food and farming systems that are economically viable, socially just, and environmentally harmonious with Nature. We work cooperatively on local, national and international levels to reverse the many modern agricultural practices and public policies that harm the environment, impair human health, and destroy the social and economic well-being of rural communities. Highly dedicated individuals and organizations in many parts of the world are eager to make their agriculture truly sustainable, and their communities decent places to live and raise families. WSAA seeks to inform and facilitate efforts to implement changes at all levels, ranging from national and international policies to the grass roots. We work with cooperative government officials, farmer organizations, consumer groups, and other NGOs (non-governmental organizations). WSAA is not a grant-making organization; we seek effective ways to help others obtain resources essential to their serving, and a voice in determining policies that shape their futures. WSAA is primarily an educational, advocacy and service organization which functions as a catalyst for action. We serve as a convener of organizations, agencies, and institutions, and as a communicator of scientific, technical and policy information to support the global paradigm shift toward a more sustainable agriculture. For these purposes, WSAA was formed in 1991. The specific goals of WSAA are:

  1. Global development and dissemination of scientific and technical information that will facilitate broad support for, and adoption of, sustainable agricultural practices and systems among producers, consumers, policy makers, economic planners, health professionals, and environmental organizations throughout the world.
  2. Strengthen and sustain research and education activities with various organizations to promote sustainable agriculture and protect the environment. Encourage the establishment of research and demonstration projects on operating farms in sustainable agriculture in each participating country.
  3. Enhance the work of existing and newly emerging organizations, agencies and institutions in improving the exchange of practical and scientific information for farmers seeking specific techniques and farming systems that they can use to significantly reduce and ultimately eliminate their dependence on ecologically harmful chemical compounds, and to conserve non-renewable resources.
  4. Facilitate the exchange of production and marketing information in farmer-useable form, to increase the economic viability of sustainable farming systems.
  5. Promote information exchange among policy makers on ways to encourage development and adoption of sustainable food and fiber production systems.
  6. Form a cooperative endeavor of organizations and individuals committed to these goals, to accelerate and amplify the education, research, and policy activities of many nations, so that an ever-increasing share of the world’s food supply will be produced with methods that are safe for consumers and farm workers, and environmentally friendly.

WSAA works with various public and private organizations to encourage efforts to foster sustainable food and farming systems that enable producers to work in partnership with Nature. The primary activities of WSAA at the present time are in the areas of Public Policy, Information Exchange, and Urban Agriculture. The Washington DC office of WSAA, as the primary focal point of WSAA efforts on Public Policy, encourages implementation of sustainable agriculture and food security provisions of Agenda 21, signed by national leaders in Rio at the Earth Summit. During the Earth Summit, the staff of the Washington office helped draft the NGO (non-governmental organization) Sustainable Agriculture Treaty. Efforts such as these require working with governments, NGOs, and the Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD), which was set up by the United Nations to monitor progress toward global sustainability. Equally important is monitoring the policies and programs of international credit and development institutions, such as the World Bank, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

WSAA now has active branches or chapters in India, Japan, Taiwan, Thailand, Australia and the People’s Republic of China. A major priority of the Information Exchange area of WSAA is to facilitate access to appropriate information on sustainable agriculture to these and other organizations, using various media such as printed materials, videos, and electronic data. The video, “Life in the Soil,” for example, has been widely distributed in several countries, and is available in Spanish, English, Japanese, Russian, and Moldovan languages. WSAA also publishes a quarterly newsletter, an occasional paper series, and various issues papers. All the major WSAA publications will soon be widely available electronically through a home page on the World Wide Web.

The goal of the new WSAA initiative in Organic Urban Agriculture is to develop a prototype which could ultimately promote organic food production in and around the cities, thereby enhancing not only the availability to fresh, locally produced fruits and vegetables, but also bringing Nature back into the city and enabling more urban people to re-connect with our common source of life, the soil. A comprehensive program plan, now in review draft, is being developed jointly by WSAA, Urban Organic in Los Angeles, and the Center for Regenerative Studies at Cal Poly University in Pomona (which is visited by thousands of US and international visitors each year). Possible cooperators in the program may include by the Cal Poly Pomona Land Lab (which conducts composting and vermiculture experiments), the Cal Poly Pomona College of Agriculture, Southern California Interfaith Hunger Campaign, the University of California (Davis) Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program, the UCLA School of Urban Planning, the Minnesota Food Association (which is conducting a case study in Lost Angeles) and various other public and private organizations. The overall Urban Agriculture strategy is to (1) establish a Nature Farming Research and Demonstration program on the Cal Poly Pomona campus, at the Center for Regenerative Studies; (2) establish an urban organic garden and farm training and certification program for school teachers and other professionals, including those making a career of providing advice and assistance to households attempting to become more food self-sufficient while using methods and materials that are harmonious with Nature and beneficial to the community; (3) facilitate a major expansion in the number of Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farms within and around the metropolitan area, and (4) enable a greater number of urban families to produce much of their own food through home gardens and community gardens.

BOARD OF ADVISORS

Tamotsu Furutani, Japan
John Habercrn, USA
Shen Chan Hsieh, Taiwan
Noriyuki Kawai, Japan
Rudolfo Masuda, Peru
Gabino Fraga Mouret, Mexico Morishige Naruse, Japan
Paul Safflgna, Australia
Cheng Xu, China

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Boris Boinchari, Moldova
Ruth Bamela Engo-Tjega, Cameroon/USA
Barbel Gcrowitt, Germany
Noboru Kambe, Brazil
Teruaki Kawai, Japan
Frederick Kirschenmann, USA Patrick Madden, USA
Fujio Matsuda, USA
Isaac Mathai, India
Kazuaki Ogata, USA
Sumet Tantivcjkul, Thailand

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE and WSAA OFFICERS

Teruaki Kawai, Chairman
Fujio Matsuda, President
Patrick Madden, Executive V.P.
Kazuaki Ogata,Sec-Treasurer
Roger Blobaum, Assoc. Director
Sumet Tantivcjkul

Los Angeles Office
J. Patrick Madden, President, 8554 Melrose Avenue, West Hollywood, CA 90069  U.S.A.
Telephone: 310-657-7202    Fax: 310-657-3884   EmaiI:[email protected]