Recife (Pernambuco), March 22, 2004 (Agência Brasil) - During the final day of debates at the II National Conference on Food and Nutritional Security, yesterday (21), a document was formulated containing the major guidelines that will be presented as a suggestion for the National Food and Nutritional Security Plan, to be implanted by the federal government from 2004-2007.

According to one of the members of the National Food and Nutritional Security Council (Consea), Francisco Menezes, 160 proposals were analyzed, and, of these, 48 were approved and will be forwarded to President Lula within a week.

One of the proposals contained in the document is the annulment of a Provisional Measure that prohibits land reform settlements on properties that have been invaded. According to Menezes, the intention is to assure the families that depend upon family agriculture on the occupied lands a way to survive, with the right to participate in the process of property regularization, purchase of seeds, and cultivation of food crops.

"I believe that the government will have to discover another manner, that does not lead to a process of wanton occupation but does not, as a result of the measure, prevent legitimate invasions from unfolding into a process of agrarian reform," contended Menezes, who is the president of the Brazilian Institute of Socio-Economic Analyses (Ibase).

Besides the proposals, the conference participants also prepared the "Letter from Olinda," a political document that will also be delivered to the President. "The Letter from Olinda presents a diagnosis of the current situation and reaffirms the political desire to turn the question of food security, insofar as it is a strategic element for the country's development, into a fundamental human right," Menezes explained.

Translator: David Silberstein