Lana Cristina
Reporter - Agência Brasil

Brasília – According to one of the leaders of the Landless Rural Worker Movement (Coordenação Nacional do Movimento dos Sem Terra) (MST), João Paulo Rodrigues, it is essential for the 2nd International Conference on Agrarian Reform and Rural Development, which begins next week in Porto Alegre, to examine the two "farm models;" agribusiness and family farming.

Rodrigues admits that land reform may not be important in places like Japan and Canada, but he says that in Brazil it is a hot button issue and must be dealt with. He says one problem in Brazil is that agribusiness and family farming are seen as stereotypes: the first generates riches and the latter is "backward" and "small".

Rodrigues says that there are 4.5 million landless rural workers in Brazil (he says his figure is from the government statistical bureau - the IBGE). And he addes that he is not happy with the government's land reform program. "They say they will settle 400,000 families by the end of this year. The MST believes they need to settle one million families."

Translation: Allen Bennett