A/HRC/13/33/Add.4 C. Rural development 47. The agreement reached in May 2009 on a policy for integral rural development is an encouraging development. This policy, which promotes the growth of crops for domestic consumption and foresees a reorganization of supply chains, could represent an opportunity to increase the incomes of smallholders, who currently receive a farm gate price for their produce which most frequently represents a small fraction of the final price paid by the consumer, given the degree of concentration in the food production and distribution chain. 48. It is crucial that the policy for integral rural development is adequately funded and implemented without delay. The Government could prioritize poverty-stricken regions and households, with a particular focus on indigenous peoples when targeting its interventions. The special needs of women farmers should also be appropriately considered, while the participation of indigenous peoples in policymaking should be facilitated. Those elements of the policy that seek to limit excessive concentration of land ownership, such as the redistribution of fallow land and the development of alternative modes of resolution of conflicts over land, are also particularly important. Finally, the Special Rapporteur calls for the swift codification into law of this policy, based on the policy and draft bill currently under discussion, which are the result of extensive consultations between civil society and the Government. 49. Other relevant government initiatives include the Programme for the Production of Basic Grains (Programa de producción de granos básicos), which seeks to increase the production of corn and relies on the distribution of improved seeds and fertilisers, combined with credits for farmers to enable them to rent land and make the necessary investments. In 2008-2009, the implementation of this strategy was hampered by a lack of land, fertilizers, seeds and credit. The Ministry of Finance was unable to release the funds on time, while the increase in the cost of fertilizers made it impossible for the Government to buy and distribute the anticipated quantities. 50. The development and distribution of certified and improved seeds is managed by the Institute of Agricultural Science and Technology (Instituto de Ciencia y Tecnología Agricolas, ICTA). In April 2008, ICTA announced that it had run out of certified seeds. The seeds had been sold to private retailers, from which the Government would now have to buy them. Around 20 per cent of certified seeds are used in the country and the rest are exported.42 In September 2009, ICTA announced it was facing budget constraints and did not have a plan for seed production.43 The Special Rapporteur encourages the Government to address this shortcoming urgently. 51. As part of the ongoing efforts towards agricultural and rural development, the Special Rapporteur would also favour the reconstitution of food reserves at local level, in order to ensure that remunerative prices are paid to smallholders as they sell their crops during the harvest season, and to allow the stocks to be released during the lean season, thus reducing the volatility of prices for food commodities and ensuring that all have access to affordable food at all times. 42 43 14 Alejandro Pérez, “Se atrasa producción de granos por falta de recursos y semillas”, El Periodico, 26 April 2008. Prensa libre, 3 September 2009, p. 20.