[DEFEATED] Fertile Farmland Protection Act

[Luxembourgers]

The following draft is up for consideration:

Fertile Farmland Protection Act

Council: General Assembly
Category: Environmental
Industry effected: Agriculture

NOTING that most -- if not all -- WA States rely heavily on professional farmers to grow crops through agricultural means, and deeming it necessary for agriculture to remain intact having realized the benefits to the farmers, the economy, and international trade, but

REALIZING that when the same crop is planted in the same field too frequently, it rapidly depletes necessary nutrients from the soil, causing the soil to become infertile and unable to continue to produce enough crops to benefit anyone,

RELUCTANTLY AWARE that whenever a fertile field is destroyed by any means, a portion of similarly sized area of forest must be deforested in order to replace that field,

BELIEVING it is necessary for fertile farmland to be protected, this resolution hereby:

1. DEFINES a "professional farmer" as a person who is a farmer, planter, or gardener by profession, and farms at least one acre of farmland,

2. RESTRICTS professional farmers from planting the same crop in the same field in back-to-back growing seasons so that fertile farmland might be preserved,

3. ADVISES professional farmers to alternate crops so that a perfectly good field does not go unused,

4. ESTABLISHES the World Assembly Agricultural Association (WAAA) to oversee a agricultural communities and enforce the given guidelines, and

5. STRONGLY ENCOURAGES the World Assembly Forest Commission to consider creating restrictions on the number of acres that can be deforested for agricultural purposes in a given area.

NOTING that most -- if not all -- WA States rely heavily on farmers to grow crops through agricultural means, and deeming it necessary for agriculture to remain intact having realized the benefits to the farmers, the economy, and international trade, but

REALIZING that when the same crop is planted in the same field too frequently, it rapidly depletes necessary nutrients from the soil, causing the soil to become infertile and unable to continue to produce enough crops to benefit anyone,

RELUCTANTLY AWARE that whenever a fertile field is destroyed by any means, a portion of similarly sized area of forest must be deforested in order to replace that field,

BELIEVING it is necessary for fertile farmland to be protected, this resolution hereby:

1. RESTRICTS farmers from planting the same crop in the same field in back-to-back growing seasons so that fertile farmland might be preserved,

2. ADVISES farmers to alternate crops so that a perfectly good field does not go unused,

3. ESTABLISHES the World Assembly Agricultural Association (WAAA) to oversee a agricultural communities and enforce the given guidelines, and

4. STRONGLY ENCOURAGES the World Assembly Forest Commission (created by GAR #291) to consider creating restrictions on the number of acres that can be deforested for agricultural purposes in a given area.

Questions? Concerns? Please leave your comments below. Thanks!

[Separatist Peoples]

"The WA gets to tell us what we can and cannot plant in our gardens now? No. This is a national issue, as currently written..."

[Luxembourgers]

"The WA gets to tell us what we can and cannot plant in our gardens now? No. This is a national issue, as currently written..."

This is a huge issue in real life and in the game too. And no, this is not effecting gardeners.

[Separatist Peoples]

"The WA gets to tell us what we can and cannot plant in our gardens now? No. This is a national issue, as currently written..."

This is a huge issue in real life and in the game too. And no, this is not effecting gardeners.

OOC: that was an IC response, which has nothing to do with Real Life, as a heads up.

IC: "Ambassador, you make no differentiation between wheat fields and backyard gardens, no distinction between traditional agriculture and silvaculture, fungiculture, aquaculture, etc., and absolutely no allowance for farming practices that allow a monoculture with no soil degradation. Also, if a nation cannot feed it's people, that is a national issue. Not an international one. The WA doesn't need to dig it's grubby fingers into our agricultural practices. It's not a badly written draft, but not well considered."

[Luxembourgers]

This is a huge issue in real life and in the game too. And no, this is not effecting gardeners.

OOC: that was an IC response, which has nothing to do with Real Life, as a heads up.

IC: "Ambassador, you make no differentiation between wheat fields and backyard gardens, no distinction between traditional agriculture and silvaculture, fungiculture, aquaculture, etc., and absolutely no allowance for farming practices that allow a monoculture with no soil degradation. Also, if a nation cannot feed it's people, that is a national issue. Not an international one. The WA doesn't need to dig it's grubby fingers into our agricultural practices. It's not a badly written draft, but not well considered."

I understand your point. I will make sure to correct that in the second draft.

[Separatist Peoples]

I understand your point. I will make sure to correct that in the second draft.

"That's all I could ask. I'm looking forwards to it, ambassador."

[Normlpeople]

"Since crop rotation is your key point here, why not tailor your resolution into an educational one around that point? I would also note your reference to passed resolution #291 may fall against the secretariats 'house of cards' rule."

[Chester Pearson]

Why does the WA care if our farmers rotate their crops? Why would any other nation care for that matter? Please explain to me how this is of any concern to the international community?

As it stands, I am opposed.

[The Nation of Ceneria]

The Office of the Cenerian Delegate to the World Assembly hereby declares it's intent to back this proposal.

[Luxembourgers]

"Since crop rotation is your key point here, why not tailor your resolution into an educational one around that point? I would also note your reference to passed resolution #291 may fall against the secretariats 'house of cards' rule."

This is not a house of cards proposal because I am only using the committee. It says in the GA rules that if a resolution is repealed, the committee still exists if it is being used elsewhere.

[Normlpeople]

"Since crop rotation is your key point here, why not tailor your resolution into an educational one around that point? I would also note your reference to passed resolution #291 may fall against the secretariats 'house of cards' rule."

This is not a house of cards proposal because I am only using the committee. It says in the GA rules that if a resolution is repealed, the committee still exists if it is being used elsewhere.

OOC: This is true. Only refer to the committee though, not the resolution in which it was created. Thats the usual method.

[Luxembourgers]

Why does the WA care if our farmers rotate their crops? Why would any other nation care for that matter? Please explain to me how this is of any concern to the international community?

As it stands, I am opposed.

It is an international matter because crops are a very important part of trade. Also, deforestation is a very important international topic, which has been used for resolutions in the past. And you will say this isn't all about deforestation, but actually the majority of deforestation is for agricultural purposes.

[Luxembourgers]

This is not a house of cards proposal because I am only using the committee. It says in the GA rules that if a resolution is repealed, the committee still exists if it is being used elsewhere.

OOC: This is true. Only refer to the committee though, not the resolution in which it was created. Thats the usual method.

Ok I will do this.

[Luxembourgers]

Second draft posted! This defines what a "professional farmer" is and takes out the "house of cards". This fixes the issues mentioned by Separatist Peoples and Normlpeople

[Araraukar]

Second draft submitted!

OOC: I'd suggest against using "submitted" when you mean the second draft is up, since "submitted" in WA terms means you'd submit it to delegate vote via the game's system. Since you thankfully haven't done the all-too-common mistake of submitting an, pardon the tiny pun, unripe proposal, you might want to consider a different word.

I'll dissect your then-current draft tomorrow, though expect some greenery to be wielding the scalpel on this one.

[Chester Pearson]

OOC: Please stop triple posting? It is very annoying.

Why does the WA care if our farmers rotate their crops? Why would any other nation care for that matter? Please explain to me how this is of any concern to the international community?

As it stands, I am opposed.

It is an international matter because crops are a very important part of trade. Also, deforestation is a very important international topic, which has been used for resolutions in the past. And you will say this isn't all about deforestation, but actually the majority of deforestation is for agricultural purposes.

Super.... Trade is not a mandatory mandated by the World Assembly though, so the WA should not care whether or not farmers rotate their crops. Deforestation is an international issue as when large areas are deforested, it affects everyone's environmental health. Crops do not....

Also resolutions are designed to affect nations, and not individuals, so you have an illegality there.

[Separatist Peoples]

"It doesn't help that this incarnation has done zip to address my concerns. Still opposed."

[Luxembourgers]

OOC: Please stop triple posting? It is very annoying.

It is an international matter because crops are a very important part of trade. Also, deforestation is a very important international topic, which has been used for resolutions in the past. And you will say this isn't all about deforestation, but actually the majority of deforestation is for agricultural purposes.

Super.... Trade is not a mandatory mandated by the World Assembly though, so the WA should not care whether or not farmers rotate their crops. Deforestation is an international issue as when large areas are deforested, it affects everyone's environmental health. Crops do not....

Also resolutions are designed to affect nations, and not individuals, so you have an illegality there.

Yes, but then again it is an international issue because if a nation's farmers mess up the farmland, the soil goes bad and the country goes hungry. Then the nation is dependent on international trade for food, and their trade partner must clear forests so that they can make extra food for trade. This is a real issue that has a real effect.

[Luxembourgers]

"It doesn't help that this incarnation has done zip to address my concerns. Still opposed."

What do you suggest I change for the third draft?

[Chester Pearson]

OOC: Once again, stop double and triple posting please? There is an edit button for a reason.

"It doesn't help that this incarnation has done zip to address my concerns. Still opposed."

What do you suggest I change for the third draft?

A can of lighter fluid and match would be a good start....

[Luxembourgers]

OOC: Once again, stop double and triple posting please? There is an edit button for a reason.

What do you suggest I change for the third draft?

A can of lighter fluid and match would be a good start....

I already know your opinion. I was asking Sepratist Peoples.

[Separatist Peoples]

OOC: Once again, stop double and triple posting please? There is an edit button for a reason.



A can of lighter fluid and match would be a good start....

I already know your opinion. I was asking Sepratist Peoples.

"At this point, I agree. This isn't an international issue. If a neighboring country were to undergo a famine, the C.D.S.P. would not deforest itself to supply food. We would let them starve before it came to that. I imagine all reasonable nations would approach this similarly. This is a issue best left to national governments."

[Luxembourgers]

Believing the above proposal is as ready for submission as it will ever be, I hereby submit this proposal and request your approval.

[Louisistan]

Believing the above proposal is as ready for submission as it will ever be, I hereby submit this proposal and request your approval.

Yeah no, that's not how it works. Drafting a resolution is a marathon, not a sprint. if you submit your current version you will undoubtedly fall short of quorum.

[Separatist Peoples]

Believing the above proposal is as ready for submission as it will ever be, I hereby submit this proposal and request your approval.

OOC: I strongly suggest you file a GHR and have it removed. This is not ready for submission. Drafting a resolution takes, on average, weeks. Some take months. Not everybody who participates in GA debates gets on regularly enough to comment within a few days, and, frankly, this draft is still terrible. You've failed to address any of anybody's arguments, in text or in debate.