AsiaDHRRA welcomed Yuyu Rahayu, Lily Noviani, Nanang Hari, Yasfin, Dwi Astuti of Binadesa who just came from a 7-day exposure visit in organic and agrarian reform communities in Bacolod, Negros Occidental in the Philippines. The visit held from July 19-26, 2010 was supported by Misereor and was arranged by the Paghidaet Foundation, a Misereor partner.

We had whole morning of exchange on their experiences and they were also able to meet the rest of our partners here in the PhilDHRRA compound.

The CSO Statement was born out of a very challenging process, given the diversity of perspectives, experiences and nature of CSOs who participated in the CSO Side Event to the Investment Forum  for Food Security.  CSO signatories to the Statement are indicated in the document.

Investments for Food Security in Asia-Pacific: For Whom and For What? – CSO Statement – CSO Side Event, APRC Program

We, representatives from national and regional organizations and cooperatives of small scale women and men farmers, fishers, and indigenous peoples, rural youth and women, and development NGOs in the Asia-Pacific region, wish to present to the delegates of this investment forum organized jointly by Asian Development Bank (ADB), Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) and International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) the following:

Away from “Business as Usual” Approach
Partnerships and investments to promote food security in the Asia-Pacific region cannot proceed in the “business-as-usual” approach. Our work and study with poor communities consistently show that large scale trade, technology and business practices of large agro-industrial corporations have marginalized and further displaced small holder producers, who lost their access to and control over productive resources and assets.

National and regional policies, particularly in financing and trade, have reinforced these failures and continuing food insecurity in many countries.

Click here to read or download the full statement…..

More than 60 delegates from CSO and people’s organizations from Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Thailand, Vietnam, South Korea, India, China, India, Tonga, Pakistan, Taiwan and the Philippines are attending the meeting from July 5 to 6 in Crowne Hotel, Ortigas, Pasig City Philippines.  Entitled “Investment for Whom or What?,” the meeting is a CSO side event to organize their meaningful engagement at the joint ADB/FAO/IFAD Investment Forum for Food Security in Asia and the Pacific which will be held in Manila from July 7 to 9.

click here to view and download the day 1 presentations….

The two-day preparatory CSO meeting aims to organize the meaningful engagement of CSOs at the joint ADB/FAO/IFAD Investment Forum for Food Security in Asia and the Pacific (Manila, 7 to 9 July 2010). It is an important follow-through activity of the Ad Hoc Committee organized last February 24-25, 2010 in Manila during the Regional Consultation on Food Security in Asia and the Pacific Region sponsored by FAO and co-hosted by AsiaDHRRA.

The said consultation brought together various Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) representing regional formations of rural sectors – namely, farmers, fishers, indigenous peoples, women, youth, cooperative, NGOs, and INGOs to review and agree on thematic priorities affecting food security in the region and respond to the need to broaden and strengthen ranks among them towards a stronger movement for responding to hunger and poverty among the marginalized sectors.

The CSOs  decided to form the regional Ad Hoc Committee (AHC) to anchor the planning process focusing on agreed regional priorities for the next two years, and accordingly craft a concrete plan of action that considers upcoming major regional events such as the Investment Conference on Food Security in Manila on July, the 30th FAO-APRC Meeting in Korea in September, and other processes including the reform process of the Committee on World Food Security (CFS) in Rome, 12 to 16 October 2010.

The Investment Forum on Food Security is an important event for various regional platforms and initiatives where the voices of the grassroots particularly the small-scale producers, indigenous peoples, fishers, rural women and youth can be heard by intergovernmental bodies like ADB, FAO and IFAD whose investment policies and programs greatly affect the lives of rural people.   It is imperative that  the perspectives of the rural sectors, based on learnings and insights from the banks’ programs and policies, are factored in the new strategies for advancing food security at the national, regional and global levels.

An event planned for by the AHC, its members recognize the funding support received from the USAID, ADB, FAO and IFAD.

Read more about the CSO side event at the activity website here….

We’re a bit proud to say that we had a little hand in the production as WRF entrusted us with the design and layout of the booklet.

Download it now!

Learn more about the Campaign for the International Year of Family Farming

Franz Chávez interviews Bolivian expert in natural resource management WILFREDO QUIROZ
Wilfredo Quiroz / Credit:Franz Chávez/IPS

LA PAZ, Apr 3 , 2010 (IPS) – The gradual loss of traditional farming practices that preserve the land has pushed into extreme poverty small farmers in Bolivia who 20 years ago were producing surplus produce to sell at market and now are barely able to feed themselves.

This was the conclusion reached by agricultural engineer Wilfredo Quiroz, who is working on follow-up and evaluation in the Management of Natural Resources in the Chaco and High Valley Regions Project (PROMARENA), a Ministry for Development Planning programme that receives support from the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).

The project, which operates with a 14.9 million dollar fund, including 12 million from IFAD and 1.1 million from the national treasury, is aimed at reducing poverty and boosting food security in rural areas.

Continue reading about how Bolivia plans to fight hunger through eco-friendly farming practices….

Yang Youde is a farmer who had contracted to rent 25 mu of land.  The lease was set to continue until 2019.  Over the years, Yang has been raising fish, cattle, cotton, melons and fruits on the land.

Last year, Yang Youde learned that his land had been requisitioned.  Since the compensation terms for breaking the contract had not been settled, he has refused to move out.

“The evictors said many times that they will move on me.”  Earlier this year, Yang took measures to protect himself.  He took a hand-truck and removed the front.  Then he put in a set of rockets for use as an artillery battery.

On February 26 this year, a team of more than 30 evictors approached his site ready to demolish his house by force.  “At the time, I set off the rockets.  They hid behind the bulldozer.  After the rockets were all fired off, they came out and administered a thrashing on Yang.   But they did not bulldoze the house immediately.  Instead, they only said that they will come back and finish the job.  Afterwards, Yang upgraded his defense by building an “cannon tower” with help from friends and relatives.

Continue reading about Farmer Yang Youde’s battle with forced evictions teams here….

Today, the Buckminster Fuller Institute announced the winner of its 2010 Challenge: Allan Savory, who has spent the last 50 years refining and evangelizing for a method of reversing desertification that he calls “holistic management.” The African Center for Holistic Management International, an NGO he helped found, will take home a $100,000 grant.

The Buckminster Fuller Challenge is meant to award big, sweeping solutions to seemingly intractable problems. As the Institute’s executive director, Elizabeth Thompson, tells FastCompany.com, “The approach was pioneered by Fuller. We’re looking for strategies that solve multiple problems at once, not just surgical implementations that don’t address the root problem.”

Continue reading Method That Turns Wastelands Green Wins 2010 Buckminster Fuller Challenge….