In order to discuss various organizational matters and cooperation projects, AFA held its first official meeting with SorKorPor under its new Secretary General.
The newly appointed Mr. Pote (Third from left in the photo), together with Ms. Saengnapa from its partner NGO ThaiDHRRA, met with the AFA Secretary General and other staff on July 2.
Among the matters discussed by the two secretariat heads are the planned national consultation and regional conference to be hosted by SorKorPor in Thailand this year.
Representatives from AFA member farmer organizations came to the Philippines to attend the workshop on linking small farmers to market organized by AsiaDHRRA, a regional network of NGOs working in rural Asia (Click here for more information about the workshop)
Ms. Khuonn Sey of FNN, Ms. Ririn of API, Mr. Jon of PAKISAMA, Mr. Tham and Ms. Thi Ma of VNFU, and Khun Pote of SorKorPor flew to the City of Cagayan de Oro to attend the workshop from June 28-July 2. They were joined by AFA Sec Gen Esther Penunia.
The said AFA member organizations attended the workshop to learn about other marketing initiatives in the region and enrich their own marketing efforts.
A woman farmer leader from API, who is in the Philippines to attend a workshop on linking small farmers to market organized by AsiaDHRRA, a regional network of NGOs working in rural Asia, in Cagayan de Oro City (Click here for more information about the workshop), visited the AFA office last June 26.
Ms. Ririn (Second from left in the photo), accompanied by staff from Bina Desa, a partner NGO of API, also paid a quick visit to the AFA office in Quezon City to meet with the regional farmer organization’s Secretary General and other staff.
Aliansi Petani Indonesia (API) is an AFA member in Indonesia.
The price of rice in the world market, especially in Asia, has risen tremendously last year. However, farmers themselves did not benefit from this. One reason is that most of the small farmers who plant rice do not own the lands they till. They have to share the produce with their land lords. And the rest that they can sell, they usually sell to middle men who profit from buying low and selling high.
This video shows the interview of Mediacorp, based in Singapore, with Lutfiyah Hanim, a researcher and volunteer staff for API (Aliansi Petani Indonesia) about food crisis.
AFA wishes to thank all of you who sent your generous expressions of sympathy and solidarity for PAKISAMA and the family of our beloved and esteemed farmer-leader, Renato Penas, who was murdered last June 5.
AFA joined the activities of PAKISAMA last June 6-12 in honor of Ka Rene when his body was brought to Metro Manila. Together with many farmers, NGOs, students, and other supporters of the agrarian reform movement in the Philippines, we joined the memorial services, masses, and marches for Ka Rene; as well as solicited financial assistance for the bereaved family. We also printed out and handed over your messages to his wife and children. His body was brought back to Mindanao and buried last June 16.
The search for truth and justice continues. A multi-sectoral body aimed at conducting an independent Fact Finding Mission (FFM) to be able to gather evidence and other information that could help surface the motive behind the killing of Ka Rene Peñas was launched. PAKISAMA welcomes any donation to cover the expenses of this investigation.
One of the lingering effects of the food price crisis of 2007–08 on the world food system is the proliferating acquisition of farmland in developing countries by other countries seeking to ensure their food supplies. Increased pressures on natural resources, water scarcity, export restrictions imposed by major producers when food prices were high, and growing distrust in the functioning of regional and global markets have pushed countries short in land and water to find alternative means of producing food. These land acquisitions have the potential to inject much-needed investment into agriculture and rural areas in poor developing countries, but they also raise concerns about the impacts on poor local people, who risk losing access to and control over land on which they depend. It is crucial to ensure that these land deals, and the environment within which they take place, are designed in ways that will reduce the threats and facilitate the opportunities for all parties involved.
VIETNAM - In a bold outpouring of public concern for Southeast Asia’s Mekong River, people from the six-country Mekong region and around the world have urged governments to abandon plans for hydropower development along the river’s mainstream.
In the face of strong government backing for dam building on the river, which feeds 60 million people, over 11,000 citizens in the region signed the “Save the Mekong” petition addressed to the Prime Ministers of Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Viet Nam urging them to keep the river flowing freely and to pursue less damaging electricity options.
Women farmer-leaders belonging to the Asian Farmers’ Association for Sustainable Rural Development (AFA) are featured in a poster produced by the CGIAR on the theme women and climate change, to be published in June.
Ms. Sudaporn Sittisathapornkul of SorKorPor (Thailand), Ms. Luisita Esmao of LAKAMBINI-PAKISAMA (Philippines), Ms. Jang of WAFF (Korea), and Ms. Esther Penunia (AFA) were among those interviewed for the poster.
Their photos appear in the poster together with their sharing on the impact of climate change on women farmers in Asia.
AFA has 2 new interns, this time from Beijing and Hong Kong, China. Liwi Shao, a Statistics major from Hong Kong University, and Fei Jia, a Persian major from Peking University, will work at the secretariat office of AFA for 6 weeks. They will provide support to AFA’s research, documentation, information, and communication work.
International Year of Family Farming
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