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Women leaders from Asia, representing AFA, La Via Campesina and other farmers’ organizations, participated in the Global Farmers’ Forum held in Rome on February 15-16, 2010.

The women leaders included Ms. Kong Sokchhoin (FNN, Cambodia), Ms. Flora Caya (PAKISAMA, Philippines), India Smitha (SEWA, India), Ms. Amalia Pulungan (API, Indonesia), Ms. Esther Penunia (AFA), Ms. Marlene Ramirez (AsiaDHRRA), among others.

Together with other women leaders from all over the world, they raised the issues and concerns of small scale women and men farmers. Ms. Caya also talked about the impact of mining corporations on women farmers.

The third global meeting of the Farmers’ Forum was held in conjunction with the Thirty-third session of IFAD’s Governing Council. The Forum brought together more than 70 farmers’ leaders from around the world, representing millions of smallholders and rural producers from all over the world who interacted with IFAD staff and selected partners. The Forum was opened by the President of IFAD, Kanayo Nwanze. Its closing session, in the afternoon of Tuesday, 16 February, was open to the members of IFAD’s governing bodies (Source: IFAD website).

Following a recommendation of the 2008 Forum meeting, a special effort has been made by participating farmers’ organizations to increase women’s presence and voice in the event. A preparatory meeting was held on 13 February to reflect on how to promote women’s leadership in farmers’ organizations. The commitment to have at least 30 per cent of women farm leaders participating in the Forum has been achieved (Source: IFAD website).

(Photos and information courtesy of Ms. Amalia Pulungan, API, Indonesia.)

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AFA member Aliansi Petani Indonesia (API) joined this multi-sectoral protest rally as they continue to oppose free trade agreements and other trade liberalization policies being implemented by the government because of their negative impact on agriculture and the farmers’ livelihoods.

JAKARTA — Thousands of Indonesians took to the streets Thursday to condemn corruption and demand the resignations of key ministers on the 100th day of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono’s new government.

Demonstrations were held across Jakarta and other cities including Surabaya, Makassar and Ambon, where protesters tried to storm the governor’s office and burned a poster of Yudhoyono.

Scuffles broke out with police in several places including Palu, in Central Sulawesi, and the wealthy Menteng suburb of Jakarta, where opposition party supporters set fire to tyres in the middle of a busy road.

About 10,000 people from a cross-section of civil society, student and labour groups gathered at various locations across Jakarta to shout slogans against graft and perceived mismanagement in Yudhoyono’s second and final term.

Read the full story at Bilaterals.org

The Plant Variety Protection Law is an important issue that has crucial link to agriculture and food security in Indonesia. For one, it raises the issue of farmers’ rights versus breeders’ rights.

In order for farmers to understand the issue better and to share experiences and views with each other, the Indonesian Peasants Alliance (Aliansi Petani Indonesia or API) will hold the “Farmers’ Dialogue on Plant Variety Protection Regulation and Implications for Food Security” on February 10-11, 2009 in Jakarta, Indonesia.

The dialogue will be co-organized by the Third World Network (TWN) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

Participants to the dialogue will include peasants, community organisers and non-governmental organisations.

For more information in Bahasa, click here or go to http://www.api-indonesia.co.cc/.

Related Article: Case Documentation: Indonesian farmers prosecuted for breeding their own seeds

Farmers in ASEAN member-countries such as Cambodia, Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnam, and Thailand, can now understand more about ASEAN issues related to farmers in the region through an issue paper that has been translated into local languages.

The issue paper entitled “Understanding the ASEAN Charter and the ASEAN Economic Community Blueprint”, published by AFA and AsiaDHRRA, is now available in Khmer, Bahasa, Tagalog, Viertnamese, and Thai versions.

AFA members from ASEAN countries (FNN in Cambodia, API in Indonesia, PAKISAMA in the Philippines, VNFU in Vietnam, and SORKORPOR in Thailand) did the translation of the issue paper for distribution to farmers in their respective countries.

Through the local versions of the issue paper, it is expected that farmers belonging to AFA member organizations will understand more about ASEAN-related issues affecting them and appreciate the efforts of their national farmers’ organizations on regional advocacy through AFA.

As part of its advocacy effort in the Asian region, AFA conducts dialogues and consultations with ASEAN to understand more the issues concerning farmers and agriculture and put forward the farmers’ analysis and position on these issues, in the hope of affecting the regional inter-government body’s policies and activities.

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API conducted a dialogue with the chief of the national land affair body and state justice on February 4, 2008 in Langkat, North Sumatra to address the conflict between Banjaran farmers and the PT Buana estate. The national land affairs body and API decided to make a plan to solve this conflict, a first step of which is to go to the field to conduct an investigation. A temporary result from BPN (national land affair body) was that PT Buana Estate was taken arbitrarily by PT. Buana Estate.

API facilitated the mapping about crime-infested food in Banjaran Village, Langkat, North Sumatra last March 24-30, 2008. The farmers couldn’t do agricultural activities because their land was taken arbitrarily by PT. Buana Estate.

Aliansi Petain Indonesia (API) facilitated the Jambi Farmers Discussion on March 16-17, 2008. It was attended by 17,500 farmers from five districts (Batang Hari, Tebo, Janjung, West Jabung and east “Tanjung jabung ng Jabung Timur). The Governor of Jambi acted “inklaf”” (reverted their rights land). It was authorized by PT Wira Karya Sakti for 82,000 hectares in 5 districts. There was also a gift fund of Rp.1 billion for ten years. The future plan of the farmers is to conduct a dialogue to cooperate with the Agriculture Department to manage their land for food production and social forestry.

In the first quarter of this year, the Indonesian Peasant Aliance (API) focused its efforts on the settlement of the Peasant Case in Sukabumi East Java. The land quarrel started in 1996. On January 28, 2008, API supported the effort on settlement with the National Commission of Human Rights through mediation. The mediation was made among the Sukabumi peasant, a regent of Sukabumi, the head of the regency police, and a representative from the enterprise side. The peasant won 700 USD as compensation.

Leaders of the Asian Farmers’ Association for Sustainable Rural Development (AFA) will join around 80 other farmer leaders from around the world for the second global meeting of the Farmers’ Forum that will take place on February 11-12, 2008 in conjunction with the thirty-first session of International Fund for Agricultural Development’s (IFAD) Governing Council.

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AFA co-organized a panel session entitled “Towards Fair Trade in an Integrating ASEAN: Perspectives of Workers, Farmers and Informal Sector” held at the EDSA Shangri-La Hotel, Mandaluyong City, Philippines last October 25, 2007. The pane l session was one of the concurrent panel sessions conducted during the 6th ASEAN Peoples’ Assembly (APA) with the theme “ASEAN at 40: Realizing the Peoples’ Expectations”.
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