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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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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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Farmer and Nature Net (FNN) organized its 5th GA last March 21, 2008 in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, with support from FNF and CEDAC. It was highlighted by the members’ election of the national committees through a new process that started from the grassroots level up to the national level.

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www.chinaview.cn 2008-03-24 10:50:17

(Uon Sophal is the chief of a village-based farmers’ association belonging to FNN, an AFA member in Cambodia. Sophal represented FNN to AFA’s regional consultation in Bangkok last year and 3rd general assembly in Korea early this year.)

PHNOM PENH, March 24 (Xinhua) — Rice production will be reduced in Cambodia if rice fields continue to be sold to be converted to business, factory or residential sites, the Mekong Times newspaper reported Monday, citing an Agriculture Ministry official.

“We are worried that, in the future, only non-fertile land will remain for cultivation because most of the rice fields will have been sold off,” Kit Seng, director of the planning department of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF), was quoted by the newspaper as saying.

Uon Sophal, a farmer in Cambodia’s Kampot province, said that if current land transaction trends continue, most farmland will end up in the hands of the rich. “Then farmers will find it more difficult to afford food,” he said. “I would like to appeal to farmers not to sell their land because this will cause a shortage of farmland and it will drive rice prices up, which will be a burden on the country.”

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FNN, in cooperation with CEDAC, conducted a 3-day training workshop on “Shop Cooperatives” last November 2007 in Phnom Penh under AFA’s technical assistance project.

It was attended by 60 participants, 17 of whom are women, from 9 provinces in Cambodia. It covered topics such as the process and concept of shop cooperatives, concept of business, how to calculate profit, gross-net income and gross-net profit, bookkeeping and recording, and basics of a shop cooperative.

The following are the tools used in the training, which have been translated into English:

Instruction Manual for Bookkeeping System.doc

Financial Report Format

Book keeping format

Mr. Long Dimanche, Secretary of Farmer Nature Net (FNN), a farmer-organization in Cambodia practicing sustainable agriculture and an AFA member, will present AFA’s alternative marketing experiences in a regional conference in Bali, Indonesia on May 9-12, 2006.

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FNN will hold its 3rd General Assembly on 3-4 December 2005 in Prey veng Province, Cambodia

The objectives of this event are:

1. To share experienses and progress of farmer association
2. To spread the FNN statute among the member and observers
3. To discuss and approve internal regulations; activities, plan and budget of FNN for 2006

Below are pictures from the 2nd General Assembly held last year in Kompong Chan Province

Election of Officers and the elected Officers of FNN for 2004