www.asianfarmers.org

(AFA participated in this recently concluded symposium held on November 23-25 at the Hotel Gran Mahakam in Jakarta, Indonesia)

Brainstorming on Stakeholder Engagement
ASEAN Secretariat, 23 November 2009

Civil society organisations (CSOs), think tanks, universities and other national and regional stakeholders around the ASEAN region came together today to brainstorm on possible methods of engagement between these stakeholders and the ASEAN Governments.

Held in Jakarta, over three-days, the symposium is designed to help in the development of a method for stakeholder engagement to support and further the process of realising the ASEAN Community. In particular, the method will support the building of a people-oriented and inclusive ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community pillar.

“This Symposium aims to design a system to facilitate CSO dialogue, conversation and interaction with the official process,” said Secretary-General of ASEAN, Dr Surin Pitsuwan, in his Welcome Address. Referring to the ASEAN Charter, Dr Surin said that “building a harmonious community needs the involvement of all stakeholders.” Article 13 of the Charter calls for the promotion of a “people-oriented ASEAN in which all sectors of society are encouraged to participate in, and benefit from, the process of ASEAN integration and community building”.

Moderated by Mechai Viravaidya, founder and Board Chairman of the Population and Community Development Association of Thailand, the symposium also features speakers from the European Commission, the Norwegian Children and Youth Council and the Southern Africa Development Community Council of Non Governmental Organizations – organisations that have had experiences in successful methods of regional stakeholder dialogue.

The “ASEAN Secretariat Symposium on Methods of Stakeholder Involvement in Regional Organisations” is organised by the ASEAN Secretariat, in cooperation with the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES). The FES has worked in all ASEAN Member States and with governments, CSOs and other regional integration bodies.

SOURCE: http://www.aseansec.org/23972.htm#Article-9

PRESS RELEASE

Civil Society Urges Heads of State to Support Food Reserves to Address Hunger, Stabilise Markets

Civil society organisations have called on governments attending the World Summit on Food Security (16-18 November) to support the use of food reserves as an essential step towards achieving universal food security.

In a letter released at the commencement of the Summit in Rome, governments are urged to follow up on previous commitments to explore a system of food reserves as a tool for stabilising markets and for humanitarian support.

Previously, representatives at the G8 meeting of government leaders in July engaged with the idea of implementing food reserves as one method to address price volatility, low stocks levels and failed markets in food and agriculture. But since calling for further investigation into the use of reserves, there has been little movement on the issue.
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PRESS RELEASE
By Asian Farmers’ Association (AFA)
November 15, 2009

On the opening of FAO’s World Summit on Food Security, Jonjon Sarmiento, a young farmer for Mindoro Island in the Philippines, and a participant to the CSO Forum Parellel to the World Summit on Food Security, will go on a hunger strike to protest the mining project to be operated by Intex Resources, a giant mining company in Norway.

The Mindoro Nickel Project is located at Victoria, Oriental Mindoro, an island in the Southern Part of the Philippines. It will cover 9,720 hectares of critical watershed areas . The project will affect the rice farmers in the nearby towns , since the watershed area is the farmers’ main source for irrigation.

From November 17 onwards, volunteer campaigners in Mindoro will hold a hunger strike and fasting at the Philippines; Department of Environment Office in Quezon City, Philippines. “

I am from this town. I am a farmer. I am a youth leader. I am here in Rome. So , I will join my townmates in their hunger strike while I am here in Rome”, Mr. Sarmiento said.
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16 November 2009

Hon. LITO ATIENZA
Secretary
Department of Environment and Natural Resources
Quezon City, Philippines

Dear Hon Atienza,

We are participants gathered here in Rome, Italy, for the Peoples’ Food Sovereignty Now: Civil Society Organizations’ Forum Parallel to the World Summit on Food Security, being held November 14-17, 2009.

Mr. Jonjon Sarmiento, one of the delegates to this Forum, a young farmer from Mindoro, Philippines, started his hunger strike to protest the mining project to be operated by Intex Resources of Norway, in his hometown . We learned that this project will threaten the food security of the people of Mindoro, since the project will severely affect the critical watershed areas which provide irrigation to the ricefields and fruit farms in this island, which is a food basket of your Southern Luzon region.

We learned that your agency has issued an Environmental Compliance Certificate (ECC) against the will of the people and the local authorities to be affected.

We support the hunger strike of Mr. Sarmiento as well as the hunger strike of 25 other farmers and indigenous peoples in front of your office.
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Monday, Nov 16, 2009 / 12.00-14.00 hours / Open Space Tent

A side event during the CSO Forum Parallel to World Summit on Food Security / November 13, 17, 2009 Rome , Itlay

The CSO Forum parallel to the World Summit on Food Security will gather leaders of peasants organizations from around the world who feel strongly about agriculture and climate change. Most have already taken steps to advocate for more agriculture-focused and agriculture-related adaptation and mitigation measures. Climate change issues are urgent issues for peasants and fishers around the world.

Both the FAO World Summit on Food Security and the upcoming Copenhagen UN Conference on Climate Change (December 8 to 18) will need to address major challenges for agriculture related to climate change. This workshop will aim to help farmers organizations define how they want to engage in these discussions.
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