AFA, AsiaDHRRA participate in Asean Civil Society Conference; anchor panel on regional integration and launch new book

AFA jointly anchored with strategic partner AsiaDHRRA a panel on “ASEAN Regional Integration in Agriculture: What It Is, How It Should Be” during the second Asean Civil Society Conference (ACSC2) held in Cebu . About 50 individuals attended the panel session, including representatives from AFA and AsiaDHRRA’s respective Executive Committees.

Civil society organizations went ahead with the ACSC2 despite the postponement of the planned ASEAN Leaders Summit on December 10-14, 2006. Held last December 10-12, ACSC 2 was a parallel activity to the ASEAN Summit. The panel session was held December 11.

In the forum synthesis and call to action, the forum participants agreed that under a free trade framework dominated by TNCs, rural people will hardly benefit from regional integration in agriculture. Among the challenges identified were: (1) to understand more the regional integration framework of ASEAN; (2) to formulate an alternative framework – challenge ASEAN to institutionalize participation of small farmers and promote food security and sovereignty that is gender-sensitive; (3) to develop an integrated approach from input to market; (4) to firm-up common grounds in agriculture; (5) to get away from chemical farming; and, (5) no campaign against GMO!.

During the panel session, Dean Rene Ofreneo, Executive Director of Fair Trade Alliance in the Philippines, talked about “ASEAN Regional Integration in Agriculture: What It Is.” Neth Dano of the Third World Network presented the “Synthesis of Five Cases on Pro-Small Farmer Trading Systems.” Also, Maureen dos Santos from the executive committee of the Brazilian network for Integration of Peoples (HEBRIP) and the Hemispheric Social Alliance (HAS) shared the experiences of Brazilian Farmers’ Organizations in engaging MERCOSUR, a regional trade agreement founded in 1991 that promotes free movement of goods and currency.

AFA participants also attended the plenary sessions of ACSC2. An AFA Executive Committee meeting was also held, as well as a joint AFA-AsiaDHRRA ExeCom dialogue to further discuss AFA’s process of having autonomous secretariat operations. A joint team building activity and Christmas celebration capped AFA’s participation in ACSC2.

AFA AsiaDHRRA book launched during ACSC panel

AFA and AsiaDHRRA’s new book, entitled “Initiatives on Pro Small Farmer Trade”, was launched during the panel session on ASEAN regional integration in agriculture.

The book contains 5 case studies portraying actual initiatives in alternative agricultural trading: (1) the successful efforts of Green Net in Thailand to market organic products; (2) the initiative by the Philippine Development Assistance Program (PDAP) to link up NGOs involved in organic production and to facilitate the development of markets for organic produce in the Philippines; (3) the direct producer-consumer collaborations in Japan under the Seikatsu Club Consumers’ Cooperative; (4) the pioneering work of Oxfam-Great Britain in Fair Trade; and (5) the food security schemes adopted by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).”

Participants to the panel session were given complimentary copies of the book. The book is also uploaded in the AFA and AsiaDHRRA websites.