In December 2005 AFA and AsiaDHRRA decided to participate in several parallel CSO events during the 5th WTO MC in Hongkong. One such event was the “WTO, Food Sovereignty, and Alternatives to Globalization” Forum, which involved other social movements in the region. At that forum, we presented the initial results of four case studies of selected experiences of CSOs trying to advance a more holistic approach in responding to the issues and problems faced by farmers — from input and production to processing and marketing, in the light of the challenges posed by globalized trade. Our case writers noted that the case models did not focus on specific aspects of the commodity chain but embraced the entire system in one holistic package comprised of interconnected components – with a conscious effort to present a fundamentally different approach to tackling age-old problems of the agricultural sector.
We invite you to take a closer look at their stories in this book. We encourage you to join us in studying these alternatives and to be inspired to support or explore similar undertakings in our collective effort to make farming an economically rewarding adventure while protecting our environment and community cultures. In addition to the cases, this book includes an overview and a brief analysis of the ASEAN Emergency Food Reserve Scheme to give us a better understanding of what it is, as well as its potentials and constraints in responding to food emergencies in the ASEAN region. The momentum to engage ASEAN on agriculture and food security/sovereignty issues has to be sustained, especially now that the ASEAN is in the process of formulating its Charter and given the growing realization within the ASEAN of the need to engage CSOs as co-stakeholders to ensure that ASEAN integration responds to the call for more sustainable livelihoods for the rural poor and to ensure the food sovereignty of member nations.
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