Press Statement
May 28, 2008
Over the past three years, and especially at the start of this year, there has been dramatic increases in the price of rice in many countries in the world, including Asia. Experts have said that these increases in rice and other major food stuffs will continue in the next few years.
Many have said that we, rice farmers, should be happy about the rice price increases, because this means additional income or profit for us.
But we would like to tell that our happiness is in the short term; we are victims too of the rice price increases. Our rice farm lands are small; if ever we sell the rice we produce, the quantity is small. We are rice consumers too, and as we are poor, we do not have the capacity to buy rice if the price is high. The costs for fertilizers, gasoline and other agricultural inputs have also risen sharply; thus reducing our net income from rice farming. The costs of other food stuffs have increased as well, thus limiting our ability to buy food for our families. Women farmers suffer most from this situation, as they are tasked to bring food on the table for their families.
Rice is the staple food of our countries. Rice farming is our major source of livelihood. We want to produce enough food for our countries. We want to earn from our rice farming, so we will continue to produce rice for our nations.
But we need our government’s help!
Experts have said that the rice price increases is because of increasing demand for rice and its decreasing supply at the global level. Many have observed that the increasing demand is largely due to the increasing demand for bio-fuels. Much of the corn and wheat is being used for bio-fuels and not for food, thereby increasing the demand for rice as substitute for corn and wheat as food. Much of it is because support for rice farming has been very much neglected by many governments. As such, there are no incentives for farmers to continue producing rice.
Thus we call our governments to:
1. make our countries self-sufficient in rice. To be able to do this, make rice farming an attractive economic venture. We need our governments to set law regarding crop prices that enable us to commit ourselves to rice farming and minimize our losses even when other prices plummet. We need our governments to ensure our access and control to rice lands, give support in terms of extension, technology and capital for production, provide needed irrigation and help us manage rice marketing and trading. Marketing and trading of rice should not be in the hands of rice cartels.
2. make our countries support sustainable, organic rice farming. This is the best way we know to be able to increase rice production, but do so in a way that protects the environment, that protects the health of our bodies and our soil, and in so doing, contribute significantly to the reversal of the impact of climate change.
3. involve us in discussions and decision-making processes with regards to the rice industry.
Today, during this forum, we commit ourselves to produce healthy organic, safe rice through ecological friendly rice farming. We commit ourselves to strengthen our engagement with our governments so that together we can help produce enough rice for our nation.
As a symbol of this commitment, we hold in our hands traditional rice varieties, being shared by farmer-comrades from Indonesia, Philippines, Cambodia, Thailand, Korea and Taiwan.
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Asian Farmers Association for Sustainable Rural Development (AFA)
Conspiracy Garden Cafe
May 28, 2008
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