first AFA GA proceedings FINAL - Asiadhrra Bumi Wiyata, Depok, Indonesia February 11-17, 2004 Prepared by : Mr. Marciano Virola, Jr. Information Officer, PhilDHRRA and Ms. Esther A.

Proceedings of first AFA general assembly 11-17 february 2004 Advancing the asian peasant agenda depok, indonesia

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PROCEEDINGS

of the

FIRST AFA GENERAL ASSEMBLY Advancing the Asian Peasant Agenda

Hotel Bumi Wiyata, Depok, Indonesia

February 11-17, 2004

Prepared by :

Mr. Marciano Virola, Jr. Information Officer, PhilDHRRA

and

Ms. Esther A. Penunia Program Officer, AsiaDHRRA


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PROCEEDINGS OF THE 1ST AFA GA Hotel Bumi Wiyata, Depok, Indonesia February 11-17, 2004 Wed, February 11, 2004____________________________________________________

The delegates and staff of the 1st AFA General Assembly started to arrive and register at the GA secretariat. They were also given space at the lobby of the hotel to put up their exhibit booths, consisting of photos, write-ups, publications, and rural products from their respective countries. At 2000 hours, the AFA Interim Executive Committee members held a caucus to run-through the events of the first day of the GA and to assign the host team of the day. The host team, to be assigned on a country basis, had the following functions : (1) ensure participants come on time for the sessions; (2) manage/keep time during sessions; (3) give a summary or highlights of the activities of the previous day; and (4) provide energizers to the group. Thu, 12 February 2004 Host Team : API _______________________________________________________________________ I. Opening Ceremonies (0900-1030 hours) Moderators: :Mr. Indra Setiawan and Ms. Yuyu Rahayu of API Opening Ritual The General Assembly officially began with a 15-minute opening ritual from the Sundanese ethnic group, led by API’s theater group and farmer leaders from Cianjur, West Java, Indonesia , held at the lobby of the hotel. The ritual was rooted in the Sundanese’ people’s belief of a huge spiritual power as the guardian of nature. Young girls danced accompanied by a spiritual hymn . The hymn spoke about God as the owner of the universe and people’s duty to care for nature. A man with an umbrella also performed a dance ritual. The umbrella signified the Spirit that protects family members and guests from both sun and rain. Part of the ritual also was the giving of rice seedlings to one participant per country. Exhibit Opening After the opening ritual, participants walked towards the hallway for the opening of the exhibit. Part of the opening ritual was the cutting of the ribbon, made from banana midstrips. AFA GA delegates from Cambodia, Indonesia, Japan, Laos, Philippines, Malaysia, South Korea, Thailand and Vietnam displayed some photos, publications, and products – which included handicrafts and processed foods. Welcome Addresses After the opening of the exhibit, all the participants and guests went inside the conference room to listen to the welcome remarks. Dr. Sinis Munandar, Director General of the Ministry of


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Agriculture”s Human Resources Division, gave the welcome remarks, followed by Mr. Sambito, Chair of the API Peasant Board, then by Mr. Ananias Loza, AFA Interim Chair. Dr. Sinis spoke of the significant role of the agricultural sector in the economic recovery of Indonesia. He spoke of the new paradigm in Indonesian agricultural development which combined systems development and agribusiness and of which human resource development (HRD) is an important device. Three HRD goals had to be achieved : (1) develop technology and its knowledge in order to match the system into business; (2) develop entrepreneurship capacity and (3) develop skills and capacity for teamwork. Lastly, Dr. Sinis spoke of the training opportunities available for Indonesian farmers, particularly the government’s joint cooperation with Japan Agricultural Exchange Council (JAEC) and International Farmer Exchange (IFE) of United States of America. ( See Annex 1 for a copy of the speech of Dr. Sinis). Mr. Sambito thanked all delegates and guests from ten countries in Asia and wished them all an enjoyable and comfortable stay in Depok. He said that hosting the first AFA GA was very significant for API as well. Using a powerpoint presentation, Mr. Loza first introduced all the participants ,guests and secretariat staff. Each group of delegates stood up as their organization and country were mentioned. (See Annex 02: List of Delegates & Participants)Then, he enumerated the objectives of the conference. He also shared his cherished memories of the beginnings of AFA and his joy of journeying with the rest of the AFA members to make the first AFA GA a reality. He compared AFA to a rice plant -- now on its growth stage -- which will later be bearing fruits but will be still suceptible to pests. He encouraged everyone to help AFA succeed and bear fruits, and reach the stage of harvesting, processing and marketing so that AFA can really uplift the conditions of farmers in Asia. (See Annex 03: Opening Remarks, of Sambito and Ka Aning Lozar). He capped his welcome remarks with a 5-minute video presentation of AFA’s history, development, vision, mission, goals and agenda (See Annex 04: Advancing the Asian Peasant Agenda Video). Photo Session At the end of the opening program, the delegates then posed for a picture-taking inside the conference hall. A 30-minute coffee/tea break followed, and participants mingled in the exhibit hall area. II. AR Experiences Sharing Session (1100-1200, 1400-1700 hours) In order to learn from each country’s experiences, a sharing session on Agrarian Reform struggles and implementation was held. Using mostly powerpoint presentations, six delegates each gave a 15- minute presentation on the highlights of agrarian reform implementation in their countries. Presenters included Dr. Yatani of JaDHRRA from Japan, Ka Vic Fabe of PAKISAMA from the Philippines, Ms. Sudaporn of Sor Kor Por from Thailand, Dr. Jeun –Sheng Lin of NPUST of Taiwan, Nuruddin of API from Indonesia , Shin Chang Keun of KoDHRRA from South Korea and Mr. Saravanan from DHRRA Malaysia. (See Annex 05: powerpoint presentations on AR Experiences of Japan, Malaysia, Philippines, Taiwan, South Korea, Indonesia) Also, Mr. Erpan Faryadi, from Agrarian Reform Consortium , a coalition of Indonesian NGOs on agrarian reform , and a guest of the AFA


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GA, also shared his group’s involvement . After all the presentations, all the presentors were asked to sit in front for the open forum. Open Forum The following points were raised during the open forum: 1. What made agrarian reform implementation successful in Taiwan, especially in its early part? -- Taiwan succeeded because farmers improved their production and invested their money in agriculture. (Dr. Lin) 2. Indonesia has many agricultural workers who have no jobs, unlike in Japan and South Korea where farm labor is declining. Is it possible to exchange labor force with Japan and South Korea? What are the conditions and the roles of women in the rural areas of each country? -- Women’s position and roles are equal with men. Women in rural areas share half of the work with men, but not all physical work. Women are gaining more power than men within families as they manage the household finances. (Shin Chang Keun) -- Japan accepts foreign labor, but the government is controlling the entry of non-skilled or manual labor. Some Japanese farmers accept foreign labor as “trainees” because labor is not officially allowed. Many foreign laborers end up as illegal laborers, who are not treated well. (Dr. Yatani) 3. It is good to learn that agrarian reform was successful in Japan and Korea. What support can other countries like Indonesia and the Philippines expect from Japan and Korea through AFA? -- AR cannot be successful without government support. All Korean agricultural products are open to trade with other countries, except for rice, which is 100% self-sufficient. NGOs and POs should advocate for government support to farmers and their ideas. Farmers were able to get a $100B support as a result of a huge mobilization in October 2003. Other countries can learn from Korea through their website and their success cases. (Shin Chang Keun) II. Press Conference: The Effects of Globalization and WTO on Asian Agriculture (1300-1400 hours) In order to publicize the AFA GA and the Asian Peasant Agenda in Indonesia, as well as the activities of API, a press conference was organized by Bina Desa and AFA during the General Assembly. This was held in one of the smaller rooms in the hotel. The speakers were Phromma Kengla of Sor Kor Por, Sambito of API, Ka Vic Fabe of PAKISAMA, Dae Uk Kim of KAFF, Ming Fei Chen of Taiwan and Ka Aning Loza , AFA Interim Chairperson. Eight journalists attended the press conference. A press statement was read to the media.(See Annex 06: Press Release). After that, the farmer-leaders were given 2 minutes each to make a pitch on the topic “The Effects of Globalization and WTO on Asian Agriculture”. The highlights of their presentations were as follows:


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Dae Uk Kim ( KAFF from South Korea) 1. WTO agenda is for the major multinationals in the US and Australia. 2. Korean farmers are not ready to open the market because of the price differences. The

impacts of WTO are: 1) it threatens farmer survival; and, 2) it ruins the farming base of the country. Majority of farmers are small landholders (with less than 1.5 hectares of land) and are not able to compete with international prices (3 to 5 times lower).

Ming Fei Chen (TWADA from Taiwan ROC) 1. The Taiwan Wax Apple Development Association (TWADA) is a national organization and all

the farmers are members of production and marketing teams. 2. The association is a communication bridge between farmers and government. 3. Taiwan joined WTO in 2002 and the association wants to join AFA to share its agenda. Ka Vic Fabe (PAKISAMA from the Philippines) 1. GATT-WTO is being opposed by small farmers because it is a threat to them as they cannot

compete globally. 2. It is also a threat to food security and self-sufficiency. Farmers are suffering because of the low

price of their products. 3. It also exerts more pressure for massive land and crop conversion (shift to HYVs). 4. In summary, GATT-WTO is a great disaster for the Philippines. And maybe all the farmers may

suffer and the agricultural land in the country will be lost. Phromma Kengla (Sor Kor Por from Thailand) 1. Thai farmers are full of debt and unpaid loans. We cannot develop for self-help. 2. Now the competition is very stiff and is very hard for farmers. 3. Since SKP would like to help the poor farmers, it has to address the problem of middlemen. 4. SKP farmers push government to create policies to support the poor farmers. 5. The Thai government tried to stop the farmers’ movement. 6. SKP is pushing that government help farmers because it is their function.

Sambito (API from Indonesia) 1. Indonesian farmers are not ready to face WTO. 2. There is a problem in the farmers’ use of fertilizers in agriculture. 3. Another threat is the privatization of water. This will be disadvantageous to farmers. We expect

that AFA can help in this issue of privatization. Ka Aning Loza, AFA Interim Chairperson 1. Most of the issues Asian farmers are facing are in the areas of production and marketing. 2. In production, there is the problem of poor knowledge and skills, and use of poor and

unsustainable technologies, which are usually supported by government. There is also the effect of natural calamities especially on small scale farmers.


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3. In marketing, there is the problem of the absence of marketing systems, the presence of middlemen, lack of competitiveness under WTO, and unfair and unjust rules and regulations of WTO, like the removal of subsidies in underdeveloped countries.

Ka Aning then read the AFA Asian Peasant Agenda Fri, February 13, 2004 Host Team: KAFF, WAFF and BFA from South Korea ___________________________________________________________________________ I. Recap of the Previous Day (0800-0830 hours) The session started with a recap of the previous day by Shin Chang Keun. He outlined the major activities that the delegates went through : Opening Ritual, Welcome Remarks, Overview of AFA GA Program, Opening of Exhibit, Sharing on Agrarian Reform Experiences, Lunch Break, Open Forum on Agrarian Reform Experiences, AFA ExeCom Meeting and Dinner. Also, Kang (WAFF, South Korea) led the group in an energizer. II. AFA Website Launching (0830-1000 hours) Esther Penunia, AsiaDHRRA Program Officer and Pointperson for AFA, introduced the AFA website by giving the context and the objectives of making a website. She said that AFA members can publicize to people all over the work their activities, articles, publications and products through the website. Mr. Jose Angelo “Jet” Hermida, Project Officer of AsiaDHRRA, led the walkthrough of the AFA website. He presented an overview of the website, its various sections, features, and functionalities. He also demonstrated how the members can participate in the website through submission of materials and interaction in the discussion board (fora and polls). Some delegates expressed their appreciation for the website, saying this will help in their advocacy work . Still, some suggested that each AFA member should have its own website, while online meetings could also be conducted through the AFA website. Furthermore, the results and documentation of the AFA GA will be uploaded in the website and announcements about website updates will be made through e-mail. III. Interactive Discussion: “International Civil Society Coalitions for Sustainable Rural Development” by Francis Wahono, Chairperson, Sekretariat Bina Desa(1030-1200 hours) Francis Wahono, Chairperson of Sekretariat Bina Desa (SBD or InDHRRA), led the interactive discussion on “International Civil Society Coalitions for Sustainable Rural Development”, using picture drawings for his presentation. An open forum followed afterwards. A token of appreciation was presented to him before the session ended.


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Wahono’s drawings used a lot of symbolisms that helped him explain his point to the AFA General Assembly (See Annex 07: Drawing). The Puppet represented the peasants in developing countries, as well as in developed countries. He said peasants in all parts of the world share the same situation. The Puppet Masters represented the developed countries like US and Europe, and international institutions like GATT-WTO and IMF-WB. The Strings symbolized: 1) The products of big companies such as seeds, chemical fertilizers, and pesticides that make

the peasants dependent on the puppet masters; 2) The Agreements on Agriculture (AoA) and other free trade policies that lead to self-

insufficiency; 3) The Trade-Related Aspect of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) that leads to everything

being related to trade (mental enclosure), patenting of seeds (which only big companies can do because of the high cost involved) and transgenic organisms or GMOs (which are again controlled by big companies) that could last for 20 years, and the production of “terminator seeds” (which can only be planted once and after which you have to buy again from the producing companies); and,

4) The General Agreement on Trade-related Services (GATS) that leads to a situation of low-

salaried workers from developing countries and high-salaried workers from developed countries, patenting of the service or packaging of bottled water by big companies who can afford it, and privatization of water (which progresses from being community-owned to state-owned to privately-owned).

The Pins symbolized how countries protect their peasants. In the case of Indonesia, the government is saying to the world “please rape me, please oppress me” by not protecting the peasants. It is fully supportive of WTO and does not give subsidies to the farmers. Mr. Wahono explained that the peasants become puppets because they are controlled from every corner, even by their very own governments. But they can stop being puppets by “standing on the ground,” which refer to land, water, biodiversity, local seeds, etc., and fighting for their right to do so. Finally, he emphasized the need for a strong advocacy for Land Rights, Water Rights, and Biodiversity Rights. Open Forum 1. On the Use of Local Seeds It was pointed out that there were many local seeds that have shorter maturity time (90 days) than high-yielding varieties (HYV) seeds (120 days). The farmers were forced to use quick-maturing seeds in order to earn money quickly to pay their credits to government. Thus, the problem is not really with the seeds, but with the government credit policies for farmers.


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2. On the Patenting and Commercialization of GMOs In the Philippines, the commercialization of the genetically modified Bt corn is being pushed by Monsanto. In order to oppose this, a broad and united opposition by farmers in the whole country is needed. IV. Presentation of Profiles of AFA Member Organizations (1300-1500 hours) The AFA member organizations presented their respective organizational profiles for at most 15 minutes per presentation. The delegates described their organization’s vision, mission, programs and activities, size of membership and areas of operations. All the delegates from each organization sat in front during their respective presentations. The presentations were mostly done through powerpoint materials (See Annex 8: Organizational Profiles). Afterwards, Esther Penunia gave a short synthesis of the presentations. She noted that the organizations were of different ages , sizes and levels. Some were newly formed – such as Farmers and Nature Net which was formed just last December 2003. But some were very old, such as the Vietnam Farmers’ Union which was formed in the 1930s and Ainokai which was formed in 1945. Some had very big membership – like VNFU which has 8 million members, while some had small membership, counting to just hundreds of farmers in several villages . Many were national organizations except those from Malaysia and Laos. She likewise noted that inspite of these differences, the goals of the organizations were similar: solidarity-building and strengthening, improvement of living conditions of farmers, increased income for farmers, promotion of sustainable agricultural practices. Still, many were into capacity building work, training farmers on advocacy and sustainable agricultural technologies and raising their awareness on farmers’ rights; with Ainokai even managing an Agricultural High School specializing in organic agriculture. V. Presentation of Sub-Regional Conference Results (1500-1600 hours) The results of the sub-regional conferences in North Asia, Mekong Sub-cluster, and Southeast Asia , conducted by AFA last year, were presented. The presentations aimed to refresh the delegates’ memories of the sub regional conferences, as these were the basis for the crafting of the Asian Peasant Agenda which was scheduled to be ratified by the GA the following day. Heru Wardoyo presented the SEA results, Dae Uk Kim, the North Asia results while Phromma Kengla , the Mekong sub-cluster results. (See Annex 9: Presentation of Sub-Regional Conference Results) VI. City Tour (1600-2300 hours) In the late afternoon till late evening, the local hosts, API and Sekretariat Bina Desa, took all the delegates and guests to Mangga Dua Shopping Mall . After shopping, they were taken to a fish market for a sumptuous dinner of freshly-grilled fish and other seafood.


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Sat, February 14, 2004 : Business Meeting Presiding Officer: Ka Aning Loza, AFA Interim Chairperson Host Team: Sor Kor Por of Thailand __________________________________________________________________________ I. Recap of the Previous day The day’s host, Sor Kor Por, made a recap of the previous day. Winyoo Sata recounted the following activities:

• After breakfast, we had morning energizer and recap by Mr.Chang. • After that, launching of AFA website by Jet, • We had an input from Mr. Wahono, Chairperson of Binadesa about globalization and we

discussed about the issues. • After lunch, we had a presentation about profiles of our members. • Then we shared what was discussed during each sub regional consultation. • All the programs were finished on time. • We all headed to shopping mall “Mangga Dua” • Then we had excellent seafood under the rain near the sea. • We arrived at the hotel almost midnight with many of us half asleep already. • And everyone had a good sleep.

II. Report of the Interim Chairperson (0830-0900 hours) As AFA Interim Chairperson, Ka Aning Loza presented AFA’s activity highlights for year 2003, his assessment of year 2003 as well as the challenges he perceived AFA faces. He said that through the support of Agriterra, AFA was able to conduct three sub-regional conferences , a Taiwan Farmers’ Exchange Visit, a core group strengthening workshop and 4 AFA ExeCom meetings . Moreover, AFA was able to formulate its leadership development program framework, partnership principles with AsiaDHRRA, membership guidelines, guidelines in hosting AFA –AsiaDHRRA events, and nine country papers presented during sub-regional conferences. AFA also made its logo, and formulated its vision, mission, programs and Peasant Agenda, which hopefully will be confirmed or ratified during the GA. Ka Aning also enumerated the major decisions taken by the AFA Interim Executive Committee in its previous meetings. Lastly, he encouraged AFA to flex its muscles and begin exercising its advocacy role, work for its legal identity and eventual autonomy (See Annex 10: Chair’s Report and Annex 11 – Decisions Made during AFA Interim ExeCom meetings).


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III. Affirmation of Vision, Mission, Programs, and Logo Of AFA (0915-0930 hours) (See Annex 12: AFA Brochure) 1. Vision Ka Aning asked the delegates to get a copy of the AFA brochure. Then, he read aloud the Vision of AFA as written in the brochure. Afterwards, he asked for comments. The vision read:

There was a suggestion from Sor Kor Por that first person pronouns (e.i., we, our, us) should be used in all sentences in the vision statement to refer to the farmers. There was also a comment from API that the word “peasants” could have been used instead of “farmers”. At the end of the discussion, the delegates approved the vision statement of AFA, and said that the comments be studied by a Committee. 2. Mission

The General Assembly approved AFA’s Mission statement. 3. Core Programs

We envision Asian rural communities that are free from hunger and poverty, are happy and in good health, and that live in peace and prosperity; where farmers, both men and women, own or have accesss and control over the lands they till, nurture the lands through appropriate, integrated and environment-friendly agricultural practices and technologies, get fair market for their products, has control over their goods and services, are self-reliant, educated, and able to participate in development processes through politically strong, socially responsive, culturally sensitive and economically viable organizations.

As a strong association of Asian farmers, our mission is to strengthen solidarity among farmers through the advancement of their sectoral causes and protection of their rights. We endeavor to build a strong and dynamic regional lobby for genuine agrarian reform and sustainable development, while facilitating the exchange of creative local grassroots initiatives that attempt to address the roots of rural poverty.


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As stated in AFA’s brochure, AFAs core programs will be Policy Research and Advocacy, Networking and solidarity building and Leadership Development and Institution Building. The General Assembly approved AFA’s Core Programs. 5. Logo Ka Aning presented the second revision of the AFA logo, based on the comments and decisions of the AFA Interim Executive Committee (shown in the right ). He also said that Sor Kor Por had suggested a logo for AFA but this logo was suggested only a week prior to the GA. By then, the Interim Executive Committee had already undergone a process for designing the logo and had already decided to adapt the revised logo for all publications and materials for the AFA GA There was a comment from API that the hats should be colored black. There was also a suggestion from PAKISAMA that a committee be created after the GA to look at the proposed changes and other new ideas for the logo and other items in the brochure. The General Assembly affirmed the second revision of AFA’s Logo and said that a committee can study the proposed changes later. IV. Ratification of the Asian Peasant Agenda (0930-0945 hours) Ka Aning stated that the AFA Interim Executive Committee approved a 9-point peasant agenda during its 6th meeting in Hanoi. However, the South Korean members asked that agenda # 5 (push for the reduction of subsidies in agriculture by developed countries) be dropped because farmers need to push their governments to subsidize agriculture. During their 7th meeting , the Interim ExeCom meeting, decided to drop agenda #5. There was a suggestion from API that the “Asian Peasant Agenda” should be changed to “AFA Agenda”. But there was also a comment from PAKISAMA that “Asian Peasant Agenda” is meant to encompass different sectors in rural communities, including fishers, etc. The 8-point Asian Peasant Agenda was then ratified by the General Assembly, which included :


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V. Ratification of AFA Rice Campaign (0945-1000 hours) Ka Aning presented AFA’s Rice Campaign for 2004, as decided by the AFA Interim Executive Committee. The Generaly Assembly then ratified the AFA Rice Campaign program (See Annex 13: AFA Rice Campaign). VI. Keynote Address by Dr. Ruben Umaly (1000-1200 hours) Dr. Ruben Umaly, Executive Director of the ASEAN Foundation, gave the keynote address. He described the vision, mission, objectives, programs , structures and priorities of the ASEAN Foundation. He then deepened the knowledge of the participants on the concepts, paradigms and strategies of sustainable development. An open forum followed. After this, the delegates presented him flowers and chocolates, the day being Valentine’s Day as well (See Annex 14: Keynote Address Presentation of Dr. Umaly). Open Forum The following were the highlights of the open forum that followed: 1. For sustainable development to succeed, it is important to provide leadership training and support to leaders at the local level, not only the national level. Technical assistance should go to the rural communities to help them in their efforts at sustainable development. (Thailand)

AFA Asian Peasant Agenda: 1. promote sustainable agricultural policies and practices 2. study and promote alternatives to economic globalization,

automation and mechanization – where these alternatives are sustainable, farmer friendly, appropriate

3. promote agriculture among the young and build their interests towards farming

4. promote fair and just treatment of farmers in developing countries

5. promote food security measures for small farmers 6. promote farmer-to-farmer market exchanges 7. push for an ASEAN constitution on ARRD and protection

of farmers’ rights 8. strengthen AFA, at the national and regional levels, so it

becomes able to participate in international development processes


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-- The ASEAN Foundation can provide training workshops to identified local leaders through AsiaDHRRA. The ASEAN Foundation has offices in Jakarta and Ginza Chu-ou-Ku in Tokyo. His email address is: [email protected] 2. What success stories have the ASEAN Foundation had so far? (South Korea) -- There are success stories like Sloping Agriculture Technololgy in the Philippines and Community Forestry/Agroforestry in Vietnam. There are difficulties posed by the different landownership systems. In the Philippines, for example, communal ownership is more desirable for some development projects. 3. Projects of ASEAN Foundation in Indonesia do not seem to touch on the basic problems of the farmers and the roots of poverty. What is the perspective of the Foundation on how farmers can face the threats of globalization and trade liberalization? (Indonesia) -- The Foundation focuses on training leaders who can make a difference in their communities, but the impact of that is beyond our control. It does not interfere with the policies of each ASEAN government; it works only on policies at the regional level. 4. Training for sustainable farming technologies are better done in the actual farms in the communities rather than in training centers or hotels. (Philippines) 5. Culture is an important aspect in sustainable development -- one problem in Indonesia is the polluted irrigation water supply, which is an effect of cultural practices. (Indonesia) -- Culture is always an important factor in sustainable development 6. Which is more important – theoretical or practical training? (South Korea) -- Both are important – theory and practice should be balanced by the trainor. 7. How can we access funds from the Foundation for AFA? (Philippines) -- Anyone with a good organizational record has a good chance of getting support from the Foundation. 8. Can an organization in a country submit a project proposal outside of the government channel? (Vietnam) -- The Foundation helps organizations from the ASEAN countries prepare project proposals. 9. AsiaDHRRA and AFA can help in the follow up of the Foundation’s projects. A proposal has been submitted to ASEAN Foundation the second phase of the Farmers’ Exchange Visits, this time focused on sustainable technologies.We hope this project can still be supported (AsiaDHRRA).


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VII. Approval of AFA Constitution and By-Laws (1300-1430 hours) Ka Aning asked the delegates to get their copies of the draft Constitution and By-Laws (CBL) in their kits. He explained that time was limited , so the draft CBL would not be presented. He reminded them that each organization had been asked to read and comment on the draft several weeks prior to the AFA GA. Thus, he said, that in the session, he would get the comments of the organizations on the draft, per section. Afterwards, he would get the response of the Assembly to the comments and suggestions raised. He then told the body that he had two comments on the draft . First, the logo in the draft should be revised to reflect the new logo as ratified earlier in the morning. Secondly, he suggested to revise Section 3.3 of Article 1 to read : “the triangular brown shapes above the letters stand for the varied farming cultures of small farmers in Asia”. The delegates from Sor Kor Por also raised on the floor their organization’s comments on the draft. After each comment, Ka Aning asked the Assembly for a decision on the comment/suggestion. The suggestions and the Assembly’s decisions were : 1. In some places were farmers are indicated as “they”, these should be replaced with “our” or

“us”, etc. -- The Assembly agreed that this will be subjected to a review by a Committee.

2. change AFA logo to a new one. A suggested logo was carried by Ms. Sudaporn Sittisatapornkul.

-- The Assembly agreed that this will be subjected to a review by a Committee.

3. Sor Kor Por is not sure if it is correct for a networking organization like AFA to put the Member Organizations under the Executive Committee in its organizational structure. Its suggestion was to place the Member Organizations above the General Assembly in the organizational structure

-- The Assembly agreed that this will be subjected to a review by a Committee.

4. Prospective AFA regular members must have existing or potential relations with a member of AsiaDHRRA or AFA. -- The Assembly agreed that this is subject to specific policy to be formulated by the ExeCom.

5. AFA should not intervene in the internal matters of a member organization if it is not requested by that organization and the requested intervention should apply only for development activities, not the case about the internal conflict.

-- The Assembly agreed that this is subject to specific policy to be formulated by the ExeCom.

6. AFA should have rules to help representatives from organizations from small countries to take

a position as same as organizations from large countries.


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-- The Assembly agreed that this is subject to specific policy to be formulated by the ExeCom.

7. AFA should not have an expulsion action for termination of members, but use “eradicate the

membership” instead. -- The Assembly agreed that this is subject to specific policy to be formulated by the ExeCom.

8. Responsibilities for recruiting new members should be assumed by existing members in their respective sub-regions (e.g., Sor Kor Por and VNFU in the Mekong Sub-region) -- The Assembly agreed that this is subject to specific policy to be formulated by the ExeCom.

9. Selection of the Secretary General must be stated clearly in the constitution.

-- The Assembly agreed that this is already contained in Section 3.2, second sentence. Specific criteria for selection can be formulated by the ExeCom.

10. The location of the head office should be decided by the GA.

-- The Assembly agreed that, while the head office is presently in Manila, the ExeCom can decide to move it anywhere else.

Then, the Assembly ratified the draft Constitution and by-laws , with considerations to the discussions above. VIII. Ratification of Membership Status in AFA (1430-1530 hours) 1. The General Assembly reviewed, confirmed and/or ratified the membership status of all AFA organizations. The GA confirmed the regular membership status of the following organizations: 1. Sor Kor Por (Thailand) 2. API (Indonesia) 3. PAKISAMA (Philippines) It unanimously approved the application for membership of the following organizations: 1. TWADA (Taiwan) 2. KAFF (South Korea) Thus, there are now five (5) regular members of AFA. The General Assembly also confirmed the observer status of the following organizations:


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1. VNFU (Vietnam) 2. BFA (South Korea) 3. Women’s Advanced Farmers’ Federation or WAFF (South Korea) 2. Designation of Regular Members’ Official Representatives to the AFA ExeCom The General Assembly recognized the following regular members’ official representatives to the AFA Executive Committee, as designated by the organizations’ themselves: 1. Sor Kor Por – Mrs. Sudaporn Sittisathapornkul 2. API – Mr. Heru Triwardoyo 3. PAKISAMA – Mr. Vicente Fabe 4. TWADA – Mr. Ming Fei Chen 5. KAFF – Mr. Kim Dae Uk IX. Selection of Officers/ Other Resolutions (1600-1630 hours) After tea/coffee break, the new AFA ExeCom members met in another room to select the Chairperson, Vice Chairperson and Treasurer. Meanwhile, Ka Aning continued to preside the Assembly’s discussion on proposed resolutions, with the understanding that these proposed resolution would be finally approved upon the return of the new ExeCom members to the plenary hall. Delegates from API proposed two resolutions : (1) AFA will expand to other Asian countries like India and Bangladesh upon invitation from AFA ; and (2) that AFA will give solidarity support to the Asia-Africa Conference, especially in its fight against globalization.

X. Summary of Resolutions Made (1630-1700 hours)

The new AFA ExeCom members went back to the plenary hall ; it was apparent that they had not yet selected the new ExeCom officers. Ka Aning then asked the Secretariat to present the summary of resolutions made during the Business Meeting for final ratification and approval. Eleven resolutions were passed and approved. These were :


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XI. Oath-Taking and Turn-Over Ceremonies (1700-1730 hours) Ka Aning then called on the new AFA ExeCom officers to take their oath of office in front of the Assembly . He called on the AsiaDHRRA Chairperson, Mr. Soetrisno Kusumohadi to administer the oath. The oath read :

Summary of Resolutions Made February 14, 2004 1. RESOLVED, that the AFA Vision is affirmed and all other

additional suggestions will be studied by a committee. 2. RESOLVED, that the AFA Mission is affirmed. 3. RESOLVED, that the AFA Core Programs are affirmed. 4. RESOLVED, that the AFA Logo is affirmed with all other

additional suggestions to be studied by a committee. 5. RESOLVED, that the Asian Peasant Agenda is ratified. 6. RESOLVED, that the AFA Rice Campaign is ratified. 7. RESOLVED, that the AFA CBL is ratified. 8. RESOLVED, that the status of the following members are

ratified: Regular members: Sor Kor Por, API, PAKISAMA, KAFF TWADA Observer status: VNFU (pending government approval) BFA (pending GA of BFA) WAFF

9. RESOLVED, that the following ar4e designated regular members of the AFA Executive Committee a. SKP – Ms. Sudaporn Sittisathapornkul b. API – Mr. Tri Heru Wardoyo c. PAKISAMA- Mr. Vicente Fabe d. TWADA – Mr. Ming Fei Chen e. KAFF – Mr. Kim Dae Uk

10. RESOLVED, that AFA will expand to other countries like India and Bangladesh upon invitation from AFA

11. RESOLVED, that AFA will give solidarity support to the Asia –Africa Conference, especially in its fight against globalization.


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A simple turn-over ritual then occurred. The Interim and new ExeCom members stood infront of the Assembly. The Interim ExeCom, composed of Mr. Sang Jun, Mr. Kamnan and Ka Aning held an AFA banner and then gave it to the new ExeCom members. Sun, February 15, 2004 Host Team : API ( Indonesia) _____________________________________________________________________________ After breakfast , the participants assembled at the lobby. They left for Karawang, West Java, at around 7:30 A.M. The trip took 2 ½ hours. There in Karawang, the AFA Rice Campaign formally kicked-off with a rice forum , a rice festival and a dialog with rice farmers from the villages in Karawang. The delegates left the site at about 5:30 pm and arrived at the hotel past 10 pm.. On the way, they stopped at a local market selling souvenir items. Karawang district is known as the “rice Barn” of West Java; 53% of its total land area is devoted to paddy fields. Rice production in this district is greatly supported by the proper irrigation techniques . Several of the villages in Karawang were flooded. The roads to the site of the rice festival and dialogue were muddy and sometimes flooded ; forcing most of the participants to walk barefoot during the field visit . Forum Peka is the base member of API in Karawang. It was established in Sept 20, 1998 .

Oath Taking of AFA ExeCom Officers February 14, 2004 Depok, Indonesia I, _____, farmer-leader representative of _____, and Executive Committee member of the Asian Farmers’ Association for Sustainable Rural Development (AFA), will do my best to advance AFA’s Asian Peasant Agenda and promise to work with AFA for a better present and future of Asian farmers. May the spirits of Love, Truth, Peace and Justice guide and help me.


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Opening Remarks Head of Cilamaya Wetan Sub-District The head of the Cilamaya Wetan Sub-District welcomed the AFA delegates to Karawang. He said that the Karawang District has 25 sub-districts and 313 villages. The head of Cilamaya Wetan pointed out that the sub-district is the Rice Barn of West Java and has 2 kinds of rice varieties. One farmers group has rice areas of around 15 hectares. Their goal is productivity and self-sufficiency in rice production. But they have problems like the 40-60 centimeter floods that visit the area during heavy rains. He thanked the participants for coming, wished them a beneficial visit, and requested that they tell him the good and the bad things that they see. Welcome Remarks Head of Local Agriculture The representative of the Head of the Local Agriculture welcomed the AFA delegates and apologized that the Head himself cannot come. He said that 80% of the people in Karawang were farmers and the total land area is 85,000 hectares. The farmers were engaged in farming and fishpond activities. He added that the agricultural problems that they faced were: 1) lack of water during the dry season; and 2) pest and disease problems. He hoped for a fruitful discussion between the local farmers and the delegates from AFA Opening Remarks Esther Penunia, AsiaDHRRA Program Officer Esther introduced the topic of the forum by saying that year 2004 is the International Year of Rice (IYR), and that AFA members are in the Asian region which is the biggest rice-eating and rice-producing area in the whole world. She added that the International Year of Rice provides a good opportunity for AFA members to advocate, to their national governments and regional institutions for sustainable rice production and for rice trade policies that will cushion negative effects to small rice farmers. She said that AFA had decided to implement a sustainable rice campaign and that the forum served as a kick-off for this. Then she introduced Ms. Indrani, the resource person for the forum. I. Forum on “International Production and Trade Issues of the Rice Industry” (1100-1245 hours) Resource Person: Ms. Indrani Thuraisingham, from Malaysia, Executive Director, Southeast Asia Council on Food Security and Fair Trade. On SEACON


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Ms. Indrani gave a brief presentation of SEACON. She said that SEACON was established in 1996, when the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (UN-FAO) organized the World Food Summit in Rome. It was the southern voice to the World Food Summit, which was attended by governments from SEA She said that SEACON addresses the issue of how international and regional trade agreements impact on small scale food producers. It does researches for members doing advocacy. Ms. Indrani recounted that during 1998 and 1999 crisis, SEACON was one of those who argue that there was no need for the food aid from US and Japan that were being dumped in Indonesia. As a result, a fact-finding mission was sent to investigate in Indonesia to examine the claim that 2/3 of the world food production needed to be donated to Indonesia. She said that the finding was that there was no need for the food aid because there was enough food being produced by farmers, but these were not being distributed. Thus, they were able to convince FAO to change the statistics and stop the food aid just in time during the crisis. On Rice Production and Trade Issues Ms. Indrani stressed that rice production is a way of life in Asia, where 250 million farmers depend on rice cultivation. She added that 90% of the world’s rice is produced and consumed in Asia. In terms of rice consumption, the countries may be ranked from the highest to the lowest: China, India, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Thailand, Burma, Japan, and Philippines. In terms of rice production the countries may be ranked as follows: China, India, Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, and Philippines. China and India’s rice production are sufficient for local consumption. Thailand (1st), Vietnam (2nd), America (3rd), China (4th), Myanmar (10th), and Taiwan (14th) are rice-exporting countries, while Indonesia (1st), Philippines (8th), and Malaysia (9th) are rice-importing countries. Starting 1996 and 1997, there has been declining rice production across all countries. Indonesia produces and consumes the most, while Thailand is number one in export due to increased land for rice cultivation. And in other countries, farmers are shifting to fruits and other products. On Rice Trade Ms. Indrani pointed out that only 5% of rice production is traded among countries, while the rest is for domestic production. There is rice fluctuation due to insufficient production during monsoon season and bumper harvest during good harvest season. Thus, governments established mechanisms and policies to control the price of rice due to political reasons (for both farmers and consumers). There are government enterprises, like NFA in the Philippines and FMO in Thailand, that buy rice from farmers.


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But governments are now being asked to privatize these enterprises after joining the WTO. As private companies, they will no longer give support to farmers but will only be concerned with profit. As a reaction governments have put rice in the sensitive list of AFTA. But in 2010, governments can no longer give any support to the rice sector. On Rice Technology Issues Ms. Indrani pointed out that multinational corporations (like Monsanto, Syngenta, Bayer, and Dupont) that are providing pesticides and chemicals for production have also gone into seed production, which ties in the use of the seed with a particular pesticide or fertilizer, to force farmers to continue the use of chemicals. This was to counter the shift to organic farming and sustainable agriculture by more and more farmers. For example, there are now Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) like “Vitamin A Rice” in the Philippines. Many of these seeds are patented and the farmers have to buy them, but cannot sell them. It leads to dependency, while the environmental and health impacts of GM technology are still unclear. On the Food Aid Issue Ms. Indrani said that food aid from big countries like US and EU during times of crisis is used by these countries as an excuse to support their own agriculture. They use smaller countries as markets for their products. She added that many farmers who want to go to organic farming cannot get credit from banks, who provide money only for traditional farming that uses chemicals. Thus, big land owners and MNCs benefit from rice trade, not the small farmers. What We Can Demand from Our Governments Ms. Indrani said that the following can be demanded from government: 1. Maintain import quotas to protect the domestic rice industry, which the big countries want to remove under WTO rules; 2. Rice should be taken out of WTO because it is a staple food for 3.3 billion people in Asia; 3. Agriculture should still be subsidized; 4. Government intervention through price control agencies should continue, to ensure good price for farmers and affordable price for consumers; and, 5. Stop big companies from buying land from small farmers, which lead to their displacement and food insecurity. What Small Farmers Can Do


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She said that the following could be done: 1. Shift to alternative agriculture (organic farming, sustainable agriculture) and showcase them among Asian farmers; 2. AFA should do research and networking on international trade issues and impact studies; and, 3. Strengthen the farmers movement through farmers exchange and farmer-to-consumer linkages. Open Forum 1. What are the experiences of other countries on how they cope with the fluctuation of the price of rice? -- In the Philippines, PAKISAMA encourages its farmer members to go into diversified farming (crop, vegetables, livestock, etc.) so that they have other sources of income when there are fluctuations in the price of rice. It also pushes for a policy that the government should buy at least 10% of the total production of palay in the country during the harvest season. 2. How can farmers get compensation from big pesticide companies for the negative health effects of their products? -- There are documented cases of the negative health effects of pesticides on farmers that have been brought to the Human Rights Commission. There are no safety nets or occupational safety measures for farmers when they use these pesticides, which come into their countries in the form of investments. 3. What is the relationship between AFTA and GATT-WTO? -- AFTA facilitates the obligations of the member countries under WTO by opening up their regional markets first. It also has flexibilities to make exceptions for member countries when it involves issues of national security or crises situations, which is not possible under WTO. 4. How can AFA and SEACON work together? What can SEACON do for the AFA rice campaign? -- SEACON has members in 7 ASEAN countries. It is doing a research on the impact of AFTA on small rice producers in the 7 countries (to be finished in July 2004). It will also begin a one-year advocacy based on the research results and identify agricultural products where the member countries have potentials. -- SEACON will then advocate for safety nets for small farmers if the impacts are negative and recommend alternatives. AFA can work with SEACON members at the national and regional levels. SEACON is also part of a bigger network looking at the issue of rice seeds, which are being manipulated and traded by multinational companies.


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II. Organic Rice Festival (1300-1600 hours) Delegates from each AFA member country prepared various organic rice delicacies, explained the preparation and traditions associated with them, and shared the food with each other and the Karawang community (farmers, women, children, etc.) III. Dialogue between AFA delegates and Forum Peka members(1600-1730 hours) After the rice festival, a dialogue was held between the AFA delegates and the Karawang farmers. The Kamnan of Sor Kor Por (Thailand) spoke to the community about the situation of farmers in Thailand and their concern for sustainability in agriculture. He said that farmers in Thailand plant together, buy together, and sell together. One farmer asked about the experiences of other farmers from AFA member countries. He said that his income is very low, while production cost is very high. He wants to know how other farmers from other countries overcame this problem. Sang Jun of BFA (South Korea) replied that farmers in South Korea also suffer from low income from farming. He said that farmers get 50% of their income from agriculture and the other 50% from aquaculture and other sources. Maruchan of Ainokai (Japan) shared that in their agricultural high school, they teach children about the low input farming method – organic farming. She said that they had been using organic farming methods for 30 years to grow vegetables and rice. She added that it is very inexpensive because it uses local resources, while providing labor opportunities and healthy products to consumers. After the dialogue, representatives of AFA gave tokens of appreciation to Karawang farmer-leaders and posed for souvenir group photos. Mon, February 16, 2004 Host Team : TWADA (Taiwan) Moderator: Marlene Ramirez, Secretary –General, AsiaDHRRA __________________________________________________________________________ I. DIALOGUE BETWEEN the AFA Executive Committee and the ASIADHRRA Executive Committee (1000-1230 hours) To give the context of this dialogue, Marlene recalled that during the launching of AFA in May 2002 in Malaysia, the leaders of both AFA and AsiaDHRRA agreed to sustain a regular dialogue to ensure that the two organizations remain united towards a common goal of a more sustainable rural development and an empowered peasantry. She said that the objectives of this dialogue were (1) to get updated on each other’s priorities; (2) identify key areas for possible collaboration for 2004; and (3) assess the cooperation between AFA and AsiaDHRRA in 2003.


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AFA made the first presentation: Ming Fei Chen presented the 8-point peasant agenda while Heru enumerated the 11 resolutions passed during the GA . In behalf of Dae Uk Kim, Shin Chang Keun presented the AFA Rice Campaign. Then, Ms. Sudaporn presented the assessment of partnership between AFA and AsiaDHRRA. She said that AFA hopes to have more time to do advocacy work at the regional level and implement farmers’ exchanges. She also expressed hope that AsiaDHRRA can furnish AFA financial reports of the projects implemented jointly (See Annex 15: Assessment of Partnership). Heru also said that AFA will work for its full independence by at the latest three years from now. On the part of AsiaDHRRA, Mr. Soetrisno and Dr Yatani presented AsiaDHRRA’s Thrusts and Priorities in the next 10 years. He explained that AsiaDHRRA have four major thrusts for 2004: leadership in globalization, DHRRA Organizational Development, Presence in SEA region and Partnership Building. He said that as a development partner, AsiaDHRRA makes the following commitments : (a) improve member DHRRA’s capacity; (b) assist in the organizational development of member DHRRA; (c) continue to look for potential members of AFA in the region; and (4) continue to provide effective secretariat to AFA. He stated that areas for future AFA-AsiaDHRRA cooperation included (a) continuing joint implementation of the Agriterra project; (b) project to project cooperation like the 2004 Rice Campaign proposal and (3) continue to support AFA as needed (See Annex 16: AsiaDHRRA Presentation during AFA-AsiaDHRRA Dialogue). Open Forum The following comments and suggestions were raised during the dialogue: 1. Kamnan (Sor Kor Por) said that exchanges and dialogue between ThaiDHRRA and Sor Kor Por will be better facilitated if they are coordinated by someone who has a background or better understanding of Sor Kor Por. 2. Ka Aning (PAKISAMA) expressed appreciation and trust that AsiaDHRRA’s respect for the autonomy and decision of AFA is being, and will continue to be, observed. He also emphasized the importance of continuity in leadership and membership representation so that learnings and skills transfer will have more impact. He added that issues in each sub-region should also be addressed and not just the issues that are common to all of AFA (e.g., Land Reform issue in Southeast Asia). 3. Sang Jun (BFA) asked what should be the role of AsiaDHRRA and AFA in issues like continuity of leadership in AFA . He said the role of DHRRA should be to collect information or technology and use them to support AFA, and that members should therefore include university teachers or professionals who can provide technical background and support. Also, to have continuity in AFA, he suggested that there should be one staff regularly assisting the representative, whoever he or she may be. 4. Soetrisno (AsiaDHRRA) asked clarification on the AFA resolution to expand to other countries like India and Bangladesh and what the considerations were behind this resolution. He also asked what AFA means by independence. He said that he trusts the leadership of AFA can make decisions without regard for self-interest, but with the common objectives of AFA as the main consideration. He suggested that the AFA ExeCom should identify the roles and objectives of AFA in the future as main considerations for choosing its new set of leaders. He also suggested that


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there be a steering committee composed of AFA and AsiaDHRRA Execom that will hold dialogues annually on future directions. 5. Nurudin (API) replied that the AFA resolution was proposed by API based on social and anthropological perspectives (e.g., India is one of the biggest and oldest civilizations in Asia).He said that the original proposal for the resolution also included an invitation for China, but it was dropped in consideration of Taiwan. He added that in the future, AFA could also invite countries from Middle Asia. 6. Paw (Sor Kor Por) stressed that the relationship between AFA and AsiaDHRRA is very important and that they should continue to work together. But she said that the partnership should be equal and decisions made by individual members based on their individual concerns could lead to problems in the future. She added that the AFA ExeCom should be able to make its own decisions and implement its own activities 7. Maruchan (Aino Kai) said that she was impressed about this activity of AsiaDHRRA, which has been working with farmers for the last 30 years. She said that Aino Kai has also been involved in organic agriculture for the last 50 years. However, she expressed concern about the different ideas and directions of each AFA member and how AFA could work together with this reality. She hoped that AsiaDHRRA can support AFA until it reaches fulll maturity as an organization with shared directions. She added that the success of AFA as an organization depends a lot on personal friendship and trust among the members. 8. Marlene (AsiaDHRRA) assured AFA that its spin-off as an independent organization will continue to be discussed and supported in the next 3 years. She affirmed AFA’s independence and autonomy and said that AsiaDHRRA will look at the operationalization of the steering committee to address the concerns raised about AFA’s independence and its relationship with AsiaDHRRA. She reminded AFA that there will be future FEVs and there is already a pending proposal at ASEAN for this. She also recognized the need for more time for regional advocacy and for AsiaDHRRA to help AFA become more prominent in its regional advocacy. Finally, she affirmed AsiaDHRRA’s commitment to transparency. Fund status reports and financial statements will be presented by AsiaDHRRA for joint projects, and financial report with external auditor will be submitted to Agritera and presented to AFA. 9. Kim (KAFF) thanked all those who were involved in the establishment of AFA for their efforts. He said that AFA can have one direction, but each country may have its own specific concerns. He stressed that members should continue to work within their own countries and bring their experiences to share within AFA. Closing Statements To put the dialogue to a close each member from the AFA ExeCom and the AsiaDHRRA ExeCom gave brief closing statements. 1. Heru (API) encouraged AFA members to “continue to strengthen our solidarity as farmers coming from one region.” He reminded everyone that Asia is a great civilization in the world, but there are now so many problems like poverty, which Asians have to solve as one people.


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2. Kim (KAFF) led the five other delegates from South Korea in joining and raising their hands and saying, “One Asian farmer under AFA leadership”. 3. Ka Vic (PAKISAMA) stressed that “we can succeed in our peasant agenda through our collective decisions and actions.” 4. Paw (Sor Kor Por) said that “we cannot stand without our friends” and that “we should cooperate for the sake of the Asian farmers.” 5. Ming Fei (TWADA) hoped to “see the increase in income of our farmers and continue to share activities among AFA members”. 6. Dr. Yatani (ASIADHRRA) said that “our spirit should be one and we should cooperate based on mutual trust, for the development of human resources in the rural areas in each country and the whole of Asia.” He added that “we can communicate and help each other on how to face the complex problems of globalization.” 7. Marlene (ASIADHRRA) thanked the interim Exe Com, especially Ka Aning, who served as interim Chair. 8. Soetrisno (ASIADHRRA) said that “the role of the interim was to prepare the land and to plant the seeds; it was a very important step that should always be remembered.” II. Dialogue with the Southeast Asia Committee on Advocacy (SEACA) (1400-1530 hours)

Mr. Farid Mohammad gave a brief introduction of SEACA, which was established formally in the Philippines in 1999. He said SEACA started with the Asia-Europe meeting and is committed to provide fund for Asian NGOs so that they can work out their agenda. Its organizational structure is similar to AFA. The Board of SEACA is composed of representatives from each regional organization and 2 national NGOs and it convenes once a year. It has an Executive Committee composed of one of the 2 national NGOs and one regional NGO representative. The Regional Coordinator is selected and manages the daily operations of SEACA. At present it is Ms. Daphne Villanueva. SEACA’s members come from Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, East Timor, Cambodia, Myanmar, and Vietnam. It is composed of national and regional NGOs like AsiaDHRRA, Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (Forum Asia), Asian Committee for Housing Rights (ACHR), and ASCEND (women’s rights group). The mandate of SEACA is to empower NGOs/POs/CSOs in order for them to be able to undertake effective advocacy work and to provide grant for capacity building to be disbursed to NGOs at the regional and national levels. At present SEACA has 3 schemes: funding for regional programs; funding for national programs; and, regional proactive programs designed by SEACA itself. It also raises funds from international sources.


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At this point, Marlene added that SEACA has a mandate to build capacities of NGOs to do advocacy work at the regional and local levels. It is reaching out to grassroots levels/ people’s organizations. It is also building capacity to do advocacy on certain themes: human rights, women’s rights, etc. The 2 representatives from each country are expected to bring in a larger number of NGOs. There are different themes for each country (Vietnam: Ho Chi Minh, Hanoi – health & women’s rights). It is 5-year program ending in April 2005. Open Forum 1. What are the other issues being advocated by SEACA aside from human rights and women’s rights? (Ka Vic of PAKISAMA) -- SEACA does not directly go into advocacy work but merely supports and capacitates its members to do so. Its advocacy themes in the past were human rights, women’s rights, peasants, and housing rights. They created SEACA-Yogyakarta for the different initiatives and programs by members. The steps in SEACA’s advocacy are: 1) identification of policies that will have impact for affected communities; 2) organizing the communities and mobilizing them to demand the policies from government; and, 3) drafting the policies with the help of people from the academe. The possible areas of cooperation are: 1) Food Security Issue and Peasants’ Rights; and, 2) Access programs of SEACA as AFA regional body and also through national programs of AFA members. 2. Who are the members of SEACA in the countries mentioned? (Paw of Sor Kor Por) -- Philippines: CO-Multiversity, Institute for Popular Democracy (IPD) -- Indonesia: Bina Swadaya, Samin Foundation -- Thailand: Supinya (Women’s NGOs), Buntan (Peasant’s Group) -- Cambodia: Star Kampuchea (through Silaka) -- Vietnam: 2 groups focused on HIV -- 2 organizations based in the Burma-Thai border -- Malaysia: Komas, Toni Kasim (representing women’s groups) 3. What are SEACA’s policies on peasants, especially peasants in Indonesia? (API) -- SEACA is just a mechanism, a quasi-organization, as such it has no mandate to carry out or develop its regional advocacy. The NGO members of SEACA are the ones who carry out the advocacy work. It is difficult to respond to this question because SEACA has no program on this. So this is a good opportunity for us if AFA can access SEACA funds, submit proposals on their programs, and AFA to do advocacy for the betterment of Asian farmers. 4. How can SEACA help in advocacy work for peasant rights? (API)


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-- AFA is invited to access the programs of SEACA as a regional organization and also its members as national organizations. III. Launching of AFA-AsiaDHRRA Book (1530-1600 hours) Esther announced that a book had just been published jointly by AFA and AsiaDHRRA, in time for the GA. She said that the book , entitled : Shaping the Asian Peasant Agenda : Solidarity Building Towards Sustainable Rural Development in Asian Rural Communities” contained all the country reports and the papers presented during the AFA sub-regional conferences in 2003. The AFA Interim ExeCom first decided to publish this book during its August meeting in Taiwan. Then, she called on Soetrisno and Ka Aning to read the foreword of the book. After reading the foreword, the AsiaDHRRA secretariat distributed ten copies of the book to each of the organizations present. The participants browsed the contents of the book. IV. Evaluation (1630-1700 hours) Esther asked the participants to fill out the evaluation form. Then, she asked each farmer-delegate to say a few words or sentences that tell about how they feel or what they appreciated most from this GA. The following were said during the evaluation : 1. Sour Som / FNN (Cambodia) - I learned a lot from this GA, especially about how to network and cooperate. - I hope to participate again in the future. - I learned a lot from the experiences and sharing of representatives from other countries. 2. Mr. Ahmad/ DHRRA Malaysia - Very happy about the GA, especially with the participants. - Suggestion for more activity with village people. 3. Mr. Somli, Kamnan, and Paw / Sor Kor Por (Thailand) - Thanks to AsiaDHRRA and the delegates - WE are very happy with the work that you do - We want to remember and take something home when we go back to Thailand 4. Ka Aning, Ka Vic /PAKISAMA (Philippines) - Thanks to the AFA secretariat, to AsiaDHRRA, and to everyone - This GA is a very significant event and would not have succeeded without the support of everyone. This is a successful and done in a democratic form. - We can succeed in all our activities if we are always united. 5. Ming Fei, Amy, Yung Fu /TWADA (Taiwan) - We are happy to share experiences with other AFA members - This is just the beginning of our working together 6. Vang/Integrated Farmers’ Group (Laos) - I got many ideas and experiences


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- I hope that in the future, more farmer organizations will participate in this movement 7. delegates from API (Indonesia) - Let us always unite and fight for the rights of the peasants 8. Thi Ma, Do Thi Chien/ VNFU (Vietnam) - Thanks to AFA for the invitation - We are very satisfied with the GA - There was active participation from all the delegates - We learned a lot about AFA. - We also had a chance to meet with farmer organizations from Korea and Taiwan. - We hope that in the future, AFA will develop more and have more members and help farmers

in the midst of globalization. 9. Sang Jun/BFA, Dae Uk Kim/KAFF, Kang/WAFF ( South Korea) - I wish that all farmers under AFA, as well as all Asian farmers, will become rich 10. Maruchan /Ainokai (Japan) - I am very happy to join this meeting with Asian countries. - There are so many things to learn and this is a good chance to understand the Asian situation. - I learned that developed countries like Japan have many bad effects because of modernization

and capitalistic enterprises. - We hope that more young Japanese will understand the Asian rural situation and work for the

good of the communities.

V. Closing/Solidarity Night (1900-2200 hours) Moderators: Amy (TWADA/Taiwan) and Erfan ( API/Indonesia) The closing activity cum solidarity night started with dinner at the lobby near the conference room. After dinner, all participants and guests went inside the conference room for the closing program. Esther perked the audience by saying that the participants had reasons to celebrate because the AFA GA was fruitful and had achieved a lot. The Assembly ratified the Asian Peasant Agenda, AFA Constitution and By Laws, Vision-Mission-Goals-Programs, logo and 11 resolutions. A new set of AFA ExeCom members and officers were designated, and the new officers were : Tri Heru Wardoyo of API as Chairperson and Ms. Sudaporn Sittisathapornkul of Sor Kor Por as Vice Chair. During the GA, three things were launched: AFA Rice Campaign, AFA website, and AFA book. She said that however, corrections had still to be made in the book because Soetrisno’s name is not included in the list of participants when it should be. She promised that the corrections will be made in the other 400 copies still to be distributed . Afterwards, the following delivered their closing remarks : Nuruddin for API, Soetrisno for AsiaDHRRA, Dwi for Sekretariat Bina Desa, Paw in behalf of the AFA GA delegates and Heru for


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the new AFA ExeCom. Plaques of appreciation were awarded to (1) the AFA Interim ExeCom: Ka Aning, Sang Jun , Kamnan, Indra and Tuyet ; and (2) local hosts API and Sekretariat Bina Desa. Then, each country delegation presented one or two cultural numbers: a song, dance, poem or short skit/ play. In-between, participants danced traditional Asian dances on the floor to the music performed by the music and dance group from API members from Cianjur, West Java. Tue, February 17, 2004 The participants took their flights back to their respective countries.

- END -

first AFA GA proceedings FINAL - Asiadhrra Bumi Wiyata, Depok, Indonesia February 11-17, 2004 Prepared by : Mr. Marciano Virola, Jr. Information Officer, PhilDHRRA and Ms. Esther A.

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