About WORA 2008: NO TO GE RICE IN ASIA

A. INTRODUCTION

1. Background of Proposed Activities

The success of PAN AP’s Week of Rice Action 2007 has shown Asia’s solidarity in saving its rice heritage. It was an enormously unifying and rich experience for the million-plus people who participated in it. As a forerunner, WORA 2007 took upon itself all issues pertaining to rice to raise overall awareness of the threats. Namely these were (1) Asserting the food sovereignty of small rice farmers (2) Resisting corporate globalisation (3) Reclaiming our Rice, Resisting IRRI and last but not least, (4) Saying No to GE Rice. It is this last and most aggressive threat to rice that we take up in WORA 2008. Banning GE Rice from Asia is one of the calls in WORA 2007’s People’s Statement on Saving the Rice of Asia (hereinafter called the People’s Statement) which successfully garnered 1,124,304 signatures from across Asia from end March to end October 2007.

2. Theme of WORA 2008: “NO TO GE RICE IN ASIA”

Rice is Asia’s main staple food and the basis of much of its biological, geographical, social, religious and cultural heritage and diversity. The enormous threat of commercialised GE Rice looms on the horizon while GE rice field trials in certain parts of Asia already threaten to contaminate our local rice varieties and enter our food chain. GE rice threatens and affronts all the Pillars of Rice Wisdom. It robs us of our cultural heritage of traditional local varieties. It dismisses and uproots community wisdom and biodiversity based ecological agriculture. It threatens the safety and health of humans, animals and the environment; and being corporate-propagated, it tramples underfoot the food sovereignty of small rice farmers and rice consumers. This theme is in keeping with the People’s Statement of WORA 2007.

GE Rice is the epitome of corporate control over agriculture, akin to a scourge that once unleashed upon Asia, will plague it forever.

3. Proposal

In the light of this aggressive and imminent threat of GE Rice to Asia’s rice culture and heritage, it is imperative that civil society movements continue a focused campaign against GE rice. It is something that cannot be allowed in Asia either as field trials, a commercial crop, or food products in whole or in part.

The 2006/2007 fiasco involving Liberty Link (LL) rice shows how dangerous even field trials of GE crops can be.

It is time the grassroots of society – in both villages and towns – took action to assert their right to safe food and safe lands, and send a strong and clear message to their local governments and world bodies that Asia is violently opposed to GE Rice.

B. OBJECTIVES

The overall objective is keep Asia free of GE rice in any form while promoting the people’s alternative of biodiversity based ecological agriculture of rice.

Sub-objectives thus include:

1. To lobby local governments and world bodies to ban GE rice from local ground and Asia. To use the People’s Statement on Saving the Rice of Asia to support such policy advocacy action.

2. To oppose research, testing and field trials of GE Rice in Asia.

3. To lobby against national “biotechnology” policies and education (especially in local universities and research institutions) which actually promote genetic engineering of crops including rice.

4. To declare GE-free zones at the local level as an assertion of the people’s right to safe food and safe lands.

5. To lobby against national and international laws which allow intellectual property rights on rice genetic resources.

6. To lobby against free trade, bilateral and other such agreements which allow the free importation of rice from developed countries like the US.

7. To educate the public and create a strong resistance of GE crops in general and GE Rice in particular – targeting farmers, women, consumers and other relevant sectors.

8. To destroy the myths of GE Rice and highlight its dangers. To thwart the justifications used by agri-businesses in promoting GE crops.

9. To promote the success of farmers’ wisdom – traditional knowledge and biodiversity-based ecological agriculture – as a basis for people-centred economic development, and the first and best choice in agriculture. To further aid and promote sustainable livelihood, development and independence of rice farming communities.

10. To recognize, protect and revive the role of women in biodiversity-based ecological rice cultivation (for example, as the custodians of seeds) which has been diminished and/or removed by patriarchy and corporate agriculture.

11. To instill in young men and women, a strong understanding and appreciation of rice culture and community wisdom in the context of personal and community values, spirituality and the meaning of life. To encourage and nurture young rice farmers.

12. To encourage the young to take a strong stand on GE issues in society.

13. To oppose IRRI and other such research institutions which promote GE rice and the giving away of rice germplasm to corporations.

14. To build partnerships and solidarity with other grassroots and civil society groups namely, consumers, youth, women, government to keep GE rice out of Asia. To use the People’s Statement for campaigning and solidarity building.

C. CAMPAIGN PLAN

1. The Week of Rice Action 2008 will consist of diverse forms of educational, informative, awareness-raising activities and campaign drives – conducted concertedly in all WORA countries during WORA. Individual countries may, however, start earlier to cover as much homeground as possible. The types of activities would basically include:

o Forums and workshops/seminars

o Dialogues with academia, policy-makers, consumer groups, etc.

o Media campaigns

o Information drives

o Lobbying and advocacy

o Declaration of GE-free zones

o Boycotts

o Rice and organic product trade fairs

o Rallies, demonstrations and assemblies

o Cultural festivals/revivals

o Other mobilization activities

As far as possible, participating organisations will attempt to declare GE-Free Zones or organise other events to assert the people’s rights in opposing GE rice/food/crops in their respective localities and countries. The million over signatures collected for People’s Statement will be used to support such actions.

2. The Week of Rice Action will be from 2 – 8 April 2008.

3. The content shall be primarily focused on the threat of GE Rice and the promotion of Biodiversity Based Ecological Rice Cultivation.

Participating countries are encouraged to include the following in their programme content:

o Destroying the myths of GE Crops and GE Rice

o The risks of GE Rice and GE Crops

o The role and agendas of agro-chemical TNCs in promoting GE Crops

o Best alternatives to GE Rice/Crops (traditional knowledge, ecological agriculture, agro-biodiversity, etc.).

o Asserting the people’s right to Safe Food and Food Sovereignty, and to oppose GE Rice, using the People’s Statement as a point of reference and policy advocacy and campaigning tool as appropriate.

4. Coordinated activities are encouraged to support intra- and inter-country activities to strengthen solidarity. The exchange of print and multimedia information is also encouraged.

5. Special attention is to be paid to educational and promotional literature, e-publications, audio-visual channels of communication, and (local and international) media coverage.

6. Strong media projection is required for maximum impact.

7. As far as possible, events should be multi-sectoral; involve a cross-section of all ages, and ensure 50% or more participation of women. WORA 2008 will pay special attention to Youth (teenagers to those in their early twenties), rural women, consumers and policy-makers while maintaining continuous focus on the grassroots.

8. Events should be innovative and effective in delivering their messages and purposes to different target audiences.

9. Events should involve the widest public participation possible.

10. The campaign will be conducted in 13 countries in Asia, to be led and organised by PAN AP network partners in those countries.

11. A culmination event will be the highlight of regional WORA.