Year of Rice Action 2009-2010

YEAR OF RICE ACTION 2009-2010

"RICE FOR LIFE AND LIVELIHOOD"

 

 

A. INTRODUCTION


1. Background to YORA


The Save Our Rice Campaign was launched in 2003 by PAN AP with its network partners in Asia in recognition of the critical role of rice, the staple food of half its population and thus, the world's most important and political crop. The foundation of the Campaign is the "Five Pillars of Rice Wisdom": (1) Rice Culture, (2) Community Wisdom, (3) Biodiversity-based Ecological Agriculture, (4) Safe Food and (5) Food Sovereignty. The Campaign is dedicated to saving traditional local rice, small rice farmers, rice lands and the rice heritage of Asia through defending and advancing the cultural and food sovereignty of the grassroots and opposing the powerful threats to rice. From a network of a handful of countries when it was first launched, the Campaign has grown to 14 countries in Asia and is led by the Rice Advisory Council, made up of representatives from grassroots organizations in each of those countries. In its first five years, the Campaign has successfully promoted the Five Pillars of Rice Wisdom and strongly confronted the threats to Asia's rice heritage.


This success has been due in no small way to a regional sub-campaign called the Week of Rice Action (WORA) which was launched in 2007. From 29 March to 4 April 2007, over a million people from all walks of life in 13 countries in Asia participated in a slew of activities to "Celebrate and Protect Rice Culture", the theme of WORA 2007. WORA 2007 in turn launched a signature campaign on The People's Statement on Saving the Rice of Asia and collected 1,124,304 signatures across the continent in just seven months. (The Statement made 10 calls to decision-makers of food and agricultural policies in Asia and is available at www.panap.net.) As a forerunner, WORA 2007 took upon itself all the key issues pertaining to rice to raise overall awareness of the threats. Namely, the issues were: (1) Asserting the food sovereignty of small rice farmers, (2) Resisting corporate globalization, (3) Resisting IRRI (the International Rice Research Institute), and last but not least, (4) Saying No to GE (Genetically Engineered) Rice.


The last and most aggressive threat to rice was taken up in WORA 2008 which carried the theme "No to GE Rice in Asia". Banning GE Rice from Asia was one of the ten calls in the WORA 2007 People's Statement on Saving the Rice of Asia. WORA 2008, held from 2 - 8 April 2008 was similarly successful as its predecessor, WORA 2007, also being organized in 13 Asian countries. The dates for WORA 2008 were set to capture 8 April as the "People's No GE Day". The new features of WORA 2008 were the establishment of GE-free zones, a special outreach to youth, and advanced media links.


WORA 2007 and 2008 have collectively created an unprecedented public platform to save Asia's rice heritage. They have established regional solidarity across sectors and garnered the support of the grassroots, consumers, academicians, and policy-makers as no other rice campaign has done before. The two WORAs have been the springboard for effective local and regional networking, public awareness building, lobbying, and policy advocacy.


In spite of the success of WORA, the threats to rice have suddenly taken on new proportions, namely due to two main developments. Increasing climate change impacts have severely impacted rural rice communities and rice production and have been used, especially by IRRI, as justification to promote GE rice as the solution. However, this became subsumed into the larger challenge of a Rice Crisis in Asia which reared its ugly head in the first half of 2008, part of what soon became recognized as a global Food Crisis. Hungry and angry people, mainly the poor, took to the streets in mass protests in several countries. No viable solution by world bodies and governments has yet been found. The Rice Advisory Council thus decided to expand WORA to YORA - the Year of Rice Action - so as to give the countries an extended time frame to address these growing threats to rice.


2. Theme of YORA 2009-2010: "RICE FOR LIFE AND LIVELIHOOD"


Rice is Asia's main staple food and central to the Asian way of life; its culture, spirituality, customs and traditions. The small rice farmers of Asia sustained the people for countless centuries until the advent of the Green Revolution which was followed by other destructive forces like the Agreement on Agriculture, TRIPs and TRIPs Plus, trade liberalization, and commodity market speculation. The result is that rural rice farming communities have been plunged into a vicious cycle of debt, bankruptcy, deprivation and abject poverty while developing Asian nations have lost their food sovereignty. Add agrofuels, climate change impacts and the blind pursuit of so-called national "development" and you get the recipe for the current Rice/Food Crisis which was just a disaster waiting to happen.


In a nutshell, the global food crisis is the cumulative effect of the people being steadily robbed of their practices, resources and infrastructures that made it possible for them to practise agriculture in a way that was holistic, wholesome, sustainable, and in harmony with their rich, diverse and living cultures.


Thus the issue of survival, indeed life itself, and livelihood are the central issues for not only small rice communties struggling to stay afloat, but all the poor today. How shall they eat? How shall they live? How shall they be redeemed from their poverty? Over and above the basic issue of food sufficiency is the over-arching issue of the food sovereignty of rice farmers, rice consumers and Asian nations. Do small rice farmers have rights to the land they till? Can they grow rice in they way they choose to? Will they ever have the quality of life they deserve? Is the rice we feed our children safe to eat? Will Asian nations reclaim their food sovereignty and be willing to implement genuine agarian reform? All these burning issues are encompassed in the main theme of YORA: "Rice for Life and Livelihood" which will promote the people's solutions to the Rice Crisis namely, through the Five Pillars of Rice Wisdom, in particular, Biodiversity Based Ecological Agriculture.


Central to this is the role of the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) which was largely responsible for the Green Revolution in rice cultivation. Publicly heralded as the saviour of rice, nothing could be further from the truth. IRRI is central to the destruction of the Five Pillars of Rice Wisdom, Asia's rice heritage. In response to the Rice Crisis, it has come out strongly to recommend a "Second Green Revolution" namely, the "Gene Revolution" which involves genetic engineering. IRRI has further victimized rural rice farming communities directly in the Philippines by grabbing their lands and been responsible for the poisoning of its ex-workers at its trial farms in the country. NGOs have for years called for the accountability and closure of IRRI which turns 50 on 4 April 2010. This is why YORA will incorporate action on IRRI and will culminate on 4 April 2010 with a rally in the Philippines with the theme: "50 Years of IRRI is Enough!"


3. Proposal


In the light of the present crisis which encompasses all the threats to rice, an extended and enlarged campaign is necessary. Building upon the significant ground and allies gained from previous WORAs, YORA will take on the full gamut of issues related to the Rice Crisis and run from April 2009 to April 2010 in 14 countries across Asia. Activities will be held in different countries every month, culminating in the Philippines where IRRI is based in 2010.


B. GOALS AND OBJECTIVES


The overall goal of YORA is to assert the food sovereignty of small rice farmers and rice consumers particularly in terms of their rights to safe and sufficient rice/food, essential living and production resources, and sustainable livelihoods.


The objectives of YORA are:

  1. To promote the Five Pillars of Rice Wisdom, particularly biodiversity based ecological agriculture (BEA) of rice to meet critical challenges namely, the rice/food shortage, worsening impoverishment of small rice farmers, and climate change.
  2. To raise awareness and build public solidarity to confront the root causes of and institutions behind the Rice/Food Crisis and the threats to Asia's rice heritage.
  3. To raise awareness of the threats to the rights of rice farming communities and rice consumers in the Asia Pacific region namely to safe food/rice, production resources, and sustainable livelihoods, and to mobilize people to defend these rights.
  4. To raise public awareness of the danger posed by IRRI to Asia and organize activities to confront IRRI on its activities, policies and technologies.
  5. To advocate a farmer-centred framework for public research on rice.
  6. To prevent the incursion of GE Rice into the Asia Pacific region.
  7. To build regional and national partnerships and solidarity with other grassroots movements, civil society groups, and different sectors of society including policy-makers to address the goals of YORA. To use the People's Statement for further campaigning and solidarity building.


C. YORA PLAN


  1. Theme: RICE FOR LIFE AND LIVELIHOOD
  2. Duration: One year from 4 April 2009 to 4 April 2010. Activities for local YORA events will begin in April 2009 and end in March 2010. There should be no more local YORA activities in April 2010 (except for the regional culmination in the Philippines, see 4 below).
  3. Regional Launch on 4 April 2009: Venue to be determined
  4. Regional Culmination on 4 April 2010: Manila / Los Banos, the Philippines. All YORA Anchor Organizations will be invited to attend this.
  5. Countries: Malaysia, Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Korea, Japan, China, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, India, and Sri Lanka
  6. Modus Operandi: Local YORA activities in the respective countries will be coordinated by an Anchor Organization/s in each country (listed in Section E). These Anchor Organizations will in turn work with other local groups on local YORA activities. YORA activities will be held in a few countries every YORA month. Each Anchor Organization is required to organize a few different activities for YORA, preferably held in different months of YORA (between April 2009 and March 2010). PAN AP will manage the overall YORA Calendar in collaboration with the Anchor Organizations.
  7. Issues to be Tackled
    YORA partners in the 14 YORA countries will focus on the main issue and a number of subsidiary ones relevant to their local situation.

    Main Issue Addressed by All YORA Countries


    a. The Rice Crisis: Causes of the food/rice crisis and promoting biodiversity based ecological agriculture (BEA) of rice for safe food, food self-sufficiency, and sustainable living circumstances and livelihoods.


    Plus Any of the Issues Below to be Taken Up by Different YORA Countries


    b. IRRI – challenging IRRI’s policies, actions and technologies and calling for its closure with the theme: “50 Years of IRRI is Enough!”


    c. Climate Change and Rice – understanding CC, impacts on rice farming communities, adaptive capacities, using BEA and traditional local rice varieties to build coping and adaptive capacities, developing bio-friendly energy sources e.g., biogas digesters for villages, etc.


    d. GE Rice – understanding the dangers of GE crops/rice (health, environment, contamination of traditional local rice varieties from GE rice field trials, enforcement of intellectual property rights on GE seeds), preventing/stopping field trials of GE crops/rice, understanding biosafety protocols (the Cartegena Protocol), understanding labelling laws (Codex Alimentarius), advocacy for national labelling and biosafety laws, asserting consumer rights to safe food and safe environments, etc.


    e. Rice Lands – farmers’/peasants’ rights to land, landlessness, land grabbing, conversion of rice lands to special economic zones (SEZs) / agrofuel plantations / etc., violations of indigenous / customary land rights to land for rice, etc.


    f. Rice Seeds – farmers’ rights to save, use and exchange traditional local rice varieties, protection of local rice genetic resources, conservation of traditional local rice varieties, analysing and opposing restrictive seed laws, understanding and opposing intellectual property rights (IPRs) on rice varieties, role of women as the custodians of seeds, contamination threat of GE rice field trials to traditional local rice varieties, etc.


  8. General Strategies and Activities

    8.1 Due to the magnitude of YORA in terms of scale and scope, PAN AP and its network partners take YORA planning very seriously.


    Each Anchor Organization will plan for a few activities preferably held in different months of YORA (from April 2009 to March 2010). (For example, one in May 2009, another in November 2009 and one more in January 2010).


    Each Anchor Organization will submit their proposed YORA Plan to PAN AP for discussion and agreement months in advance of YORA.


    Anchor Organizations should take advantage of significant dates e.g., local rice festivals, The People’s No GE Day (8 April), World Foodless Day (16 October), No Pesticides Day (3 December) and so on.


    Based on country inputs, PAN AP will coordinate the calendar so that there will be activities for every month of YORA. A YORA Calendar will be prepared and put up on the YORA page at www.panap.net.


    8.2 A combination of campaign strategies will be employed across the different countries during the duration of YORA across a range of issues.

    • Organizing public forums to educate the public on the YORA issues listed above.
    • Organizing mass mobilisation activities – rallies, demonstrations, assemblies, marches, boycotts, etc. to rally people together to address YORA issues in different ways.
    • Organizing celebrations, festivals (e.g. music or drama), shows, etc. especially on auspicious dates to draw the crowds, increase awareness of the Five Pillars of Rice Wisdom in the local and regional context, and build solidarity.
    • Organizing workshops to build BEA capacities to improve livelihoods, increase sustainability, cope with climate change impacts, etc.
    • Highlighting the IAASTD report which recommends small farming as a sustainable model of agriculture for the world.
    • Organizing forums on IRRI to spread awareness of the dangers of IRRI’s policies, activities and technologies.
    • Lobbying local governments to adopt genuine agrarian reform and BEA, prevent IPRs on local rice genetic resources, prevent GE field trials, etc. as may be relevant to the local situation.
    • Lobbying against national “biotechnology” policies and education (especially in local universities and research institutions) which promote genetic engineering of crops including rice.
    • Declaring GE-free zones at the local level as an assertion of the people’s right to safe food, safe lands, and the preservation/protection of local rice genetic resources.
    • Lobbying against free trade agreements, bilateral agreements, and other such instruments which benefit rich rice producers and annihilate domestic rice producers.
    • Highlighting and supporting local struggles over rice lands and violations of the people’s rights to resources.
    • Highlighting the role of women in managing sustainable rice farms and conserving seeds.
    • Using the People’s Statement on Saving the Rice of Asia to support policy advocacy action.
    • Mass distribution of information materials, and usage of other communication media such as banners, posters, sending sms, etc.
    • Declaration of a local Day of Rice e.g., the People’s Day of Rice for Sri Lanka on a relevant date chosen by local groups


  9. Outreach

    Local YORA events should involve the widest public participation possible.

    Outreach to ALL sectors of society is imperative as Rice is Life for All. It binds Asia together, so Asians should stand together to save their rice.


    The important sectors are as follows:

    • Small rice farmers, rural rice communities, agricultural workers, indigenous communities who rely on rice, and rural women are the most vulnerable groups in the Rice Crisis – their very existence is at stake. There should be at least 50% women’s participation in all YORA activities.
    • Rice consumers - rice consumers are integral partners in saving the rice of Asia and tackling the food crisis. They play a very critical role in lobbying governments on ensuring food safety, food security, food self-sufficiency, and compliance with food laws. As customers, their rejection of hazardous food such as GE rice is vital to preventing its entry into the different countries. Similarly, their demand for ecologically grown or organic rice is required to create and secure a viable market for small rice farmers. Besides linking with consumer groups and households, doctors, lawyers and teachers are particularly influential groups which should be educated and co-opted as partners of the campaign.
    • Policy-Makers: Governments need to be held accountable for their decisions and actions. They need to be educated, dialogued with, helped and confronted so that they can make the right decisions, and avoid or undo wrong ones.
    • Scientists, academicians, and local research institutions: This group has great influence over policy-makers as such ‘experts’ are seen as ‘the authority’ in terms of specialist knowledge. However, many of them are proponents of agribusinesses which often fund their research while others naively believe that science is neutral. They need to be persuaded otherwise with hard facts and co-opted to support the campaign and resist destructive and dangerous technologies.
    • Youth - many of our rice farmers are old and there is a declining number of young farmers. If there are no young farmers, how will Rice Culture and Small Ecological Rice Farms be sustained? We need to encourage young farmers. As for consumers, the young need to be educated now as they are the consumers of tomorrow. They need to learn to make discerning and wise choices today. We need to tap the vitality of the young and win their minds and hearts as they are Asia’s future.
    • Local NGOs, CSOs, and movements that support the principles of YORA - Unity is strength and as Rice unites Asia, YORA Anchor Organizations should work with and involve a wide local network to achieve maximum solidarity, outreach and impact.


  10. Media Strategy
    • Of particular importance is our outreach to the media and our partnership with them. Whether newspapers, radio or TV, the media is part and parcel of worldwide communications and have about the strongest impact on the world at large.
    • A focused media strategy in each YORA country is therefore critical to the success of YORA nationally and regionally. Members of the media should be invited to every YORA event and press releases should be sent out before and after the event. A media kit with all relevant information on the local YORA would be very useful as well.
    • Videotaping of key events by Anchor Organizations is highly encouraged.
    • Anchor Organizations should send in media articles on a timely basis to PAN AP so that they can be sent out to the regional media network and put up on the YORA webpage immediately.
    • PAN AP will coordinate the regional medial outreach.
  11. YORA Report

    All Anchor Organizations will prepare a YORA report on the conclusion of their YORA activities in their country and submit it to PAN AP in a timely manner. The report will be an evaluation of the impact and success of their YORA activities based on the pre-agreed indicators and effects monitoring for YORA. These reports are crucial as they will be evidence of the effectiveness of YORA, necessary for YORA funders, and of great interest to all participating organizations, the media, and other interest groups.


D. Coordination and Support


  1. PAN AP will collaborate with the Anchor Organizations in the respective countries (see Section E) for local YORA activities. PAN AP will also coordinate the overall YORA calendar in cooperation with all the Anchor Organizations so that the calendar is manageable and that there are activities in each month.
  2. PAN AP will provide support such as a fixed funding allocation (subject to the local outreach or situation), the provision of resource speakers, informational/educational materials (for translation), common logo, etc.
  3. The regional culmination will be facilitated by PAN AP with its network partner/s in the Philippines. Representatives from other countries will be invited to participate in the YORA Culmination in a show of solidarity and strength, and for regional dialogue. Thus there should be no local events in any other YORA country as of April 2010.