Vision Statement

“Our vision is a society that is truly democratic, equal, just, culturally diverse, and based on food sovereignty, gender justice and environmental sustainability.”

Mission Statement

• We will assert people’s food sovereignty based on the right to food for all, founded on the right to land and productive resources and the right of communities to decide on our own food and agriculture policies.
• We are committed to protect the safety and health of people and the environment from pesticide use, and genetic engineering in food and agriculture;
• We will protect and promote the rights, equality and dignity of women
• We will promote and protect biodiversity based ecological agriculture.
• We will strengthen people’s movements to eliminate hunger and achieve food sovereignty
• We will achieve these goals by empowering people within effective networks at the Asia and the Pacific, and global levels.”

Brief History

Concerned and opposed to the irrational spread and use of pesticides, a group of representatives from various citizen's groups across the globe came together in Penang for a meeting in 1982 under the auspices of the International Organization of Consumers Unions (IOCU). A major outcome from that meeting was the formation of a global coalition of groups and individuals calling themselves the Pesticide Action Network (PAN).

Presently, the PAN International network is coordinated through five regional coordinating centres composed of the following:

Africa: PAN Centre Regional Pour L'Afrique in Senegal

Asia and the Pacific: PAN AP in Penang, Malaysia

Europe: PAN UK in London, England and PAN Germany in Hamburg, Germany

Latin America: RAAA in Lima, Peru

North America: PAN North America in San Francisco, U.S.A

PAN Asia & the Pacific

Starting out as an adjunct of IOCU, with an office comprising one person and one table, the region gradually saw the birth of a new PAN AP - after it became independent from the IOCU in with the pure commitment of its founders. The Asia Pacific regional office for the network (ie. PAN AP) has in the last few years become an autonomous, efficiently functioning, and visible regional organization. Today, PAN AP is still in that never-ending process of carving out a unique niche in the regional arena.

The immediate development problem that PAN AP faces is the insurmountable dangers posed by pesticide use. The immediate and most logical solution is to stop its usage. However, the pesticide industry is a multi-billion industry controlled predominantly by companies in the North. This alone should explain the enormous power that the industry yields. Government policies subscribe to the continued use of these deadly poisons, while institutions endorse their use. The dominant thinking especially among the population is that : Pesticide Use = High-Yield = High Income. Of course, this linear correlation will never present the full picture.

Alternatives abound. Among the present alternatives, the best and most viable as practised since time-immemorial is said to be 'sustainable agriculture' (sometimes called 'bio-dynamic' agriculture). This is the central issue for the decade in which PAN AP would like to move on. The challenge now is documenting it as it faces being lost to modernity, presenting it to as wide an audience as possible, and having the whole world adapt it.

The women aspect cannot be ignored. Women are the invisible farmers. They produce half of the world's food. As such, they are most susceptible to the dangers of pesticides. But they will play a key role, if their capability is enhanced, in deciding the future agricultural system. The organization is trailblazing as it is the first regional organization to seriously tackle the women and pesticide issue. The Women in Agriculture Programme contextualizes the problems of women's exposure to pesticides vis-à-vis their status as women, and the socio-economic and political structures, and processes that inherently oppress women.

PAN AP's vision, objectives and programs neatly intertwine in a complete web. These come together to tackle problems in a comprehensive way; within the context of community experience, and within the wider arena of social justice, equity, and economic and political emancipation. PAN AP's policies and programs are gender and culture sensitive. Looking far out into the future without losing sight of present needs and goals, we are able to coordinate and consolidate the experiences in the region.

PAN AP Work Programme:

• Women in Agriculture Programme
• Food Sovereignty and Ecological Agriculture Programme
• Pesticide Programme
• PAN AP Campaigns
• Information - Communication
  

PAN AP would like to thank Humanistisch Instituut voor Ontwikkelingssamenwerking (HIVOS, Netherlands), Evangelischer Entwicklungsdienst (EED, Germany), and Netherlands Organisation for International Development Cooperation (NOVIB, Netherlands) for their generous support to PAN AP.