AsiaDHRRA Online

HungerWednesday brings this worrisome development in Cambodia. This is probably happening in other third world countries too.

Grain

Cambodia is a major target of the global landgrabbing surge that began in March this year when the world food crisis was at its peak. High-ranking foreign delegations have regularly been visiting Phnom Penh, looking to strike deals for access to land to produce food for export back to their countries. Overall, as much as $3 billion in agricultural investments are currently being negotiated with the Cambodian government in return for millions of hectares in land concessions. The largest deal so far is a bilateral deal with Kuwait involving a $546 million loan in exchange for a 70-90 year lease covering a “large area” of rice lands, where Kuwait will organise production for export back home. Meanwhile, over 100,000 Cambodian families lack food and many more are directly at risk from the escalating government-backed land evictions happening across the country.

Continue reading about the landgrabbing in Cambodia….

Here’s avery interesting find for TechTuesday. This is a toolkit produced by the Tactical Tech, “an international NGO helping human rights advocates use information, communications and digital technologies to maximise the impact of their advocacy work”.

Mobiles in-a-box from the Tactical Technology Collective is a collection of tools, tactics, how-to guides and case studies designed to help advocacy and activist organisations use mobile technology in their work.

Mobiles in-a-box is designed to inspire you, to present possibilities for the use of mobile telephony in your work and to introduce you to some tools which may help you. After reading the material in this toolkit you can expect to be able to design and implement a mobile advocacy strategy for your organisation.

A beloved friend and leader,  Gil P. Cua, 53,  succumbed to liver cancer on December 17, 2008.  A sudden departure for us. Though he had bouts of sickness the past months, he was diagnosed of cancer only last month.  The whole network and our DHRRA leaders mourn his death and extends prayers for his wife, Ping, and children Leslie, Gerard, and Carmela, and the rest of the family.  He will be intered on the 22nd, in Cagayan de Oro, Mindanao.

Gil, representing PhilDHRRA, was Chairperson of AsiaDHRRA from 1998-2002.  He championed the major thrust, during his term of office, of building a strong alliance of farmers’ organizations in the region and the strengthening of AsiaDHRRA as a regional network.  Gil actively encouraged and dialogued with our DHRRA leaders to strengthen their respective DHRRAs to make AsiaDHRRA a strong network.  Together with the collective leadership in AsiaDHRRA,  Gil brought new level of dynamism in the network and helped anchor its work based on a clear and long term development framework and strategy.

Gil directly involved himself in the process of AFA building, from contact building to sustained relations with leaders of Farmers Organizations deemed potential for the regional farmers’ platform.  He was with us in the Farmers’ Exchange Visit (FEV) in Suwon, Korea in 1999 where the farmer-leader participants  firmed up their commitment to unite as a regional alliance.  He was present in most of the FEVs.  Gil gracefully ended his Chairpersonship, with the formal launching of AFA,  in May 2002 in Kuala Lumpur.

We, in the Secretariat, deeply mourn his passing.  He was a bundle of energy, new ideas, and joy for us.  Gil gave us the love, support, and respect which kept us as passionate as he was in the aspirations of the DHRRA family for the rural poor.  We will miss Gil very much.  His surprise visits to our office  and constant support on everything.  We will always remember his words — that our inspiration in what we do should always be the rural poor.

I will personally deeply mourn the passing away of a friend, partner and mentor.

Gil is now in God’s loving hands.  Let’s pray for the repose of his soul.

Our kind wishes to everyone,
Marlene D. Ramirez
AsiadDHRRA Secretary General

Inquirer.net

JAKARTA—(UPDATE) The Association of Southeast Asian Nations took a major step towards becoming an EU-style community Monday with the passing into force of a new charter setting benchmarks for democracy.

The charter sets out rules of membership, transforms ASEAN into a legal entity and envisages a single free trade area by 2015 for the region of 500 million people.

It came into force with a meeting of ASEAN foreign ministers at the bloc’s Jakarta secretariat, 30 days after Thailand became the last member to deposit its ratifying documents.

“This is a momentous development when ASEAN is consolidating, integrating and transforming itself into a community,” Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono said.

“It is achieved while ASEAN seeks a more vigorous role in Asian and global affairs at a time when the international system is experiencing a seismic shift,” he added, referring to climate change and economic upheaval.

“Southeast Asia is no longer the bitterly divided, war-torn region it was in the 1960s and 1970s.”

continue reading about the launching of the new ASEAN Charter….

Read the ASEAN charter here….

HungerWednesday brings this very informative article about how secondary crops can enhance household food security.

“Secondary crop-based agribusiness development will contribute to the stabilization of household food security by promoting crop diversification, improving and fulfilling nutritional requirements, absorbing farm labour and generating farm household income. In addition, secondary crops will play a role in maintaining diverse and environmentally friendly farming systems, functioning as a source of raw material for the food and feed industries, and stimulating rural economic growth. In particular these benefits will apply to farmers with limited or marginal land. Two examples, one from Indonesia and one from India, demonstrate how secondary crops support sustainable agricultural development.

continue reading about how secondary crops can enhance household food security…

AsiaDHRRA together with ESCR-Asia, CODE-NGO and the U.P. Asian Center, sponsored the forum “Kasali Ka, Kasama Ka:  Discerning Relevant Applications of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and Prospects of Ratification of the Optional Protocol in the Philippines and in Select Countries in Asia” on Dec.9, 2008, 8:30-12 noon, at Romulo Hall, U.P.  Asian Center (beside the College of Law).

Leaders from fisherfolk groups, agrarian reform, indigenous peoples, street vendors including representatives from regional formations and government agencies shared their thoughts on the Covenant and on the relevance of the Optional Protocol adopted by the UN Human Rights Council last July 2008.

This activity  is also in celebration of the 60th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR),  the 32nd year of the Philippine government’s ratification of said Covenant and the Social Development Week 2008.

Copies of the executive summary of the shadow report “ 42, 32, 2008” submitted to the 41st Session of the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights last Nov.10, 2008 were also distributed during the forum.

View the forum program here…

View pictures from the forum here…

AsiaDHRRA joins the rest of the world today in celebrating the International Human Rights Day. In this year’s celebration, the UN focuses on the theme “Dignity and justice for all of us”

Read the Universal Declaration of Human Rights here…

Some suggestions from the UN on how to participate in the worldwide celebration of Human Rights.

We mourn the death of Ka Vic Paglinawan, a model farmer leader from Mindanao, who also touched our lives in the region for his active participation in the regional activities hosted by AFA and AsiaDHRRA in the past years. During those times, Ka Vic Paglinawan represented PAKISAMA as its National Chairperson.

We fondly remember Ka Vic’s whole hearted interpretative rendition of the song “Anak” during the solidarity night of AFA’s 2nd GA in Phnom Penh, Cambodia in 2006 - our discovery of his fun-filled spirit, along with his seriousness as a farmer and cooperative leader dedicated to long lasting reform and concrete work on the ground.

Please extend your prayers for Ka Vic’s family and join the call on for a just and speedy resolution of his case.

Mabuhay kayo Ka Vic (Ka Roger)! We will keep your dreams for the small farmers in our hearts and minds, and continue our struggle, in solidarity.

Ka “Vic” has been over the past few weeks groundworking in Mindanao for the planned December 3  National Mobilization of farmers and various support groups to press Congress to pass the extension of funding of CARP and introduce necessary reforms to ensure its meaningful  implementation.

Ka Vic has been a recognized leader of a successful 6- million peso agri-cooperative, MIEDECO, a member of PAKISAMA. He rose to the leadership of PAKISAMA, a national confederation of peasant federations, becoming one of its Presidents and Executive Committee member.

He is also one of the leaders of PANDAYAN and AKBAYAN in Mindanao. A model of integrity, dedication, and industry, Ka Vic is undoubtedly a big loss to the peasantry and the broad social movement.

He is survived by his wife, Aida, and his 4 children aged 22, 19, 16, and 14.

Vicente “Roger” Paglinawan, 51, PAKISAMA’s Vice-President for Mindanao, was shot dead by two motor-cycle riding men in Malabog, Davao City. Three bullets were pumped into his head ensuring his death.

This is a very interesting reading although a bit old already. It presents how commercial foods depend on manufactured flavors for their taste and feel. “Mysterious, man-made “natural flavor” explains why most fast food — indeed, most of the food Americans eat — tastes the way it does”

By Eric Schlosser
Excerpt From Eric Schlosser’s new book’Fast Food Nation’ (Houghton-Mifflin, 2001) From The Atlantic Monthly.

In 1990, amid a barrage of criticism over the amount of cholesterol in its fries, McDonald’s switched to pure vegetable oil. This presented the company with a challenge: how to make fries that subtly taste like beef without cooking them in beef tallow. A look at the ingredients in McDonald’s french fries suggests how the problem was solved. Toward the end of the list is a seemingly innocuous yet oddly mysterious phrase: “natural flavor.” That ingredient helps to explain not only why the fries taste so good but also why most fast food — indeed, most of the food Americans eat today — tastes the way it does.

continue reading Why McDonald’s Fries Taste So Good…

JOHANNA CAMILLE SISANTE, GMANews.TV

MANILA, Philippines -  The Philippines will achieve rice self-sufficiency by the year 2013 if the government increases its investments into the agriculture sector, the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) said Monday.

In a public forum at the House of Representatives, PhilRice executive director Ronilo Beronio said increased technological and farm input support to local farmers, among others, will enable the country’s rice production to grow at 5.10 percent and be self-sufficient within five years starting 2009.

Beronio said the 5.10 percent growth in rice production that will come with increased government support translates to about three to four additional bags of rice per hectare every year.

“If each farmer can increase his yields by four bags per hectare per year, we would be self-sufficient by 2013,” Beronio said, adding that as of the moment the country is only 88 percent self-sufficient in rice production.

read more about how Philippines will be rice self-sufficient by 2013….

FarmFriday is here again and we showcase this downloadable guideline on organic livestock production — it details the steps necessary to market livestock produce as ‘organic’.

The contents of this Primefact include:

* Role of livestock in organic farming systems
* Livestock nutrition
* Shelter
* Breeding
* Livestock welfare
* Livestock health
* Marketing
* Conclusion
* References

download the primefact here….

TechTuesday presents this interesting news article about how small farmers in South Africa are using cellphone to better manage their irrigation system.

Small scale sugar cane farmers in South Africa have managed to potentially reduce their direct irrigation costs by US$300 per hectare thanks to the use of a high cellphone technology system that is providing them with practical, real up to date information about when to irrigate their crops.

A pilot project was implemented by the South African Sugar Association on two small scale irrigation schemes at Pongola in Mpumalanga province and Makhathini in KwaZulu Natal, meant at boasting production as well as saving water a precious commodity in these dry regions.

continue reading how cellphone helps reduce irrigation costs in South Africa…..

Are you an non-profit and want to post your all pictures in flickr but can’t because you dont have a pro account yet? well, worry no more. Flickr for Good is donating 10,000 1-year Flickr pro accounts to nonprofit organizations in partnership with TechSoup Stock.

So hurry on and visit Flickr for Good for details.

(via http://www.landcoalition.org)