AsiaDHRRA Online

Another good read from ICRW!
From the introduction:
Rural women produce half of the world’s food and, in developing countries, between 60 percent and 80 percent of food crops.  Women also are more likely than men to spend their income on the well-being of their families, including more nutritious foods, school fees for children and health care.
Yet [...]

Nothings more asian than rice. And when some people mess with it we take serious offence right? FrankenThursday’s out to frighten you with this evil FrankenRice that is sure to make way down your gut unless you heed Greenpeace call to reject it. NOW! Please sign the petition here!!!

The GE rice has been developed by [...]

HungerWednesday brings another good read from IDRC though a bit on the heavy side. Perfect for late night or airport departure lounge reading. A must read for food rights advocates and CSO workers.
This book is the first wide-ranging guide to the key issues of intellectual property and ownership, genetics, biodiversity, and food security. Proceeding from [...]

Here’s an interesting read we picked up from ILC.
This brief focuses on key agricultural resources needed by poor female farmers to generate incomes and ensure their families’ food security. It is organized around key resources and promising approaches to increase poor women’s control of those resources.
Download the article here.  Lots of interesting articles can also [...]

From the ASEANSec
To boost awareness of ASEAN and of the cultures of ASEAN among women and children in the region, the ASEAN Secretariat (ASEC) Women’s Wing was officially launched today with a simple ceremony at the ASEAN Secretariat, Jakarta.
The ASEC Women’s Wing, a non-profit entity which comprises the female staff and wives of staff members [...]

FrankenThursday brings this anger-inducing news that Monsanto is suing yet another North American farmer for having his own field contaminated with FrankenCanola from another field through no fault of his own. That is just so wow! right? Let this serve as a reminder to Asian farmers to never ever plant any FrankenSeeds nor be near [...]

From TWN News service
Geneva, 8 May (Kanaga Raja) — The UN Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) should reaffirm the need, not only to increase food production, but to re-orient agro-food systems and the regulations that influence them at national and international levels, towards sustainability and the progressive realization of the right to food.
This was one [...]

Land acquisitions are on the increase in Africa and other continents, raising the risk that poor people will be evicted or lose access to land, water, and other resources, according to the first detailed study of the trend.  The UN Funded – IFAD study warns that such deals can bring many opportunities (guaranteed outlets, employment, [...]

HungerWednesday brings this interesting tidbit- Philippines actually have “Rice Sufficiency Officers”. Pretty interesting right? and they’re undergoing a retooling workshop. They must need this as they have a kinda daunting task ahead of them — ensuring a rice-sufficient Philippines by 2013.
Close to 100 rice sufficiency officers (RSOs) and PhilRice officials nationwide gathered for the re-tooling [...]

TechTuesday showcases an interesting Indian website – DigitalGreen- that seeks to disseminate targeted agricultural information to small and marginal farmers in India through digital video. The Digital Green system sustains relevancy in a community by developing a framework for participatory learning. The system includes a digital video database, which is produced by farmers and experts.

Ms. Yeo Joung Suh, KoDHRRA volunteer has concluded her 1 year internship at AsiaDHRRA during which time she was able to gain a deeper understanding of the NGO management process; developed skills on project development through a 1 month volunteer work in a women’s NGO in Khon Kaen, Thailand; enhanced research and documentation skills through [...]

ToolkitSundays shares this useful Advocacy Toolkit from Why.  The toolkit draws from the american experience but us Asians might pick up a nugget or two of new insights and approaches in fighting hunger and poverty upon reading the booklet.Why has a lot of downloadable publications related to poverty advocacy and hunger that you might find [...]

Renato Penas, Vice-President of PAKISAMA, was shot dead by unidentified gunmen at 11:00 PM yesterday, on the way to his farm in Sumilao, Bukidnon.
He was 51.
His 2 companions are in the hospital nursing gunshot wounds.
It was a high price to pay for selflessly dedicating himself to the agrarian reform movement.
He is one of the most [...]

FarmFriday brings this interesting and inspiring article from the NYTimes about a socialist town in Spain that’s been doing really well despite the economic challenges currently gripping Spain.
Laura Leon | New York Times
MARINALEDA, Spain — The people of this small Andalusian town have never been shy about their political convictions. Since they occupied the estate [...]