Philippine NGO Liason Committee for Food Security and Fair Trade (PNLC)

S E E D   O F   H O P E   C A M P A I G N

         The PNLC was established in 1996 at the conclusion of a South Asian conference on Food Security and Fair Trade held on 13-16 in Balay Kalinaw, UP Diliman, Quezon City, Philippines. PNLC was envisioned as a mechanism to ensure that the 196 Balay Declaration will be undertaken in the Philippines. The declaration has 11 points which initially centered on rice but was later shifted to food sufficiency at the national and regional levels. In terms of food, these are mainly rice, corn, vegetables, fruits and meat. Issues on gender, environment protection and conservation as well as people’s participation in governance are also included in declaration.

         During its earlier years, PNLC operated as a loose network. It conducted researches on the peasant situation and the various issues affecting the sector. Lately, it was involved in an in-depth study on the ASEAN Fair Trade Agreement (AFTA). Based on the result of its studies, PNLC, together with other coalitions has been lobbying for government policies in response to the needs and problems of the most vulnerable sectors particularly the peasant, rural women and children.

         For several years now, PNLC has been leading the yearly commemoration of the WORLD FOOD DAY (WFD) held on October 16. Hunger and poverty situation are usually expressed in this activity ending up with the calls of the various participating sectors. PNLC has also participated in the anti-globalization campaign up to the WTO Ministerial meeting in Seattle, Cancun and Hong Kong.

         Hand and hand with the above, its member-organization had started to build local economies mainly in rural communities. This includes the implementation of sustainable agriculture, setting up of demonstration farms, promoting inter-trade within communities and among small entrepreneurs and patronizing Filipino products, increasing the families’ income, facilitating people’s participation in governance at the local and national levels and campaigning on various peasant issues and needs.

 

CURRENT CAMPAIGN

         GENERAL CALL: “Push for major reforms in international trade and other agreements as well as reforms on national policy and programs for food sovereignty and protection of our local production base/local economy.”

INTERNATIONAL TRADE:

         The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an international and multilateral organization which imposed policies for international trading system and open attempts to play a global regulator role of trade. WTO composed of 149 countries and 31 more trying to become a member of the organization. The main trust of the WTO agreements is to eliminate national policies that affect trade and to open markets for large corporations rather than to promote the livelihoods of small-scale food producers or to protect domestic economic and cultural sovereignty. The WTO agreements include: the Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS Agreement), the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT), the Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures and the General Agreements on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). The current situation now is underway to expand GATT’s tariff cuts and to eliminate regulatory standards in goods are the Non-Agricultural Market Access (NAMA) negotiations, which means a greater deregulation and liberalization.

          If WTO is incapable of imposing international policies on trade, if it were to gain such ability, the result would favourable only to big and transnational corporation. Added to this is the fact that small-scale food producers are supported to address issues surrounding trade. Without the right sort of national policy protection, these people will be the more disadvantaged by the complexity of international trade rules. Apparently, the small-scale food producers are most capable in terms of sustainability but still they will undoubtedly be losers against big and transnational corporate entities.

         CALL: “Change WTO rules towards FAIR TRADE.”

 

REGIONAL TRADE (ASEAN, AFTA)

          The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) came into being with the end in view of establishing an economic community, a single market and a viable production base for countries in Southeast Asia. In order to attain this objective ASEAN established the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA) as a mechanism for “collective strategic response to pursue ASEAN’s goal of stimulating intra-and-extra regional trade, improving investment climate and enhancing the competitiveness of industries performance of its member countries.”

          AFTA being a mechanism for the removal of obstacle to free trade among member countries by reducing tariffs to 0-5 percent on traded manufactured goods and processed agricultural products and the removal of non-tariff barriers and quantitative restrictions that limit the entry of imports as well as giving each country the flexibility to set import tariffs for non-ASEAN members, is therefore ASEAN’s best hope for lasting peace, freedom and prosperity for their peoples.

         The International Monetary Fund and the World Bank (IMF-WB) on the other hand pressured Indonesia and the Philippines to adopt market-led economic policies as a pre-condition for new loans in the 1980’s and early 1990’s which, in agriculture, meant liberalizing agricultural markets by lowering tariffs and other trade barriers, including removing taxes to make the entry of imports easier, thereby creating incentives to medium and large scale agri-business investments that led to a diminished role of governments in providing support to agriculture and small farmers in particular.

         With either reduced or eliminated price subsidies or input subsidies, the establishment of AFTA in 1992 and the WTO in 1995 added new miseries to the marginalized farming sector in Indonesia and the Philippines.

         The need therefore to assess the positive and the negative impact on trade, investment and agrarian situation on ASEAN member countries is imperative and thus needs to be studied deeply in order to arrive at an equitable recommendation to mitigate the negative impact on environment and population.

         CALL: “Push for FAIR TRADE, HUMAN RIGHTS and DEVELOPMENT in ASEAN-AFTA
            talks.”

 

BASIC RIGHTS

         Food security is a product of an adequate supply of food (food production) and of access to it (food distribution). The landless farmers, urban poor, elderly, women and children are the most food insecure sector in society.  Government policies and agenda suppress economic growth and leads to poverty and underdevelopment. Food producers are the first to go hungry and consumers bear the brunt of the skyrocketing prices. Environmental degradation adds up to the worsening agricultural condition in the countryside. To discuss more here are the basic human rights a Filipino Rights;

         RIGHT TO FOOD – a fundamental human right which enshrined in the International  Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights of United Nations. “The right to adequate food is realized when every man, woman and child, alone or in community with others, has physical and economic access at all times to adequate food or means for its procurement.” [General Comment 12, 1999]. In the Philippines right to food state in different laws, Philippine Constitution, Art. II – Declaration of Principles and State Policies, Art XII – National Economy and Patrimony and Art. XIII – Social Justice and Human Rights. The RA 3720 – Food and Drugs & Devices & cosmetics. The Act (1963) - Nutritional Adequacy, safety and cultural acceptability. The RA 8550 – Phil. Fisheries Code of 1998 ---- viability in procurement, sustainability of access, improve production and distribution methods. The RA 8435 - Agriculture and Fisheries Modernization Act of 1997 - Sustainability of access, cultural acceptability, viability in procurement. The RA 8425 - Social Reform and Poverty Alleviation Act 1997 – viability in procurement, improved production & distribution methods, sustainability of access. The RA 6657 -  Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law of 1998 -  viability of procurement, sustainability of access, improve production & distribution methods.

          Yet, we still see hunger in the midst of abundance   As of 2000, richest 30% of the population holds 88.6% of the country’s income and consumption; poorest 30% holds only 7% of income and consumption (ADB).  Latest survey of SWS showed that almost 700,000 families (about 3.5 million people) or 4.2 % reported experiencing severe hunger, which was defined in the survey as going hungry often or always in the last three months.  About 2.1 million families or 12.7% experienced moderate hunger or hunger once or a few times in the same period.   A 5.7 % increase in the gross national product in 2005, the rising value of the peso against the dollar, the surge of share prices by 4.81% do not mean much to the masses who are experiencing hunger and poverty.

          FARMERS RIGHTS – basically it evolves in right to seed, right to traditional knowledge, right to equity in benefit sharing process and right to participate in decision making process. In November 1989, the concept of farmers’ rights was officially recognized when more than 160 countries adopted a resolution on the subject which becomes an annex to the international undertaking on Plant Genetic Resources.
      
          Farmers rights is officially defined in the undertaking as the “rights arising from the past, present and future contributions of farmers in conserving, improving and making available plant genetic resources, particularly those in the centres of origin/diversity (Resolution 5/89, November 1989).

          In the Philippines, farmers rights conflicts with the law of Plant Variety Protection Act known as RA 9168 signed by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on June 07, 2002. The act does not recognize the inherent rights of farmers and farming communities to save, conserve, plant, exchange and sell farm-bred seeds and their rights to participate in decision-making in agriculture. It does not recognize the breeding innovations of farmers and only provides protection to plant breeders from the formal sector.

          CEDAW – Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women was established in 1982. The committee is composed of 23 members elected by the states parties for four years terms. The committee ensures the implementation of the convention binding obligations such as: a.) the equality of men and women in their national constitutions, civil codes or other laws and to ensure the realization of this principle; b.) adoption of appropriate laws prohibiting all discrimination against women; c.) to establish tribunals and other public institution for the effective protection of women against discrimination; d.) to ensure that public authorities and institution shall refrain from engaging in any act or practice of discrimination against women; and many more.

          In the Philippines, PKKK ensures the rural women’s rights such as a.) Participate in elaborating and implementing development planning at all levels; b.) to have access to adequate health care facilities, including information and, counselling and services in family planning; c.) to benefit directly from social security programmes and etc…
        

           CALLS:     “Promotes and advocates changes in national policies and programs and
                            claim peoples rights.”

                           “Create awareness on a self-reliant and pro-active response to address
                           the  increasing incidence of hunger.”

                           “Deepen peoples awareness on issues affecting food security/
                           sovereignty at the macro, meso and micro levels.”

                          “promote concrete action-reflection-action processes at local levels and
                          facilitate local peoples systematic response to the issue of food
                          sovereignty.”

STRATEGIES

         PNLC campaigns and activities will culminate in the commemoration of the World Food Day (WFD). Every year PNLC lead in mobilization or any form of activities that aimed to crate a nationwide impact but prior to this, a series of activities and campaigns contributed by several groups of people’s organization and civil society to intensified campaigns in the issues of concerns of different sectors. PNLC campaigns divide in two levels as;

1. POLICY LEVEL
   1. Food and Water Charter Campaign [ inclusion/creation of food and water charter in ASEAN charter]
   2. E.O 481 Campaign [implementation and promotion of sustainable agriculture]
   3. Farmers Rights Campaign [protection of farmers and food producers; review on Plant Variety Protection Act (PVP Act)]
   4. CEDAW [recognition of the roles of women; engagement on LGU and adoption of October 15 as provincial Rural Women’s Day]

 

1. LOCAL AND COMMUNITY LEVEL (claim taking and pro-active activities)
   1. Food Security Planning [ordinances on food security]
   2. Urban Agriculture/ Bio-intensive Gardening
   3. Sustainable Agriculture
   4. Community Seed Registry

NOTE: Activities planned by various groups as part of the campaign. Groups with their plans can integrate.

COVENANT

Believing,

                That the country as signatory to various human rights declarations including the International Covenant on Economic and Social Cultural Rights which recognizes that food is a basic human right requires that government should implement its obligation to respect, protect and fulfill people’s right to food. 

                Connect  2006 WFD  theme: Investing in Agriculture for Food Security

                That the LGU-NGO-PO–private sector community sees the need to have  a parallel and collective response  to coordinate their efforts, increase the effectiveness of their advocacy and social mobilizations and present a unified front that interfaces with other institutionalized partners such as government agencies among others to ensure  its realization;

                That there is a need for a pro-active and self-reliant response in the face of increasing food insecurity, hunger, malnutrition and , environment degradation.                 

 

                And for these ends, committed

                To combine our strengths and efforts to implement the Seed of Hope project which aims to have a garden for every household, food for all!

                To ensure that the project will be sustained through partnerships and sharing of resources and skills by doing each one’s role based on the plan formulated for this purpose.  

                Do hereby declare and

               Create a Working Group, representative of all stakeholders, for the same and for such, committees to be created to pursue the functions that may arise in the course of our work.  We, participants of the World Food Day 2006 celebration and the Seed of Hope Launching declaring our intents and commitments embodied herein, do hereby affix our signatures to this covenant, this 15th day of October 2006, at the Pinaglabanan Shrine, San Juan, Metro Manila.

 

Related Topics:

• The "Seed of Hope" Campaign Launched on the Commemoration of World Food Day 2006

 

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