PRESS R`ELEASE
June 1, 2012
Nairobi, Kenya – The Asian Peasant Coalition (APC) stressed that aid to Agriculture and Rural Development (ARD still has to be made effective, this was stated by Rahmat Ajiguna, APC deputy secretary general, during the CSO Rural Sector Consultation on Development Effectiveness in ARD held today in Nairobi, Kenya.
The farmer leader remarked, “As rural peoples, who is the majority in each country, we generally belong to marginalized groups. Our issues as grassroots groups must be strongly represented in all governance and working group structures. However, what is happening in different countries is the opposite. The ARD policies and program framework and implementation have impacted dismally on the quality of life of the small farmers and the whole of the rural population, hunger, poverty, landlessness, lack of livelihood and jobs remain to be urgent issues of the people.”
“ Aid policies and programmes should be formulated with people’s participation. It is the Busan Comitment. Communities should be included so as to effect the attainment of real agricultural development guaranteeing the right to food and the right to productive resources,” added Rahmat.
Rahmat ended by saying, “CSOs especially those in the vital sector of agriculture take stock of its work for their effective engagement in a new policy context where CSOs have greater involvement in relevant decisions and processes. Following a global light, country heavy, bottom-up approach, country systems and mechanism take primary importance in the engagements”.
The CSO participants in the consultation are representatives of farmers groups and NGOs working closely with and for marginalised and most vulnerable sectors of society advocating a rights-based approach to development from Asia and Africa. The event was organized by the People’s Coalition of Food Sovereignty (PCFS), BetterAid, and Reality of Aid-Africa. #
Rahmat Ajiguna
APC Deputy Secretary General