On the auspicious occasion of International Peasants' Day 2009, we, the rice farmers, peasants and activists representing larger peasantry and 1.2 million members of ANPFa and representatives from Bangladesh, Malaysia, the Philippines along with Japanese activists primarily from rice growing areas of Asia met in Pokhara on April 17-18, 2009 for closer discussion on various aspects of rice and found rice as our life pattern and dignity, source of livelihood, culture and security against hunger. In course of long and hot discussions we arrived to common position that Asia, the homeland of small and marginal farmers growing rice, cannot imagine their life and livelihood without rice.
On the face of ruthless corporate globalization under IFIs and mass exploitation under neo-liberal market fundamentalism and the traditional rice cultivators of Asia forced to disbelief their community heritage under agri-trade TNCs' encroachment, we concentrated our attention on the history of rice cultivation for the last 7000 years producing a legacy of rice culture, community wisdom, biodiversity based ecological rice cultivation, natural plant breeding and variety selection for development and local knowledge on variety conservation and found sustenance of these time-honoured ideals facing major challenge whereby we recognize that :
1. Genetically modified rice and lab hybrid varieties have no root in the social milieu of rice cultivating farmers, so, cannot ensure food security. Fifty years of IRRI is enough.
2. Green Revolution II has been destroying the rice cultivation as cereal crop and leading innocent farmers from rural communities to mass suicide.
3. Hybrids and GE rice have threatened to displace biodiversity based rice variety resource promoting monoculture to widen profit margin of Multinationals through seed trade at the cost of poor rice growers pushing them deeper into poverty.
4. Small and marginal farmers of Asia are loosing their control over their staple food 'rice', hence livelihood and food security of landless labourers, indigenous communities, artisans, women peasants, Dalits and weaker section of the society increasingly disrupted.
5. The profit mongering commodification of rice to promote corporatization has resulted in present food crisis. Community based sustainable rice farming is the answer to local food self-sufficiency!
Hence, we declare:
1. That the way forward is to uphold five pillars of rice wisdom, namely, rice culture, community wisdom, biodiversity based ecological agriculture, safe and nutritious food and Food Sovereignty, for which international movement on Save Our Rice 'YORA' is dedicated.
2. That the introduction of GM Rice and Lab hybrid varieties be banned under the present system of TRIPS promoting bio-piracy from intellectually unarmed and incapacitated underdeveloped countries.
3. That the germplasm of rice collected from farmers' of Asian countries during the last five/six decades and preserved in different research institutes in the service of Agro-business multinationals should be returned back to the communities and make this precious wealth public property. No to agri-land grab in any pretence for non-food purpose.
4. That any form of legislation at any level in any country of Asia intended to patent/monopolize life forms, products, processes, traditional knowledge and practices be discarded. NO to WTO in Agriculture and Rice Cultivation.
5. That we shall work hand-in-hand to protect the right of rice cultivators across the globe, and collectively sustain rice culture which promotes peoples' knowledge pool through scientific research and participatory technology development process.
Rice cultivation and production helps to stop hunger and feed the millions if our peasants, farmers and farming communities own rice lands. We strongly assert our right to reclaim over rice cultivation ensuring this right of our future generation for their secure livelihood and freedom from hunger.
We urge all decision makers of agriculture and food policies to listen to the earnest voice of the rice growing peasants and farmers of Asia and enact these recommendations immediately. Ensure the legitimate right of all the peasants and rice farmers of Asia to live with dignity and affluence.
RICE IS OUR LIFE; IT'S OUR DIGNITY!
IN PRESERVING RICE, WE ARE PROTECTING OURSELVES!!
FORWARD AHEAD STRUGGLING TO MAKE 'YORA' A GRAND SUCCESS!!!
19th April, 2009
Pokhara, Nepal
Reference:
www.anpfa.org