Pesticide Action Network, Asia and the Pacific (PANAP)

Pesticide Action Network - Asia and the Pacific - PANAP

Food Sovereignty

PAN AP through its Food Sovereignty and Ecological Agriculture Programme has concretized Food Sovereignty, as a concept and framework over the last four years. In 2004, PAN AP together with more than 500 partner organisations were able to make Food Sovereignty popularized in the region through the People's Caravan on Food Sovereignty that mobilized more than a million people in 16 countries, where simultaneous activities were held over 30 days. Food sovereignty advocates at national, regional and international levels have echoed this call. We have also been involved in the documentation of the impact of climate change and adaptation strategies of communities to weather the climate crisis. The promotion of biodiversity-based ecological agriculture, through farmer's exchanges, study tours, training, workshops and the production of resource materials is a crucial aspect of our work.

Through the years, PAN AP and its partners have contributed to the struggle against land grabbing by working with communities to build their capacity to resist land grabbing. These include training on documentation of land grabbing and actual documentation of cases. Fact Finding Missions and international campaigns are part of our continued support for small food producers in their struggles for land and sustainable livelihoods. PAN AP has also developed popular materials such as short films and posters on land grabbing with the hope of reaching a broader audience. At the international level, PAN AP has been involved in various platforms and processes such as the FAO Committee on Food Security to bring the voices of marginalized communities to United Nation bodies.

Highly Hazardous Pesticides

PAN AP's work on pesticides continued to be the leading force in the Asia Pacific region. Its Community-based Pesticide Action Monitoring (CPAM) empowered communities to assert their right to health and sustainable environment. Based on participatory action research, CPAM helps communities to document the adverse impacts of pesticides, raise awareness and motivate them to adopt ecologically sound and sustainable agricultural practices. Furthermore, it prompts them to pressure governments and campaign for better pesticide regulation and implementation of international conventions on pesticides.

Together with community organisations, PAN AP has been at the forefront in raising general public awareness on the hazards of pesticides, banning or strictly regulating the use of highly toxic pesticides at the national level including plantations and industry stakeholders and ensuring stronger policies on pesticide reduction and elimination and the promotion of agroecology or non-chemical alternatives. PAN AP has published factsheets, monographs, books, and other campaign tools to advance these efforts. Through policy advocacy, PAN AP has been playing a major role in international bodies that regulate the production and trade of highly hazardous pesticides. Our biggest victory was the listing of endosulfan in both the Stockholm and Rotterdam Conventions. We continue to advocate for non-chemical alternatives particularly the implementation of biodiversity-based ecological agriculture.

Women in Agriculture

Meanwhile, the Women in Agriculture programme has been facilitating a process for rural women from different sectors to come together, share experiences, deepen analysis and strategize for action to strengthen the rural women's movement. We facilitated the establishment of the Asian Rural Women's Coalition (ARWC) in 2008 (where PAN AP is the Secretariat) to gain rural women's visibility through different strategies, from support to local women's actions such as online campaigns in support of women's land struggles, to regional campaigns and international policy lobbying.

This initiative has also been focusing on the documentation of women's successes in their struggles for land and productive resources and for biodiversity-based ecological agriculture. In the last two years, we have been concentrating on a series of training on rural women's leadership capacities in food sovereignty and security. Rural women who have participated have been energized and inspired to share their experiences and learnings with their communities and other women, and provide leadership themselves in their local campaign work. This has also spearheaded the participation and interventions of rural women at the international policy level.

In 2012, we organised the Honouring 100 Women to acknowledge rural women's leadership and commitment in pushing for justice, freedom and gender equality. Their stories inspired other women to empower themselves.

Save Our Rice

On the campaign front, PAN AP's "Save Our Rice" Campaign is the only regional rice campaign in Asia Pacific. It has given rice issues a regional platform, perspective and vigor. From a handful of partners in 2003 when it was launched, the Campaign's network has grown to a few hundred organisations in 16 countries with the Rice Advisory Council now consisting of representatives from 34 organisations. It has been highly successful and impactful in addressing the threats to rice and promoting the Five Pillars of Rice Wisdom. Most notably, in 2007, it launched the Week of Rice Action (WORA) which was a massive mobilisation of over a million people who endorsed "The People's Statement on Saving the Rice of Asia". It was followed by the YORA or Year of Rice Action (2009-2010) and now known as the CORA - collective rice action - which have been impactful in reaching out to all sectors of the public and building awareness on the threats to rice.

The effects of the Green Revolution, spearheaded by the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), has accelerated the process of erosion of locally adapted rice cultivation and introduced High Input Varieties (HIV) rice that is susceptible to diseases and pests, and requires more pesticide inputs. IRRI now support the research on GE rice such as Golden Rice and Bt rice, that harms Asia's rice heritage. The Rice Campaign is continuing to build awareness on the negative impacts of GE rice/crops and getting policy-makers and the public to oppose genetically engineered (GE) rice.

Permanent People's Tribunal on Agrochemical TNCs

Working on behalf of PAN International, PAN AP helped to organize the Permanent People's Tribunal on Agrochemical TNCs where we charged six agrochemical TNCs on violations of human rights. A global jury of the PPT found these corporations guilty of violating the rights of people and causing environmental devastation.

Alliance-building

Meanwhile, the network has been strengthened due to the outreach and activities of the various programmes and through its policy advocacy and campaigning. It has built strong partnerships with organisations of rural women, peasants, agricultural workers, indigenous communities and consumers and these are our greatest strength and most powerful resource - the network of people's organizations, particularly of marginalized communities that also represent diverse movements. PAN AP now comprises 108 network partners in the region and has links with about 400 other civil society and grassroots organizations at the regional and global levels.

True to our commitment to work with the people, PAN AP has contributed to the formation of important grassroots alliances and networks in the region: People's Coalition on Food Sovereignty (PCFS), Asian Peasants Coalition (APC), Coalition of Agricultural Workers International (CAWI) and the Asian Rural Women's Coalition (ARWC).