| Strategy Workshop on Taking WTO Out of Agriculture |
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| Written by Administrator |
| Sunday, 30 September 2001 18:52 |
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The workshop was attended by 24 participants from 12 countries in Asia including peasant groups and NGO support groups from Bangladesh, India, Korea, Japan, Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, Nepal and Thailand. Aside from the Asians, there were also representatives from the La Via Campesina from Spain and Latin America including Chile and Nicaragua.
The workshop provided a chance for the different networks to come together to discuss various issues that affect peasants and agriculture. The Conference discussed the reality that the outlook in agriculture was alarming as well as negative. The Penang meeting was organized to bring together the peasant leaders and like-minded NGOs to make the concerns of agriculture prominent, and to develop the particular advocacy strategy to take WTO out of agriculture. The first days featured presentations and discussions on the other WTO Agreements related to agriculture, as well as sharing on the impacts of the AoA on peasant/farmer production, negative impacts and related issues from India, Indonesia, Nepal, and Thailand. The second day featured a session to contextualize the AoA and the peasant struggle, and a session looking at the impact of AoA on Third World agrarian systems and economies. This was accompanied by more sharing on impacts on peasant/farmer production and livelihoods in Bangladesh, the Philippines, South and Central America""with a special focus on impacts and implications on rural women. These were followed by special inputs and discussions on the workshop theme, and "Why WTO out of Agriculture" as a position to be taken up; the strategic line and implications of such a position were also discussed. The day ended with discussions on upcoming events in Rome (World Food Summit + 5), in Qatar (The WTO Ministerial), and other future campaigns that groups might work on together. The final day was abuzz with small group breakout sessions, discussions and planning on options for campaign strategies, and tactics for advocacy; followed by more intensive planning and implementation of these plans at international, regional and national levels. The final session for the day clarified and synthesized these plans, and it was topped with the presentation and finalization of the workshop Statement, mooted as one of the main outcomes of what all participants agreed what was an energetic, intense and worthwhile workshop. APRN members who attended the meeting were IBON, PANAP, NGO-COD and NESSFE. Like it? Share it!
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| Last Updated on Monday, 02 March 2009 17:20 |
