Author: Jet Hermida

IFAD President pushes for more efforts in linking smallholder farmers to private sector

FarmFriday highlights this is very interesting newsbit from IFAD with its President Kanayo F. Nwanze pushing for more efforts  to linking smallholder farmers to the private sector: “In Davos, I intend to show business leaders how linking smallholder farmers to the private sector is key to building the economy of developing countries. The private sector […]

The disaster that was the Copenhagen climate talks

For your weekend ruminations are two docs about the failed climate change talks. Oxfam Briefing Note 21 December 2009 Climate Shame: get back to the table -Initial analysis of the Copenhagen climate talks Copenhagen was a unique opportunity to turn the world’s course away from climate disaster, towards a safe future for all of us […]

Codex Alimentarius: A Briefing On The International Food Safety Body And Its Dynamics

A presentation by By Mr. Peter Sousa Hoejskov, Food Quality and Safety Officer, FAO Regional Office in Asia Pacific, during the 2nd LSFM RTW. Mr. Peter Hoejskov started his presentation with a discussion on the importance of food safety and standards. He cited that food safety and control systems provide: the basis for inspection, testing, […]

Food Safety And Product Quality Issues And Problems

Excerpts from the presentation by farmer partners during the 2nd LSFM RTW. Cambodia Mr. Noun, chicken producer from FNN, presented Cambodia’s experience in marketing dressed chicken. He related that chicken feed during the dry season are not sufficient. They also experience difficulty in transporting the product given the great distances of markets from the farms. […]

High Quality Products at Higher Prices: The Experience of TWADA

High Quality Products at Higher Prices: the Experience of TWADA which was presented by Dr. Wen Chi Hwang, General Secretary of the said organization during the 3rd LSFM RTW, explained about the experience of marketing based on product strength, quality, and competitive advantage. She narrated the history of TWADA as already having started with not […]

Agri-Marketing in Asia: Agri-business Perspectives

Agri-Marketing in Asia: Agri-business Perspectives presented by Mr. Senen Bacani, CEO, Ultrex Management & Investment Corporation (former Secretary, Department of Agriculture, GRP) during the First LSFM RTW. Mr. Bacani explained that while he was here to offer an agri-business perspective from the side of the private sector, he has also worked extensively with government, cooperatives […]

Enhancing the Competitiveness of Small Farmers

Enhancing the Competitiveness of Small Farmers was presented by Mr. Jing Pacturan, Executive Director Philippines Development Assistance Program during the 3rd LSFM RTW. He started the session with a competitive game which simulated the dynamics of market in the real world. Based on the experience of the game, he drew the participants’ insights about entrepreneurship, […]

Five key steps towards a food system that can address climate change and the food crisis

GRAIN has a nice article about enhancing the  global food system and here’s an interesting excerpt – Five key steps towards a food system that can address climate change and the food crisis.  Read the full article here though. HungerWednesday it is. 1. Move towards sustainable, integrated production methods The artificial separations and simplifications that […]

The great management consultancy swindle

Here’s an intriguing article in the brit newsie The Independent by  Matthew Stewart, formerly a management consultant, about the “dark arts” of the management consultancy business. It was 1988, and I was just finishing a D.Phil at Oxford University on the topic of “Nietzsche and German Idealism”. The annual recruiting season had long since gone. […]

Keeping your fruit orchard bird free

What’s worse than schoolkids raiding your treasured fruit orchard? why, those pesky fruitbirds of course! FarmFriday shares this interesting research paper in the Japanese Journal of Farm Work Research entitled Protection of Citrus from Bird Damage by a Dog.  The text is in japanese but the abstract is in english: Effectiveness of a dog (Canis […]

Reinventing the Firm

Stumbled across this interesting book William Davies on management. Perfect for weekend reading!  This book by the way is available as a FREE PDF download over at DEMOS. The blurb sez; The financial crisis has called into question many of our core assumptions about economic structures, governance and institutions. But there has been little attention […]

Mobile phone surveillance basics

Here’s a TechTuesday golden nugget from MobileActive that’s especially useful to at-risk development workers. Do read through this to get a fuller understanding of how your cellphone can be used to track and gather information about you… Mobiles can be useful tools for collecting, planning, coordinating and recording activities of NGO staff and activists. But […]

A portable SMS Gateway

TechTuesday showcases this very interesting SMS application from the inventive guys over at Development Seed. Apparently, with this software, all you need is a USB drive, a computer with internet, and a GSM modem or cell phone…. and “you can have a gateway up and running that is totally decentralized and pushing information up to […]

Our Food, Our Future

A good read we stumbled upon. HungerWednesday thinks this is good to reflect on… This is the award-winning article John Robbins originally wrote for the best-selling 2001 book Imagine: What America Could Be in the 21st Century. It’s the year 2030. A meal is served. It was quick to prepare, just a few seconds in […]

A facilitator’s guide on participatory approaches

ToolkitSunday shares this guide on “how to facilitate participatory processes with multiple stakeholders” by D. Bradley and H. Schneider of the Voluntary Service Overseas. The benefits of participatory approaches can only be felt if all those involved have a common understanding and set of expectations. This guide, designed for volunteers, partner organisations and staff, is […]

Want some cow poop for your house?

Okay, i kid you not, now you can actually construct your house using cow dung bricks!  FarmFriday brings this cool technology developed by the cool guys and gals of  EcoFaeBrick, an Indonesian organization set up to tackle the problem of excessive waste in farming areas.

Philippine farmers warms up to videoconferencing

TechTuesday presents this newsbit from Open Acadaemy for Philippine Agriculture about their latest project to pilot test for effectiveness in terms of usefulness, appropriateness and clarity to farmers the use of videconferencing to “communicate or convey rice S&T information to OPAPA CyberCom farmers. continue reading about how videoconferencing is helping philippine farmers communicate with agri […]

PhilRice debuts precision seeder

We like farm equipments especially local inventions so for FarmFriday we showcase this updated version of the seeder produced by PhilRice. If you would like to know more or are interested in buying this machine please contact 0920-911-1398. Even with low-cost drum and precision seeders around capable of seeding rice seeds in rows at 20 […]

Farmland.org documents global landgrabbing

HungerWednesday shares this interesting website we stumbled upon while browsing Grain. Visit http://farmlandgrab.org, website maintained by Grain, “that offers the most comprehensive information tool on the global land grab for outsourced food production” Grain says the website “provides an open, up-to-date and easy to search library of over 800 articles, interviews and reports on farm […]

How GM Seeds Killed More Indians than World War II

FrankenThursday goes back to that underreported tragedy that is the Indian Farmer suicides. Again from  Celsias. One of the least-reported tragedies that resulted from globalization and corporatization of agriculture is the farmer suicide story of India – a tragedy comprising several hundred thousand individual tragedies, and possibly the ‘largest wave of suicides in history’. Last […]

Shifting seasons to cause more hunger

HungerWednesday present this article from Celcias about the Oxfam Report that details how shifting seasons caused by climate change may severely impact food production and contribute to the rise in world hunger in the coming years. Shifting seasons are destroying harvests and causing widespread hunger – but this is just one of the multiple climate […]

AsiaDHRRA co-organizes regional workshop on the global financial crisis

AsiaDHRRA is co-organizing the Regional Conference on the Impact of the Global Economic and Financial Crisis to the Vulnerable Sectors in the Region: Civil Society Voices and ASEAN to be held on July 28-29, 2009 in Jakarta, Indonesia. The regional dialogue seeks to strengthen a constructive civil society interaction with ASEAN and policy makers in […]

Here comes the vertical farms

FarmFriday found this interesting technology while browsing Celsias. So we followed the links and then ultimately came to Cleantech where they’re promoting this technology. High oil prices, the diversion of 30 percent of the U.S. corn crop for ethanol, and strong demand from China and India are causing food shortages in vulnerable countries around the […]

How China became world's third largest food aid donor by promoting family farms

HungerWednesday again and we highlight this interesting article from Celias about how “China ended its dependence on food aid, but almost overnight.. became the world’s third largest food aid donor.” And China got to this by dismantling collective farms and replaced them with family farms. Wow! Another convincing proof that family farming is the way […]

Are you ready for FrankenSugar?

One by one, biotech companies are steadily making GMO versions of our staple foods. We should stop this madness! Ya its FrankenThursday. Eat healthy today ok? From Grain: The looming GM sugar cane invasionOne of the most destructive developments in agriculture over the past two decades has been the boom in soya production in the […]

A look at public–private partnerships for agricultural innovation

FarmFriday presents this report from ELDIS about the growing trend in public-private partnership in Latin America. Might provide us Asians some new perspective or approaches in agricultural development work. Abstract This report outlines how public-private partnerships (PPPs) constitute a new mode of operation in many fields of development, including the development of innovation in developing […]

Farming for 9 Billion People

FarmFriday brings this very interesting article from Green Inc.,  about the new challenges facing farmers as they  struggle to feed an ever-growing global population amidst the specter of climate change.  Its interesting to note also that Deutsche Bank has a “climate change advice division” – kinda neat don’t you think so? read on… How will […]

Role of knowledge management and communication in value chains

For TechTusday, here’s a rather serious and insightful reading especially if your work focuses on market intermediation. Lots of ideas to bounce around. Abstract This paper emphasizes the role of knowledge management and communication in value chains from the perspective of resource-poor producers in Latin America. Based on value chain literature, social network theories and […]

Third LSFM Regional Training and Workshop held in Cagayan de Oro, Philippines

Cagayan de Oro City, June 29 – Representatives from networks of rural NGOs and people’s organizations from nine countries in Southeast and East Asia gathered in Cagayan de Oro City from June 28 to July 2 to discuss how the small farmers and farmerholders can hurdle the extremely difficult challenges of entering and participating competitively […]

A significant shift: Women, Food Security and Agriculture in a Global Marketplace

Another good read from ICRW! From the introduction: Rural women produce half of the world’s food and, in developing countries, between 60 percent and 80 percent of food crops.  Women also are more likely than men to spend their income on the well-being of their families, including more nutritious foods, school fees for children and […]

Want some FrankenRice?

Nothings more asian than rice. And when some people mess with it we take serious offence right? FrankenThursday‘s out to frighten you with this evil FrankenRice that is sure to make way down your gut unless you heed Greenpeace call to reject it. NOW! Please sign the petition here!!! The GE rice has been developed […]

The Future Control of Food

HungerWednesday brings another good read from IDRC though a bit on the heavy side. Perfect for late night or airport departure lounge reading. A must read for food rights advocates and CSO workers. This book is the first wide-ranging guide to the key issues of intellectual property and ownership, genetics, biodiversity, and food security. Proceeding […]

Promising Approaches to Address the Needs of Poor Female Farmers

Here’s an interesting read we picked up from ILC. This brief focuses on key agricultural resources needed by poor female farmers to generate incomes and ensure their families’ food security. It is organized around key resources and promising approaches to increase poor women’s control of those resources. Download the article here.  Lots of interesting articles […]

ASEAN Secretariat launches Women’s Wing

From the ASEANSec To boost awareness of ASEAN and of the cultures of ASEAN among women and children in the region, the ASEAN Secretariat (ASEC) Women’s Wing was officially launched today with a simple ceremony at the ASEAN Secretariat, Jakarta. The ASEC Women’s Wing, a non-profit entity which comprises the female staff and wives of […]

Monsanto sues more small family farmers

FrankenThursday brings this anger-inducing news that Monsanto is suing yet another North American farmer for having his own field contaminated with FrankenCanola from another field through no fault of his own. That is just so wow! right? Let this serve as a reminder to Asian farmers to never ever plant any FrankenSeeds nor be near […]

Financial crisis makes agricultural focus more urgent

From TWN News service Geneva, 8 May (Kanaga Raja) — The UN Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) should reaffirm the need, not only to increase food production, but to re-orient agro-food systems and the regulations that influence them at national and international levels, towards sustainability and the progressive realization of the right to food. This […]

IFAD Land acquisition study warns of impacts on poor rural people

Land acquisitions are on the increase in Africa and other continents, raising the risk that poor people will be evicted or lose access to land, water, and other resources, according to the first detailed study of the trend.  The UN Funded – IFAD study warns that such deals can bring many opportunities (guaranteed outlets, employment, […]

Philippines' Rice sufficiency officers undergo re-tooling workshop

HungerWednesday brings this interesting tidbit- Philippines actually have “Rice Sufficiency Officers”. Pretty interesting right? and they’re undergoing a retooling workshop. They must need this as they have a kinda daunting task ahead of them — ensuring a rice-sufficient Philippines by 2013. Close to 100 rice sufficiency officers (RSOs) and PhilRice officials nationwide gathered for the […]

Visit DigitalGreen!

TechTuesday showcases an interesting Indian website – DigitalGreen– that seeks to disseminate targeted agricultural information to small and marginal farmers in India through digital video. The Digital Green system sustains relevancy in a community by developing a framework for participatory learning. The system includes a digital video database, which is produced by farmers and experts.

WHY Advocacy Toolkit

ToolkitSundays shares this useful Advocacy Toolkit from Why.  The toolkit draws from the american experience but us Asians might pick up a nugget or two of new insights and approaches in fighting hunger and poverty upon reading the booklet.Why has a lot of downloadable publications related to poverty advocacy and hunger that you might find […]

AFA Farmer Leader Assasinated

Renato Penas, Vice-President of PAKISAMA, was shot dead by unidentified gunmen at 11:00 PM yesterday, on the way to his farm in Sumilao, Bukidnon. He was 51. His 2 companions are in the hospital nursing gunshot wounds. It was a high price to pay for selflessly dedicating himself to the agrarian reform movement. He is […]

All is well in Marinaleda, Spain

FarmFriday brings this interesting and inspiring article from the NYTimes about a socialist town in Spain that’s been doing really well despite the economic challenges currently gripping Spain. Laura Leon | New York Times MARINALEDA, Spain — The people of this small Andalusian town have never been shy about their political convictions. Since they occupied […]

Here comes the miniature cows

HungerWednesday brings this rather bewildering agri trend in the US -farmers switching to miniature cows as ontesibly they are cheaper to raise than the fullsize ones. The mini cows are cute alright and they might be cheaper to maintain, but couldnt the farmers keep fewer full size cows instead? Also how can anybody slaughter cows […]

Summary of CSO Statement – ASEAN-FAO Regional Conference on Food Security

ASEAN-FAO Regional Conference on Food Security Bangkok, 27 – 28 May 2009 Summary of CSO Statement The civil society participants in this gathering are committed to work with ASEAN and member states in addressing food security concern of the poor and marginalised, especially the vulnerable landless and resource-poor women and men farmers and fishers. Addressing […]

Adopted Joint Chairs’ Summary – ASEAN-FAO Regional Conference on Food Security

*Press Release* ASEAN-FAO Regional Conference on Food Security* Bangkok, 27 – 28 May 2009 Adopted Joint Chairs’ Summary The ASEAN-FAO Regional Conference on Food Security was held on 27-28 May 2009 in Bangkok, Thailand. The delegates from all ASEAN Member States, namely Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam […]

Producing more while spending less

From Philrice comes this interesting story… His is the story of the proverbial “turning setbacks into opportunities”. For half of his life, a man as blessed as Hermie Saclayan, 64, of San Mateo, Isabela is now literally reaping the fruits of the sweat of his brows. During his early years in rice farming, Saclayan learned […]

Glyphosate-resisting frankenweeds again

FrankenThursday presents another disturbing news about the continued proliferation of frankenweeds. Susan Mann | Betterfarming.com Essex County soybean grower Leo Guilbeault isn’t surprised University of Guelph researchers found a type of giant ragweed that’s showing resistance to the popular herbicide glyphosate. He’s always found giant ragweed tough to kill. “I know even the normal rate […]

Food insecurity highlights need for sustainable agriculture

A report by the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), “Sustainable Agriculture and Food Security in Asia and the Pacific”, highlights that food insecurity is still very much alive in the Asia Pacific region, home to the largest number of hungry people. Sustainable agriculture and food security was the theme topic […]

AsiaDHRRA to participate in the ASEAN-FAO Regional Conference on Food Security

AsiaDHRRA is set to participate in the ASEAN-FAO Regional Conference on Food Security 27-28 May 2009 in Bangkok, Thailand. “The aim of the ASEAN-FAO Regional Conference on Food Security is to provide a consultative platform for the ASEAN Member States, Dialogue Partners and international organisations to address food security issues in the ASEAN region. To […]

Consumption Tax instead of ETS, WWF says

MATT CAWOOD | http://sl.farmonline.com.au/ 22/05/2009 10:49:00 AM TRYING to shoehorn agriculture into an emissions trading scheme promises to be complicated and rife with “perverse outcomes”. How about a consumption tax instead? Paul Toni of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) flagged the idea of an additional tax delivered along the same lines as the […]

FFTC Director JC Lee receives award for exemplary S&T achievements

For playing a central and instrumental role in promoting agricultural science and technology development in the country, FFTC Director Dr. Jen-Chyuan Lee was awarded with a silver medal of recognition by the National Science Council (NSC) of Taiwan during its 50th anniversary… continue reading about Director JC Lee

Food crisis still a reality in SE Asia

By Chee Yoke Heong | Third World Network Features While the current global financial and economic turbulence continues to grab headlines, the food crisis of recent past is still with us. The former should serve as a critical opportunity to address the food problem that would worsen given the multiple challenges to sustainable agriculture and […]

Bringing CSD17 home… for the small producers

Here’s a nicely written and thoughtful article by our very own Ms. Marlene  Ramirez :-), about how the CSD17 process can be made truly relevant to the small producers. This was originally published in Outreach Issues – May 12 Issue. Ms. Marlene is currently participating in the CSD17 in New York. As a development advocate […]

LSFM to hold 3rd Regional Training Workshop in Philippines

LSFM is set to hold the 3rd Regional Training Workshop of the Linking Small Farmers to Market project towards end of June 2009 in Cagayan de Oro City, a city in the northern part of Mindanao island, the Philippines. This workshop will emphasize the importance of small farmers organized into commodity groups so that issues […]

AsiaDHRRA joins FAORAP Conference

AsiaDHRRA actively participated in the recently concluded 29th Regional Conference for Asia and The Pacific (FAORAP Conference) held last  March  26-31, in Bangkok, Thailand. The Rural Development Working Group composed of AsiaDHRRA  AFA, Action Aid, East Asia Working Group, Focus on the Global South, Pesticide Action Network in Asia and the Pacific (PAN AP), Philippine […]

LSFM Philippines conducts 2nd National training

LSFM-Philippines held its 2nd in-country training-workshop last March 17-18, 2009 at the Ugnayan Hall, Partnership Center. The training-workshop, with a theme: “Complying with Market Requirements on Product Quality and Food Safety,” focused on enhancing the knowledge and skills of small calamansi farmer leaders, LGU and NGO agricultural extension workers/community organizers on the importance of standardization […]

The Sufficiency Principle – there's enough for all

By Hannes Lorenzen, Brussels These days we are being urged not to save money but to consume more in order to save our crisis-ridden economy. Some states even pay us to take our old car off the road and buy a new one. We are supposed to help the banks back into business and save […]

Bambang Ismawan honored with Sang Pemula Award

Good news was received in early December 2008. Chairman of trustee board of Bina Swadaya Foundation was given Sang Pemula Award from NewsEum, a non profit organization which was inspired by public figure Tirto Adhi Soerjo, one of Indonesian press figure. Visit the Bina Swadaya website for more news on micro-enterprise and microlending in Indonesia….

AsiaDHRRA co-organizes global videoconference on food sufficiency

The global videoconference entitled “Global Food Sufficiency: Towards Sustainable Food Production and Consumption” will simultaneously connect civil society and decision-makers from Asia (regional conference in Manila), Africa (regional conference in Dakar), Latin America (regional conference in Brasilia), and North America (regional conference in Washington DC) with a regional conference in the European Parliament in Brussels. […]

Using the ICA cooperative model in Vietnam

After the success of land reform in the North of our country, during the period from 1955 to 1957, the restoration and rebuilding National Economy started with a new manner of working together in rural areas. Having reallocated lands, Farmers self- organized thousands groups of “mutual help” and “work exchange” to cooperate and help each […]

Food Crisis, the Impact of Marginalization of Peasants and Farming

“Farmers, your destiny now: you are overestimated in the noble hope by the law makers, are restricted in the legislation of law, are tricked by big companies and are forced to plant certain variety of plants by the government”. This is exposed by a teacher in a lecture in a state’s university in Jakarta. Is […]

Monsanto farmlands plagued by "superweeds"

In another case of  what the h__ll could go wrong, a herbicide and frankenseed resistant “superweed” is fast gaining  foothold in Monsanto farmlands.  Nature striking back? The gospel of high-tech genetically modified (GM) crops is not sounding quite so sweet in the land of the converted. A new pest, the evil pigweed, is hitting headlines […]

Nitrogen Fixing Tree Start-up Guide

For FarmFriday we have this comprehensive 12-page guide from Agroforestry.net. This introduces nitrogen fixing trees and their products and uses in tropical agroforestry. Extensive charts for species selection are included. Download the Nitrogen Fixing Tree Start-up Guide here… Visit www.agroforestry.net for more info and agroforestry publications

Germany bans cultivation of FrankenCorn

Germany has banned the cultivation of GM corn, claiming that MON 810 is dangerous for the environment. Under the new regulations, the cultivation of MON 810, a GM corn produced by the American biotech giant Monsanto, will be prohibited in Germany, as will the sale of its seed. Aigner told reporters Tuesday she had legitimate […]

Itsasmendikoi staff visit AsiaDHRRA

Asier Arana, formerly a WRF staff and presently working for Itsasmendikoi (IMK) – an integral centre for the formation and promotion of rural and litoral enviroments, visited AsiaDHRRA yesterday in connection with his current research project and had fruitful interaction with PhilDHRRA and AsiaDHRRA staff. Asier is set to undertake a 3 month research on […]

PhilRice harvesting machines

From the inventive guys over at PhilRice comes this harvesting machines. Harvesting has the highest labor requirement, needing about 16 man-days/ha, in rice farming operations. The Rice Engineering and Mechanization Center (REMCenter) of PhilRice designs harvesting machines that help farmers save on labor cost, increase productivity, and lessen the difficulty of farm operations. “We design […]

IFAD InnoWat: Water retention and harvesting

Its summertime in most of southeast Asia these time around and water worries are becoming once again topics of discussions. Here’s an interesting read from IFAD about one their water projects. Water retention and harvesting Context An estimated 40 per cent of the world population lives in arid and semi-arid areas. Rainfall is limited and […]

Support DHRRA Malaysia, join the "Run for a Cause"

DHRRA Malaysia is one of the Charity organization choosen to be part of – Run for a cause by Standard Charted. All you need to do is to participate in the Marathon and raise funds. Registration fees will be waived in recognition of your commitment and efforts. The catch is — you are encouraged to […]

1,500 Indian farmers commit mass suicide

This is just so sad… Over 1,500 farmers in an Indian state committed suicide after being driven to debt by crop failure, it was reported today. The agricultural state of Chattisgarh was hit by falling water levels. “The water level has gone down below 250 feet here. It used to be at 40 feet a […]

Tony Ledesma (1929-2009), Man of Dialogue: The Power of Networking

A Letter to Bina Swadaya Community TONY LEDESMA(1929-2009), MAN OF DIALOGUE: The Power of Networking by Bambang Ismawan In the 40th anniversary celebration of Bina Swadaya, a book entitled Menuju Indonesia Swadaya (Towards Self-Reliance of Indonesia) written by Eka Budianta was launched.  We found in it a figure named DR. ANTONIO L. LEDESMA (80 years […]

DHRRA Malaysia's Economic Enabling Program

The Economic Enabling Program is an income generating effort for the members of the community initiated by the Development of Human Resources in Rural Areas, Malaysia (DHRRA Malaysia) and RUMAH RAPHA. DHRRA Malaysia is a civil society moving towards organizing a strong, self-reliant community through poverty alleviation and people’s empowerment initiatives based on the spirit […]

IFAD’s new Prez calls for agricultural renaissance

Rome, 1 April, 2009 – As leaders of the G20 gather in London to seek shared solutions to the global economic crisis, IFAD’s new President, Kanayo F. Nwanze, called on national governments to accelerate agricultural development. The worldwide financial downturn is threatening to push millions of people into abject poverty, particularly poor rural people in […]

Farewell and Godspeed Doc Tony…

It is with deep sadness that we announce the passing away of our beloved founder and DHRRA Pioneer Doc Tony Ledesma today Wednesday, 18 March at 1:30 a.m. His remains lie in state at the Sanctuario de San Antonio,  Forbes Park, Makati.  Novena masses will be held at 8pm daily. Interment will be held on […]

DHRRA Malaysia redesigns website

DHRRA Malysia relaunched their website with a redesign aimed at presenting better information about their activites and  simplify web management. Do pay them a visit and learn about the groundbreaking work they are doing in advancing consumer rights and facilitating dialogues with the different sectors in Malaysia.

WRF holds seminar on Smallholder Family Farming

The World Rural Forum (WRF) will hold an international seminar on family farming entitled “A Future For Smallholder Family Farming” on 10 March, 2009 in Bilbao, Spain. The Seminar aspires to promote feasible proposals aimed at defending family agriculture in the North and South and at informing about and providing ideas on the fundamental role […]

Dr. Wen-Chi Huang presents Taiwan country paper on Agro-tourism workshop

Dr. Wen-Chi Huang, TaiwanDHRRA President together with Ms. Li-Lan Liao presented the Taiwan Country paper on Agro-tourism Development for Creation of Rural Jobs and Diversified Income in Taiwan during the Workshop on Agro-tourism Development for Creation of Rural Jobs and Diversified Income held on 4-8 Nov 2008 in Bandung, Indonesia. The workshop was organized by […]

Workshop Summary: Ensuring Food Security in ASEAN Community

ASEAN is home to 540 million people . Substantial percentages of land resources in many countries in ASEAN are devoted to agricultural production. Agriculture is still an important source of income and livelihood in many ASEAN countries. Yet , the poorest people in ASEAN, or those who live below $1 or even $2 dollars a […]

AsiaDHRRA joins the APF/ACSC 4 in Bangkok

AsiaDHRRA is set to participate in the upcoming ASEAN Peoples’ Forum and ASEAN Civil Society Conference 4to be held in Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand on February 20-22, 2009. During the said event, AsiaDHRRA and AFA will jointly organize a Workshop on Ensuring Food Security for the ASEAN Community on February 21, 2009, 11:00 am – […]

Drought threatens chinese farmers

Luoyang, China (CNN) — Fifty-year-old farmer Du Jianmin says if it doesn’t rain soon in his corner of northern China, his winter wheat crops — which his village of 120 people relies on for food for the year — will die. Henan province is suffering one of China’s worst droughts in 50 years. Henan province […]

Show me the money!!! or the global pyramid scam explained

This post is not agrarian to say the least but since the current global recession is hitting us all hard i figured this would interest you all dear readers. So here’s an fascinating slideshow that explains the money scam… Click here to know more about the global recession and where all the money went…

The food processing industry and sustainable development

FarmFriday presents this interesting reading  about “how large food companies and multinationals, and a select group of supermarket chains have expanded enormously and have captured profit making opportunities in developing countries. Their influence is restructuring developing countries’ agricultural systems and processing industries in such a way that many poor and marginalised groups might remain excluded.” […]

40-kg technology for enough, healthy seedlings

For FarmFriday we have this fine tip from PhilRice about planting healthy seedlings.. Sowing the right amount of seeds results in strong and healthy seedlings. Hence, rice experts recommend the use of 40 kg certified seeds of an inbred variety or 20 kg hybrid for one hectare. This 40-kg technology disproves the common belief that […]

Vatican blames profiteers and GMOs for the food crisis

Cardinal Renato Martino, head of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace said the scandal of hunger in the world continues to be of concern. Famine and lack of nutrition are to be blamed on the poor distribution of plentiful foodstuffs, not overpopulation, he said. The responsibility for the food crisis “is in the hands […]

Participatory techniques useful in selecting appropriate crop breeds

FarmFriday showcases this excellenet research work on “Participatory variety selection and characterization of Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench) elite accessions from Malawian gene pool using farmer and breeder knowledge” Plant breeding and agricultural promotion programmes in Malawi continue to be patterned after those in western industrialised countries – heavily dependent on inputs. This strategy has […]

Its hybrid rice time in Malaysia

HungerWednesday again! We feature this article from grain about how the popularity of hybrid rice is slowly killing off public breeding in Malaysia. Grain GRAIN visited the Penang research station of the . We wanted to check-in with Malaysia’s rice breeders about the status of hybrid rice in the country. One of Malaysian Agriculture and […]

Another rice crisis in the offing this year

HungerWednesday brings this disturbing forecast of a rice crisis occuring this year because of the worldwide credit crisis. MANILA, Philippines – A drop in oil and fertilizer costs has halved the price of rice — a staple for almost 700 million of Asia’s poorest — but it could jump again this year as farmers struggle […]

Mali Farmers take to computers

TechTuesday bring this fascinating account of how african farmers in Mali are using information and communication technologies (ICTs) to better their lives. The bus to Sikasso was waiting in front of the hotel, already loaded with four translators and their technician with his equipment, two ladies introduced to me as ‘hostesses,’ Mady, the cheerful local […]

World rice prices to go up again says IRRI

Inquirer.Net MANILA, Philippines — World rice prices are likely to rise sharply for the second straight year in 2009 as the global economic slowdown hits farmers and consumers alike, the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) warned Friday. The worldwide credit crunch will make it hard for farmers to secure cash to purchase essentials such as […]

Thousands of Indian farmers are committing suicide after using GMOs

GlobalResearch When Prince Charles claimed thousands of Indian farmers were killing themselves after using GM crops, he was branded a scaremonger. In fact, as this chilling dispatch reveals, it’s even WORSE than he feared. The children were inconsolable. Mute with shock and fighting back tears, they huddled beside their mother as friends and neighbours prepared […]

Cambodia: investing in land and food for foreigners

HungerWednesday brings this worrisome development in Cambodia. This is probably happening in other third world countries too. Grain Cambodia is a major target of the global landgrabbing surge that began in March this year when the world food crisis was at its peak. High-ranking foreign delegations have regularly been visiting Phnom Penh, looking to strike […]

Mobiles in-a-box

Here’s avery interesting find for TechTuesday. This is a toolkit produced by the Tactical Tech, “an international NGO helping human rights advocates use information, communications and digital technologies to maximise the impact of their advocacy work”. Mobiles in-a-box from the Tactical Technology Collective is a collection of tools, tactics, how-to guides and case studies designed […]

Gil Cua, 1953-2008

A beloved friend and leader,  Gil P. Cua, 55,  succumbed to liver cancer on December 17, 2008.  A sudden departure for us. Though he had bouts of sickness the past months, he was diagnosed of cancer only last month.  The whole network and our DHRRA leaders mourn his death and extends prayers for his wife, […]

ASEAN launches new charter

Inquirer.net JAKARTA—(UPDATE) The Association of Southeast Asian Nations took a major step towards becoming an EU-style community Monday with the passing into force of a new charter setting benchmarks for democracy. The charter sets out rules of membership, transforms ASEAN into a legal entity and envisages a single free trade area by 2015 for the […]

The Role and Potential of Secondary Crops

HungerWednesday brings this very informative article about how secondary crops can enhance household food security. “Secondary crop-based agribusiness development will contribute to the stabilization of household food security by promoting crop diversification, improving and fulfilling nutritional requirements, absorbing farm labour and generating farm household income. In addition, secondary crops will play a role in maintaining […]

AsiaDHRRA co-sponsors human rights forum

AsiaDHRRA together with ESCR-Asia, CODE-NGO and the U.P. Asian Center, sponsored the forum “Kasali Ka, Kasama Ka:  Discerning Relevant Applications of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and Prospects of Ratification of the Optional Protocol in the Philippines and in Select Countries in Asia” on Dec.9, 2008, 8:30-12 noon, at Romulo Hall, […]

International Human Rights Day: Dignity and justice for all of us

AsiaDHRRA joins the rest of the world today in celebrating the International Human Rights Day. In this year’s celebration, the UN focuses on the theme “Dignity and justice for all of us” Read the Universal Declaration of Human Rights here… Some suggestions from the UN on how to participate in the worldwide celebration of Human […]

AFA Farmer Leader murdered in Philippines

We mourn the death of Ka Vic Paglinawan, a model farmer leader from Mindanao, who also touched our lives in the region for his active participation in the regional activities hosted by AFA and AsiaDHRRA in the past years. During those times, Ka Vic Paglinawan represented PAKISAMA as its National Chairperson. We fondly remember Ka […]

The mighty rise of the flavored food

This is a very interesting reading although a bit old already. It presents how commercial foods depend on manufactured flavors for their taste and feel. “Mysterious, man-made “natural flavor” explains why most fast food — indeed, most of the food Americans eat — tastes the way it does” By Eric Schlosser Excerpt From Eric Schlosser’s […]

Philippines targets rice self-sufficiency by 2013

JOHANNA CAMILLE SISANTE, GMANews.TV MANILA, Philippines –  The Philippines will achieve rice self-sufficiency by the year 2013 if the government increases its investments into the agriculture sector, the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) said Monday. In a public forum at the House of Representatives, PhilRice executive director Ronilo Beronio said increased technological and farm input […]

Organic livestock production and marketing

FarmFriday is here again and we showcase this downloadable guideline on organic livestock production — it details the steps necessary to market livestock produce as ‘organic’. The contents of this Primefact include: * Role of livestock in organic farming systems * Livestock nutrition * Shelter * Breeding * Livestock welfare * Livestock health * Marketing […]

Cellphone helps reduce irrigation costs

TechTuesday presents this interesting news article about how small farmers in South Africa are using cellphone to better manage their irrigation system. Small scale sugar cane farmers in South Africa have managed to potentially reduce their direct irrigation costs by US$300 per hectare thanks to the use of a high cellphone technology system that is […]

Free Flickr pro accounts for nonprofit organizations

Are you an non-profit and want to post your all pictures in flickr but can’t because you dont have a pro account yet? well, worry no more. Flickr for Good is donating 10,000 1-year Flickr pro accounts to nonprofit organizations in partnership with TechSoup Stock. So hurry on and visit Flickr for Good for details. […]

FFTC has a new director

AsiaDHRRA extends it warmest congratulations to FFTC’s new director, Mr.  Jen-Chyuan Lee: Director Lee is one of Taiwan’s leading research and development (R&D) managers whose professional commitment is the scientific and technological advancement of the agriculture and fisheries sectors in the Asian region. His professional experience speaks well of his managerial and administrative competence, having […]

10 reasons to buy local food

FarmFriday brings this instructive list by Brenton Johnson of johnsonsbackyardgarden.com. (via http://www.organicconsumers.org) 1. Locally grown food tastes better. Food grown in your own community is usually picked within the past day or two. It’s crisp, sweet, and loaded with flavor. Produce flown or trucked in from Florida, Chile, Mexico, or Holland is, quite understandably, much […]

Sustainable agriculture can feed the world

HungerWednesday highlights this interesting article from Ms. Lim Li Ching of TWN about how the widespread practice of sustainable agriculture can practically solve the current global food crisis and at the same time alleviate climate change. The challenges facing agriculture today are immense. Of immediate concern is the global increase in food prices, starkly brought […]

Food revolution thru SRI

Here’s a very interesting article about how SRI is proving to be a viable rice production strategy worldwide. By William J. Broad IHT Many a professor dreams of revolution. But Norman Uphoff, working in a leafy corner of the Cornell University campus, is leading an inconspicuous one centered on solving the global food crisis. The […]

Storing seeds the SACLOB way

FarmFriday brings us this ingenious seed storage techniques from our friends over at Philrice. SACLOB comes from the Filipino word saklob which means “cover”. True to its name, SACLOB shields stored seeds from pest infestation. In their paper, Orge and coworker Engr. John Eric Abon described SACLOB as a hermetic or airtight seed storage enclosure […]

Iraqi farmers ordered to plant mutant seeds

HungerWednesday features this alarming and frightening news about how Iraqi commercial farmers are forced  to use registered terminator seeds (the “protected variety”). Order 81 is part of ghastly Bremer’s 100 orders Order 81 deals specifically with Plant Variety Protection (PVP) because it is designed to protect the commercial interests of corporate seed companies. Its aim […]

AsiaDHRRA joins Aid for Trade FGD

AsiaDHRRA joined 15 other participants from various civil society groups in a focus group discussion on Aid For Trade held on October 13, 2008 in Quezon City. The purpose of the meeting is to discuss issues surrounding the WTO and the Aid for Trade initiative as it applies in the Philippine context. The activity was […]

AsiaDHRRA participates in Nanotechnology forum

Ms. Lany Rebagay participated in the Seminar-Forum on NANOTECHNOLOGY AND SYNTHETIC BIOLOGY: Potential Impacts on Agriculture, Food and Livelihoods held at Balay-Kalinaw, University of the Philippines, Diliman, Quezon City on October 9, 2008. Pat Roy Mooney, Executive Director, ETC Group was the featured speaker of the seminar workshop, which was sponsored by SEARICE and TFFS.

AsiaDHRRA participates in the International Meeting of Experts on Agrarian and Rural Development

Ms. Marlene Ramirez, AsiaDHRRA SecGen, participated in the WRF sponsored International Meeting of Experts on Agrarian and Rural Development held in Valencia Region-Basque Country-Spain from 28th September-3rd October 2008. Ms. Ramirez shared a presentation on the Asian Food Crisis. The main objectives of the “Worldwide Meeting are the internal strengthening of the Network, better mutual […]

Young NorthDHRRAs share OJT experiences

North DHRRA OJTs – Yeo Joung Suh (KoDHRRA), Sung Wei Huang (TaiwanDHRRA), Ryoko Tsuboi (JaDHRRA) and Shui Tsai (TaiwanDHRRA) had a fruitful sharing session last September 12, 2008 about OJT life, their insights and its impact on their personal life. They also shared their reflection about their own DHRRAs and AsiaDHRRA. The session proved to […]

Vietnamese rice farmers relieved over gov't decision to buy surplus rice

HA NOI — Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung Hai yesterday required relevant bodies to continue buying rice from farmers and to speed up rice exports in a move to minimise difficulties for farmers. At an inter-ministerial meeting, the Deputy PM also said management of rice export prices should be flexible, and said he required the […]

KAFF commemorates Lee Kyung Hae’s 5th death anniversary

By Kang, Min Su, AFA The Korean Advanced Farmers Federation’s (KAFF) commemoration of Lee Kyung Hae’s 5th death anniversary ended successfully. The commemoration was organized in order to remember the farmer-leader’s sacrifice. Special rites were held before Lee Kyung Hae’s grave in his hometown. Through these events, KAFF hopes that the public will remember Lee […]

Ryoko visits AsiaDHRRA

Ryoko Tsuboi, formerly JaDHRRA OJT in AsiaDHRRA visited the secretariat last September 10, 2008 on her way to Bikol to accompany Ms. Chiaki Inoko who, as part of her research study, spent a one- week exposure visit in the Foundation of our Lady of Fatima Center (FACE), a PhilDHRRA member NGO in Camarines Sur, Philippines […]

Mobile film-making tutorials

TechTuesday presents this online tutorials to spice up your film-making skills. MobileJamFest has four online tutorials on mobile filmmaking which walk viewers through the process of planning, shooting, and editing a video. Click here to view the tutorials.

AsiaDHRRA welcomes newest intern, Mr. Sung Wei Huang

AsiaDHRRA gladly welcomes Mr. Huang Sung Wei, its newest intern from Taiwan. Sung Wei will undergo a two-month intership program in the AsiaDHRRA Secretariat Office in Manila, Philippines. His learning objectives for the period include; Gaining a deep understanding of AsiaDHRRA and AFA operations Deepen understanding of the project“Linking Small Farmers to Market” Research about […]

Use leaf color chart to save on fertilizer use

FarmFriday brings your this expense saving tip from PhilRICE A common practice among farmers is to routinely apply 3-4 bags N fertilizer during panicle initiation. This is not entirely a wrong practice, according to Ms. Evelyn Javier, soil scientist of the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice). “It is crucial for rice at this stage to […]

An agenda for domination – Latin America’s FTAs with the European Union

For HungerWednesday, we found this article from GRAIN, which is very informative reading in the light of the impnding ASEAN FTA with EU… The European Union is promoting “association agreements” or “cooperation agreements” with Latin American countries. These agreements appear weaker and more flexible than the equivalent agreements that the USA is signing with countries […]

AsiaDHRRA visits ADB

Ms. Marlene Ramirez, Executive Director, AsiaDHRRA, shared her views with ADB NGO/Civil Society Anchors on how ADB and CSOs can work together to support implementation of ADB’s new long-term strategic framework more news here…..

Medical evidence of therapeutic, nutritional and prophylactic properties of Moringa oleifera

This is another interesting article about the supertree, moringa oleifera. This is the first of four planned papers on the nutritional, therapeutic, and prophylactic properties of Moringa oleifera. In this introductory paper, the scientific evidence for health effects are summarized in tabular format, and the strength of evidence is discussed in very general terms. A […]

The new geopolitics of trade and the collapse of the mini-ministerial at the WTO

This article from IGTN suggests that the recent collapse of the WTO mini-ministerial, July 2008, reflects the new geopolitics of the global economy. The emerging economies are approaching trade issues and negotiations differently. Particularly they place more emphasis on supporting women employed in agriculture. There is new conviction among negotiators that poverty and livelihood issues […]

Food Crisis In Southeast Asia: The Political-Economic Impact of the Rise of Commodity Prices

HungerWednesday highlights this paper on the food crisis presented by AsiaDHRRA Chairperson Datuk Marimuthu Nadason during the Forum on Regional Strategic and Political Developments held in Singapore recently. The devastating presence of food crisis in this millennium has undoubtedly shocked all walks of life, from policy-makers to housewives in all areas of the globe. Unexpectedly, […]

ICTs: transforming agricultural extension?

Heres’s an interesting reading for TechTuesday from the DevelopmentGateway about how ICT are becoming essential tools in providing agricultural extensions services. This paper reports on the 6th Consultative Expert Meeting of the ACP-EU Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation Observatory (CTA) on ICTs. The summary report provides an outline of the main issues, developments and […]

Rice farming tips: "Controlling’ water during the rainy season"

FarmFriday showcases this rice farming tips from Philrice on “Controlling water during the rainy season” Don’t let your ricefields overflow with water. “Too much water, like the lack of it, could cause stress on the rice plant, affecting its growth and yield,” explained Jovino de Dios of the PhilRice’s Agronomy, Soils, and Plant Physiology Division. […]

Stop the Seed Gestapo!

Stumbled upon this worrisome article in reddit.. http://onthecommons.org | 17 Nov 2006 / Jonathan Rowe In my wife’s dialect of kari-ya, spoken on the island of Panay, in the Philippines, there is a word, binhi, which refers to the grains of rice that are set aside and used as seeds in the next planting season. […]

Sleepwalking into a crisis

For HungerWednesday, we have this insightful interview over at grains.org, of Timothy Lang, a Professor of Food Policy at City University in London and a leading authority on food.  “The steep rise in the price of basic food commodities on the world market this year came as no surprise to him, for he has been […]

Doha Round collapses

This is big! and its all over the net. From IHT GENEVA: A high-level summit meeting to salvage a global trade pact collapsed Tuesday after the United States, China and India failed to compromise on farm import rules, according to trade officials. Trade diplomats, who were not authorized to speak publicly, said that the meeting […]

UNESCO's Virtual Laboratory Toolkit Released

For TechTuesday we found this interesting tidbit. haven’t gotten around to testing them out yet though. The first edition of the UNESCO “Virtual Laboratory Toolkit” has just been released on the World Wide Web and within UNESCO’s Public@ series of representative “open access” CD-ROMs that are giving access to information in the public domain or […]

The threat of soil pollution to food safety and sustainable agriculture

FarmFriday again and we share this article from FFTC about the looming soil pollution problems in the Asian REgion associated with “contamination of heavy metals in soils due to rapid industrialization, urbanization and intensive agriculture.” TSUKUBA, JAPAN – The Asian economy has been growing fast in recent decades, and environmental stresses are building up rapidly […]

G8 and the food crisis: the real solutions

HungerWednesday features this writeup by Greenpeace we found on Eldis outlining the underlying causes of the food crisis and recommendations for the G8 countries. Millions of people around the world are suffering food shortages, unaffordable food prices and hunger, primarily due to industrial farming, bad harvests related to climate change, unjust terms of trade and […]

Taking to task the Cereal offenders

From Eldis, we get this policy brief  that ActionAid circulated calling for the “G8 leaders to take bold steps in Hokkaido to prevent world hunger spiralling further out of control.” Three years after the G8 pledged to ‘make poverty history’, the current global food crisis has left close to a quarter of the world’s population […]

Community supported agriculture

FarmFriday brings you this interesting concept of “community-supported agriculture” fromt he LEISA Magazine. In a situation of growing globalisation of food systems, questions are increasingly being raised about the integrity of our food supply, the impact of its production on the environment and animal welfare, and the fairness of trade between consumers and workers along […]

Food versus fuel in the Philippines

HungerWednesday features this interesting article from PANOS that furthers the discussion on the effects of commercial scale biofuel cultivation to food security. 7 March 2008 | Imelda Abano The Philippine government wants farmers to plant crops for biofuels on a vast scale. But could the quest for green energy create food shortages? Growing world energy […]

Vietnam to boost rice production

HA NOI — The agriculture sector will put in maximum efforts to increase the area of hybrid rice to 70 per cent of the country’s total rice area by 2010, said Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Bui Ba Bong in a meeting of the ministry on Wednesday held to discuss the result of […]

FOMCA on the price hike in Malaysia

Here’s a research paper – Social Impact of Rising Prices – Mitigating Measures for the Lower Income Group – shared by our good partners in Malaysia – ERA consumer. In brief, FOMCA examines and identifies the impacts of the rising prices of basic commodities in Malaysia and its impact to low income groups and proposes […]

Hoarding by nations worsening global food crisis

IHT| By Keith Bradsher and Andrew Martin | Published: June 30, 2008 At least 29 countries have sharply curbed food exports in recent months, to ensure that their own people have enough to eat, at affordable prices. When it comes to rice, India, Vietnam, China and 11 other countries have limited or banned exports. Fifteen […]

New version of FrontlineSMS launched!

For TechTuesday, we are very excited to try out the new version of FrontlineSMS. I’ve been having fun toying with the previous version and am now looking forward to testing the new version on a suitable popular campaign here in the Philippines. Visit Kiwanja.net– developers of the app and download frontlinesms here.

Suh, Yeo Joung starts one year OJT in AsiaDHRRA

AsiaDHRRA welcomes Ms. Yeo Jeong Suh, KoDHRRA Member as she starts her one year On-the-Job Training (OJT) at the AsiaDHRRA Secretariat Office in Quezon City Philippines. During her stay Ms. Suh plans to; Gain insight, deepen understanding and appreciation of the work of NGOs in Asia particularly in the Philippines Acquire basic knowledge on managing […]

Biofuels boom and poor people's access to land

FarmFriday brings you this interesting research from www.eldis.org on the effects of the rising interest in biofuels and how it is affecting poor peoples access to land The study concludes that, while biofuels can be instrumental in revitalising land use and livelihoods in rural areas, these possibilities depend on security of land tenure. Where competing […]

The World Food Crisis: Sources and Solutions

For HungerWednesday! we feature this nice read from Fred Magdoff at the MonthlyReview.org as he examines the causes of the global food crisis and proposes solutions. Interesting reading indeed! An acute food crisis has struck the world in 2008. This is on top of a longer-term crisis of agriculture and food that has already left billions […]

MobileActive08 Call for Proposals

For TechTuesday, we have an announcement from MobileActive.org requesting for proposals on mobile applications. To be held in Johannesburg, South Africa from October 13-15, MobileActive08 will convene practitioners, researchers, technologists, and donors to explore how mobile technology is being used to advance social development and the work of NGOs. SANGONeT and MobileActive.org invite interested individuals […]

Effective rice marketing strategies

MarketMonday presents this very useful writeup by the PhilRice team on how to increase income through implementing effective rice marketing strategies.Palay seeds should not stay long in warehouses. They should reach the market at once. After three to four months of labor in the ricefield, the farmer’s much awaited benefit comes next. It is the […]

Asian states feel rice pinch

Our good friend Conchi Quintana from WRF shared this interesting update on the rice crisis (from the BBC NEWS) affecting asian countries. Asian countries have been struggling to cope as the cost of rice has reached record levels. The price of the staple crop has risen by as much as 70% during the last year, […]

Maligaya flatbed dryers distributed to philippine farmers to reduce rice wastage

FarmFriday brings you this update on the maligaya flatbed dryer– one of the most popular search terms here in our blog.  To those interested in the dryer, please contact the Philippine Rice Research Institute for more info. Drying palay on the road, which is a practice that most farmers do, is wasteful as it can […]

Writing radio scripts to improve food security

TechTuesday brings you these very useful tips on writing radio scripts. This is from our favorite farm radio resource – Farm Radio International This paper is intended to share with the reader the steps in script writing that we at Farm Radio International follow to ensure that our final product – which is the written […]

Kees Blockland's blog – farmers fighting poverty

i stumbled upon Mr. Kees Blockland’s very informative blog while googling for vietnam farmers. Kees’ blog “collects stories from all over the world on farmers fighting poverty and comments on the efforts of farmers worldwide in building their own development”

Comparison of Biofuels

Its’ FarmFriday! i picked up this interesting infographic at the very informative biofuels blog Gas2.0. Click the image for a larger view

VietDHRRA website is online!

Visit VietDHRRA’s newly launched website! The bilingual website features organizational information about VietDHRRA, and updates about their programs and projects

Small diversified farming will save the day!

Here’s another good read for HungerWednesday. Although this is not from Asia, still it presents an interesting viewpoint about the current gloabl energy crisis is brining to the fore the importance and relevance of small farmers doing diversified farming. NYT | By DAN BARBER Published: May 11, 2008 COOKING, like farming, for all its down-home […]

High prices for staple foods dip, but volatile markets persist

IHT | Keith Bradsher Published: May 9, 2008 HONG KONG: After months of startling increases, the prices of rice, wheat, soybeans and several other foods have come down recently, a development that could ease some of the panic in global food markets. Prices remain volatile and remarkably high by historical standards, and few agricultural experts […]

Can the Cellphone Help End Global Poverty?

TechTuesday again! here’s an interesting article from the NYT asking a rather intriguing question; can the cellphone be the savior of third world countries? This article shows how the mobile phone has benefited people from the developing countries by enabling them faster access to information, increasing income and becoming an important business tool. More interestingly, […]

Soaring food prices and the rural poor

IFAD The prices of basic food commodities have increased rapidly over the past three years. The threat to food security in developing countries increases in stride. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon warns that “the rapidly escalating crisis of food availability around the world has reached emergency proportions.” “Responding effectively to the impact of higher food prices must […]

Ms Kruewan Chonlanai is the new AWCF Chairperson

The Board of Trustees (BOT) of AWCF has appointed Ms Kruewan Boonrin Chonlanai of the Credit Union League of Thailand, Ltd. (CULT), Thailand as its new Chairperson. Ms Kruewan has been working for CULT for almost 18 years now starting as Training Staff of the Education Department (1990-1994), then became Education Manager (1995-2004), then Executive […]

The End of Cheap Rice

Here’s a very informative presentation from CEDAC on the rice crisis in Cambodia. It also presents the need to support small farmers and adoption of “farmers’ innovations such as the Systematic Rice Intensification (SRI) and the MASIPAG rice breeding program” instead of the IRRI’s “second” green revolution nonsense. This powerpoint presentation was prepared by Winfried […]

New Publication: A Study of Emergency Rice Reserve Schemes in Asia

We are re-issuing this research paper as a contribution to a more vigorous discussion on the need for Asian countries to implement Emergency Rice Reserve Schemes. This has never been more timely as Asian countries are now facing serious socio-political problems generated by the ongoing rice/food shortages. This research paper originally published in the book […]

New publication: Alternative Framework on Trade and Development for the Philippines

This paper, jointly published by AsiaDHRRA and AFA, and written by Ping Peria, raises issues on the existing rules of the international trading system and its supporting mechanisms. It discusses the need for an alternative approach to the dominant trade and development framework beyond the WTO and the ASEAN focusing on agriculture and rural development. […]

Philippine rice crisis – reaping the 'fruit' of market capitalism

GRAIN Hybrid Rice Blog [the Philippine rice crisis is just one of] the signs “of an inherent crisis – that of market capitalism and trade liberalisation policies that many developing countries reliant on foreign debt are forced to accept. The Philippines is a good example of a country that was pushed to ignore its own […]

Profiting from hunger

Its HungerWednesday again and we found this insighful article from Grain about how global agribusiness firms, traders and speculators are raking in huge profits while much of the world is suffering from food shortages. GRAIN  For some time now the rising cost of food all over the world has taken households, governments and the media by […]

Free Online Course: Networking in Support of Development

TechTuesday brings you this announcement of free online course on Networking in Support of Development.  The Food and Agriculture Organization and the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation invite applications from e-agriculture.org members to participate in a free four-day Online e-learning Course: NETWORKING IN SUPPORT OF DEVELOPMENT The First Course for Applicants in Africa […]

Food crisis rattles Asian countries

* Published Date: 18 April 2008 * Source: The Scotsman * Location: Edinburgh By Raju Gopalakrishnan in Manila THE crisis over rice showed no signs of easing yesterday as the price of the world’s benchmark jumped 10 per cent in just one week, fanning fears that millions across Asia will struggle to afford their staple […]

Philippines now the world's top rice importer despite being home to IRRI

By Tina Arceo-Dumlao Philippine Daily Inquirer First Posted 02:21:00 04/25/2008  MANILA, Philippines-It is ironic that the Philippines, home to the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) and some of the world’s best agriculture schools, has become the world’s top importer of rice. The last time the Philippines produced enough of the staple to feed its people […]

Rising food prices rolling into a silent global tsunami

From The Economist.com  PICTURES of hunger usually show passive eyes and swollen bellies. The harvest fails because of war or strife; the onset of crisis is sudden and localised. Its burden falls on those already at the margin. Today’s pictures are different. “This is a silent tsunami,” says Josette Sheeran of the World Food Programme, […]

Global hunger, global anger

The looming food shortage crisis in the Philippines is giving us pause and a certain nervousness about how things will unfold in the coming months ahead. We’ll be keeping track of how the food shortage crisis is spreading across Asia by devoting a post about it every wednesday of the week hence, HungerWednesday. The first […]

The innovative use of mobile applications in the Philippines: Lessons for Africa

TechTuesday again! I’m really into cellphone tech these days and i found this fascinating read about some interesting ways mobile applications are being used in the Philippines. The Philippines are a leader in the use of mobile telephones for access to a range of services from m-Banking to m-Education and m-Governance. The Phillipines experience shows […]

FAO says food shortages a global emergency

From IPS NEW DELHI, Apr 9 (IPS) – Jacques Diouf, director general of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), on Wednesday described spiralling food prices as an “emergency” that demanded concerted global attention. “In the face of food riots around the world like in Africa and Haiti, we really have an emergency,” Diouf […]

Monitoring NGOs Commitment to Rural Poverty Reduction- PhilDHRRA-Luzon’s Experience

This is an old research undertaken by PhilDHRRA Luzon to develop a monitoring system that will track the performance of each member NGO based on their set commitment to rural poverty reduction. The monitoring system is part of the operational framework on rural poverty reduction that rationalizes the role of each NGO member and the […]

Issue Paper on Special Products and Special Safeguard Mechanism (SP/SSM)

The issue of Special Products and Special Safeguard Mechanism (SP/SSM) is a key issue in the current Doha Round of negotiations. The SP/SSM seems to be one of few issues that developing countries are quite strong on, and that the US is strongly opposed to, meaning that if the developing countries (G33) stay strong in […]

How ICT can make a difference in agricultural livelihoods

TechTuesday and i found this nice read from iicd. Agriculture is an important sector with the majority of the rural population in developing countries depending on it. The sector faces major challenges of enhancing production in a situation of dwindling natural resources necessary for production. The growing demand for agricultural products, however, also offers opportunities […]

A Rice Crisis Is Boiling

I came upon this rather bewildering post in Time Magazine while googling for the current rice crisis. This write-up was datelined Monday, Jul. 02, 1973!!! amazing to know that today’s “rice crisis” has happened before. Rice is life itself in Southeast Asia, and this year there is not enough to go around. Freakishly bad weather […]

Understanding the ASEAN Charter and the ASEAN Economic Community Blueprint

This issue paper jointly published by AFA and AsiaDHRRA presents basic information on the ASEAN Charter and the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) Blueprint, including updates on ASEAN Free Trade Agreements (FTAs), as well as AFA’s analysis and position on these topics. It was written by Focus on the Global South Program Coordinator Joy Chavez, who […]

AFA Field Visits & Farmer Interactions (2006-2007)

This monograph presents the highlights of the farmers’ exchange visits (FEVs) in Indonesia and Japan, conducted by AFA, in cooperation with AsiaDHRRA. It also contains the highlights of the field visits held during regional consultations in Indonesia, Vietnam, and the Philippines. All of these FEVs and field visits occurred during the years 2006-2007. Download the […]

Urban Agriculture for Green and Productive Cities

Urban agriculture is the growing of plants and the raising of animals for food and other uses, and related processing and marketing activities, within and around cities and towns. In the past few years, it has received increasing attention from development organizations and national and local authorities in developing countries. With its multiple functions, urban […]

AsiaDHRRA publishes case study on Alternative Regionalism

The case study aims to look at other models of regionalism that exist in other parts of the world that may help Southeast Asian civil society explore the potentials of regionalism in advancing the interests of the people, particularly the interests of the poor that comprise the overwhelming majority of region’s population. It aims to […]

Alex Chandra's book on Indonesia and AFTA out now!

Our good friend Alex Chandra has just published his much awaited book on the interplay of nationalism and regional integration in the context of the Indonesian experience. Order the book online here or here (for european customers) Indonesia and the ASEAN Free Trade Agreement: Nationalists and Regional Integration Strategy By Alexander C. Chandra “This book, […]

SMS phone based system a boon to Indian Farmers

Here’s another very interesting article on how SMS phones are revolutionalizing rural farming in Asia. Indeed it seems the SMS phone IS the Computer. ————————————————– Through its Warana Unwired project, researchers at the Technology for Emerging Markets (TEM) group at Microsoft Research India (MSR India) worked with a 70,000-person rural sugarcane cooperative to run an […]

AsiaDHRRA and Intel succesfully hold regional workshop on Community-Based ICT Integration

AsiaDHRRA, in partnership with Intel Technology, successfully concluded the three-day “Regional Workshop on Community-Based ICT Integration” last 14 March with thirty-one participants from six Asian countries attending. The workshop, held in Legend Hotel, Pasig City, aimed to have a full understanding of the past and current initiatives by civil society organizations in bridging the digital […]

Bina Swadaya celebrates Bapa Bambang's 70th

“Loyalty is the only [thing] I have and defend” The preceding sentence was pronounced by Bambang Ismawan when delivering his short message during celebration of his 70th birthday in front of hundreds of invitees and guests on Friday night (7/3). There are present in the event: Abdurrahman Wahid/Gusdur (former President), Meutia hatta (State Minister of […]

The politics of organic seed certification

Here’s an insightful examination of the dizzyingly complex processes and practices on organic seed certification worldwide. its a bit of a long read but worthwhile nonetheless. Btw, there’s also a PDF version you can download over at the Grain website. —————————————————- GRAIN The vision behind organic agriculture is one in which care for the environment […]

AFA Day Celebration

In celebration of AFA day, members and partners participating in AFA’s Consultation-Workshop & 3rd AFA General Assembly last February 28 – March 3, 2008 in Sangnok Resort, Cheonan, South Korea, visited 2 farmer communities. pics and stories here… 

Websurfing Filipino farmers

Tech Tuesday again, and we bring you this interesting story of how filipino farmers in remote areas are using the internet to research and find answers to problems they encounter in farming. Got this off inquirer.net By Anselmo Roque inquirer.net SCIENCE CITY OF MUÑOZ — Confronted with a pest attack on his rice field, Marcelino […]

Research confirms frankenfoods cause of allergies

Global Research by Jeffery M. Smith Genetically modified (GM) foods are inherently unsafe, and current safety assessments are not competent to protect us from or even identify most dangers. Overwhelming evidence to support this conclusion is now compiled in the book Genetic Roulette: The documented health risks of genetically engineered foods, which presents an abundance […]

Philippine Farmers' Field Day to showcase new technologies

This seems like a very interesting event to go to. with all the nifty and ingenious inventions sure to be displayed. ——————————————- PhilRice New technologies will be showcased during the Farmers’ Field Day, which is one of the highlights of the 21st National Rice R&D Conference on March 11-13 at the PhilRice Central Experiment Station […]

AsiaDHRRA and Intel conducts ICT workshop

AsiaDHRRA and Intel Philippines is set to conduct a 2-day Regional Workshop entitled “Community-based ICT Integration: Lessons and Possibilities” on March 13-14, 2008 at the Legend Villas, Mandaluyong City, Metro-Manila, Philippines. The workshop hopes to glean lessons and identify guideposts in the continuing effort to bridge the digital divide that hinders access to development opportunities […]

Click here to visit the workshop blog where you can download presentations and view pictures…

Rural Women in the Wired World

Its TechTuesday again! and having recently celebrated the other half of the world last March 8 i thought of posting something techie with a gender twist. And here’s an inspiring article from IDRC about how African rural women farmers are benefiting from ICTs. It shows how “a variety of tools and tactics serve both rural […]

Little progress in WTO agri talks

Third World Network By Kanaga Raja, Geneva, 3 Mar 2008 Following two weeks of small-group talks that produced little results, the agriculture negotiations at the WTO will be taking a pause this week. Members can use this time to discuss issues among themselves before the full membership meets again on 10 March to assess the […]

Research: Institutionalizing learning in rural poverty alleviation initiatives

Here’s an interesting reasearch i found while browsing the current issue — Knowledge sharing and knowledge management in Latin America and the Caribbean (Part I) in the KM4D Journal Abstract Institutionalizing learning in rural poverty alleviation initiatives Irene Guijt, Julio Berdegué, German Escobar, Eduardo Ramírez This article describes a 5-phase approach for improving the learning […]

FrontlineSMS: sms power for NGOs

For today’s TechTuesday, I present you the impressive application called FrontlineSMS developed by the techies at kiwanja.net. Btw, did i tell that its FREE! i’m downloading it now and gonna test it soon. FrontlineSMS is the first text messaging system to be conceived, designed and written firmly with the needs of the non-profit sector in […]

REDD: A Threat to Our Rural Sustainable Development

By Ms. Tina Napitupulu Binadesa (or InDHRRA) www.binadesa.or.id Indonesia Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation or REDD is the hot topic in climate change talks. It was first introduced in 2005 and is believed to have a significant role in slowing the global warming process and will be benefiting all parties, developed as well as […]

Dr. Dyno Keatinge is new AVRDC Director General

February 20, 2008 – The World Vegetable Center has appointed Dr. Dyno Keatinge as AVRDC’s new Director General. The Center’s board members selected Dr. Keatinge by unanimous decision. He will assume his duties as Director General in mid-April. “There’s an exciting future ahead for the World Vegetable Center,” Dr. Keatinge said. “The Center is poised […]

Brunei Darussalam, Malaysia, and Lao PDR Ratify the ASEAN Charter

Brunei Darussalam, Malaysia, and Lao PDR have joined Singapore in ratifying the ASEAN Charter. Brunei Darussalam deposited its instrument of ratification on 15 February 2008; Malaysia and Lao PDR’s followed suit this afternoon, 20 February 2008. In a simple ceremony in Singapore on the sidelines of the ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Retreat, Dr. Surin Pitsuwan, Secretary-General […]

API launches ICT for farmers

The Indonesian Peasant Alliance is currently implementing an ICT capability building training for its member farmers; Based on the endeavor to enhance farmers and their households’ capacity to access to information technology (IT), API in cooperation with Formasi Indonesia has been conducting Community Training Center (CTC) Program starting from August 2007. The objective of the […]

AFA 3rd General Assembly in Korea

Following the 21st AFA Execom meeting in Bangkok, Thailand last December 22, 2007, AFA announced that it will hold its third general assembly in Korea on February 28 to March 3, 2008, to be hosted by the Korean Advanced Farmers’ Federation (KAFF). February 28 will be the celebration of AFA Day with a field visit […]

FarmTech: Rice Seed Preservation Technique

Its TechTuesday once again and searching high and low, we found this interesting video made by the good people of IRRI on rice farming. The video blurb says ” Produced by the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI, Philippines), CAB International (CABI, UK), and the Rural Development Academy (RDA, Bogra, Bangladesh), this is one of four […]

Farmers’ Field School helps Filipino couple increase farm yield

Couples get old, and so do their children. Soon they will marry, leave the house, and leave their parents in their solitary house. In much the same way, their parents get to appreciate plants, gardening, and everything that is green. Silveria and Danilo Rivero of Isabela City in Basilan are such parents. They spend their […]

LSFM PMT Meeting

LSFM is holding a Project Management Team Meeting on February 22-23, in Quezon City, Philippines to discuss plans and targets for the year 2008 and to clarify project management and finance reporting requirements. PhilDHRRA and CEDAC presented their revised plans and targets during the meeting.

Visit the DHRRA Malaysia website

DHRRA Malaysia’s website is now up and running. Learn how their community training centers are proving to be effective in empowering Indian communities in Malaysia.

ASEAN Foundation visits AsiaDHRRA

Mr. Ajie Akhmad Wahidin, Program Officer and Ade Chayadi, Finance, Admin and Personnel Coordinator of ASEAN Foundation visited the AsiaDHRRA office today for a project monitoring meeting of the Linking Small Farmers to Market (LSFM) Project currently being implemented by AsiaDHRRA with the support of ASEAN Foundation. AsiaDHRRA staff Lany Rebagay-Program Officer, Lorna David, Finance […]

LSFM taking off!: Team visits the pilot countries

A Team composed of Ms. Marlene Ramirez, Secretary General of AsiaDHRRA, Ms. Ma. Elena Rebagay, Program Manager and Mr. Nonoy Villas, Project Coordinator of Linking Small Farmers to Markets visited and conducted an In-Country LSFM Project Orientation Meetings with anchor organizations in the Philippines, Cambodia and Vietnam during the period January 18 to 27, 2008. […]

World Bank fails small farmers

The central finding of the Independent Evaluation Group (IEG) report on the Bank’s agricultural programmes in Sub-Saharan Africa between 1991 and 2006 was that the Bank, donors and governments have neglected agriculture. What limited Bank activity there has been has performed “below par”. In the period studied, the Bank channelled $2.8 billion in investment lending […]

The Maligaya Flatbed Dryer

From time to time, we’ll feature interesting inventions and equipments designed with the small farmer in mind. Today we present the Maligaya Flatbed dryer we found at the Open Academy for Philippine Agriculture website. Among the interesting features of this Philippine-developed machine are; Multi-crop capability for other grains like corn, coffee,legumes, and other crops (banana […]

Microfinance, Poverty & Social Capital

Paper Prepared by: Bambang Ismawan (President and Director, Bina Swadaya) (A case study of a village where the Self Reliance Development Foundation -Bina Swadaya- works in Indonesia) Sidamulya village is located in the District of Subang, in the Province of West Java, 25 km away from the main city. Its population is 5431 with 547/km2 […]

Nonoy Villas joins AsiaDHRRA as LSFM PC

Mr. Florante “Nonoy” Villas has joined AsiaDHRRA as the Coordinator of the “Linking Small Farmers to Market” Project. Nonoy brings with him over (25) years of experience in rural and social development work, with over eighteen (18) consecutive years focused on the management and supervision of program operations for environment, health and nutrition, sustainable agriculture, […]

100 Tips 100 Tools for Better Governed NGOs

We’d like to share with you this nice booklet on NGO governance we found at the ADBI This resource is primarily for the members, managers and volunteers of big and small NGOs. People interested generally in development and the role of civil society may also find it a useful capacity-building resource. It is a quick […]

Congratulations to Dr. Surin Pitsuwan, ASEAN SecGen

Our congratulations to Dr. Surin Pitsuwan on his appointment as the new Secretary-General of ASEAN! Dr. Pitsuwan, a former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Thailand, assumed the post of Secretary-General of ASEAN on 7 January 2008, succeeding Mr. Ong Keng Yong, whose term ended on 31 December 2007. The five-year tenure of Dr. Surin Pitsuwan […]

Final summary report of SUSPER published by AVRDC

The World Vegetable Center has published the final report of the SUSPER (Sustainable Peri-Urban Agriculture In Southeast Asia) project. Its a good reading for those interested in production and marketing of urban produced vegetables and market development in the Greater Mekong Region. This report is a summary of the findings of the research done on […]

Agricultural cooperatives in Asia

Agricultural cooperatives have played an important role in the Asian rural landscape for decades, and has become an integral part of its social structure. Cooperatives have contributed greatly to the development of modern national and systematized agricultural production-base, helped enhance self-sufficiency of major staple foods, and strengthened farmers’ household economy by facilitating market access and […]

How farmers organize

Everywhere in the world, small-scale farmers are collaborating with each other in some way – forming groups, sharing information, working together. Under the right circumstances, farmers’ groups can make a very positive difference to the lives of those working to improve their livelihood options, as well as to the sustainable management of natural resources. The […]

World Bank webcast of the agriculture for development conference

The World Bank, in partnership with the Government of the Philippines, represented by the Department of Agriculture (DA) and the National Economics and Development Authority (NEDA), will hold a conference on “Agriculture for Development: Seizing Opportunities and Managing Risks” on December 7, 2007, from 8am to 12 noon. The event will be held simultaneously in […]

The Cultivation of Organic Nilam

Nilam (Pasgotemi spp) belongs to the family of Labiate. It is an important species in the cosmetic world since its oil is an aromatic substance (fragrant oil, patchouli oil) used in cosmetics. In Indonesia, there are Nilam Aceh (Pagostaman cabilin Benth), Nilam Jawa (P. Heyneaus), and Nilam Kembang (P. Haetensisi Backer) considered as the famous […]

A Review of different Alternatives to Agricultural Trade Globalization

Agricultural trade globalization under the present neo-liberal economic regime has disempowered and alienated farmers and producers from the rest of the commodity chain. Farmers find themselves out of the loop as soon as their produce leaves their farms. They have been reduced to being end-users of agricultural inputs produced by companies and as producers of […]

Emergency or Expediency?: A Study of Emergency Rice Reserve Schemes in Asia

In this era when disasters and calamities have become both more frequent and more intense, maintaining a national food reserve is a practical and forward-looking strategy for governments to adopt in order to ensure food security for the people and as a means to minimize the adverse impacts of unexpected events. Regional food reserves in […]

The Fair Trade System: Focus on the Oxfam-GB Model

The Fair Trade initiative was conceived more than 40 years ago as a response to concrete problems facing commodity producers. It is an alternative approach to conventional international trade dominated by big traders and in later years, by big agribusiness. It seeks to ensure that producers, the bulk of whom are poor and located in […]

Throwing money at hunger

by Mahar Mangahas | Philippine Daily Inquirer MANILA, Philippines — Next week, some 55 farmers — 15 of them women — will reach Manila in a quest for social justice, after walking more than 1,600 kilometers from the town of Sumilao in the southern province of Bukidnon, starting last Oct. 10. They regularly walked about […]

AsiaDHRRA Job Opening: Project Coordinator

AsiaDHRRA is hiring a Regional Project Coordinator to handle a 2-year Regional Project on Linking Small Farmers to Markets. We hope to fill-up the position by mid-January. Please find attached the Job TOR. Please pass to people you think might be interested. Deadline of application is December 30, 2007. Click here to download the Job […]

Green Net: A Trailblazer in Organic Marketing in Southeast Asia

Thailand has traditionally been a major exporter of rice and other major agricultural products such as sugarcane. As much as two-thirds of the country’s population live in the rural areas and depend on agriculture for their livelihood. However, agriculture accounts for a mere 10 per cent of Thailand’s gross domestic product (GDP), well behind the […]

Readings on empowering rural women 2

More readings on empowering rural women: 1. Feminization of Agriculture: Trends and Driving Forces 2. Regional strategies for empowering women (6MB) 3. Strategies for empowering poor women

Moringa Oleifera: The Miracle Tree

(NewsTarget) Imagine a tree in your backyard that will meet all your nutritional needs, take care of you medicinally, and purify your water for you. This tree actually exists. For centuries, the natives of northern India and many parts of Africa have known of the many benefits of Moringa oleifera. Its uses are as unique […]

AsiaDHRRA to attend Asia Pacific Regional Implementation Meeting for the CSD-16

AsiaDHRRA will attend the Regional Implementation Meeting (RIM) for Asia and the Pacific for the 16th session of the Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD-16) on 26-27 November 2007 in Jakarta, Indonesia. The RIM objective is to articulate Asian and Pacific concerns at the 16th and 17th sessions of the Commission for Sustainable Development, by assessing […]

Visit the Indonesian Peasant Alliance (API) website

API or Aliansi Petani Indonesia has a new website up and running at http://api-indonesia.blogspot.com/ The multilingual website offers indonesian and english language versions and showcases the latest news, updates and activities of Indonesia’s largest farmer’s group.

ERA Consumer Malaysia to present NCCC Annual Report 2006

NCCC is set to present the inaugural report on Malaysian consumer complaints for the year 2006. The Annual Report 2006 is the first consumer complaints report in Malaysian history. The report contains a review and analysis of all consumer complaints which were lodged with the NCCC throughout 2006. It is heartening to note that in […]

Organizational development tools

Below are some downloadable development tools developed or enhanced by Asiadhrra: 1. AsiaDHRRA organizational growth checklist 2. Revised AsiaDHRRA organizational growth monitoring tool

3rd ASEAN + Civil Society Conference

The 3rd ASEAN + Civil Society Conference or ACSC 3, under the theme “Moving Forward – Building an ASEAN+ People’s Agenda” , took place in Singapore in November 2-4. About 200 participants from civil society organizations and trade unions across Southeast Asia gathered to discuss issues of common concerns to people’s lives in the context […]

AsiaDHRRA conducts Altour Workshop

AsiaDHRRA and PhilDHRRA Luzon conducted an Altour workshop last November 7, 2007 at the PhilDHRRA Partnership Center in Quezon City. The workshop was participated by PhilDHRRA Luzon members who have altour interest and initiatives, namely Fundacion Santiago, Otradev Foundation, LIKAS, ICDAI, ASCODE Foundation, NORLUCEDEC & Batanes Development Foundation, Inc. The workshop resulted in an initial […]

ASEAN Civil Society Conference 2007

AsiaDHRRA, together with other regional CSO partners in SAPA, participated in the ASEAN Civil Society Conference 2007 held in Singapore in October 27-28 organized by the Singapore Institute of International Affairs (SIIA), a member of the ASEAN ISIS network. The conference was aimed to allow further participation by more groups in ASEAN, as called for […]

6th ASEAN People's Assembly

AsiaDHRRA co-anchored a panel entitled “Towards Fair Trade In An Integrating ASEAN: Perspectives of Workers, Farmers and Informal Sector” during the 6th ASEAN People’s Assembly 2007 last October 25, 2007 in Manila. The panel which was well attended focused on the serious social ramifications on small men and women farmers, on workers and on the […]

Brainstorming towards people-centered rural development in ASEAN

AsiaDHRRA initiated a series of brainstorming sessions among fellow CSOs engaging ASEAN as a platform to promote sustainable rural development. The sessions focused on the sharing of plans vis-à-vis ASEAN advocacy; concerns/ gaps or areas to strengthen in own work vis-à-vis current engagement; areas for possible cooperation and identifying possible next steps/activities. The idea of […]

Women Farmers' Seminar in Korea

AsiaDHRRA participated in the International Seminar on the Enhancement of Women Farmers’ Role in the Development of Rural Asia organized by the Food and Fertilizer and Technology Center (FFTC) based in Taiwan and the Rural Development Administration (RDA) in Korea last October 2007. The conference brought in about 15 select international delegates and more than […]

Knowledge Network Meets in China

TaiwanDHRRA Chairperson Dr. Wen-Chi Huang represented AsiaDHRRA in a Knowledge Network Meeting organized by the Agribusiness Accountability Initiative (AAI) last August 10-12 in Beijing, China. This meeting was held around the Asian Rural Sociological Association (ARSA) Congress conducted last August 8-10. The Agribusiness Accountability Initiative (AAI) is a global platform for sharing research and analysis […]

VietDHRRA Study Tour in Taiwan

TaiwanDHRRA hosted a seven-day study tour (August 28-September 3,2007) of VietDHRRA aimed at providing Vietnamese farmer leaders with workable models of agricultural production and marketing. The group visited farms engaged in commodity-based production and marketing team particularly those specializing in papaya, sugar apple, wax apple and tea products. They were also able to visit the […]

Learning Circle For Rural Peoples In Asia

Inspired by the rich and dynamic exchanges and fellowship during the series of Asian Rural Leaders’ Dialogue (ALD), AsiaDHRRA was inspired to continue providing mechanisms for dialogue for life or musyawarah. In line with this, the network conducted series of round table discussions (RTDs) from April until July involving key pioneer leaders and groups engaged […]

Readings on empowering rural women

Below are selected readings on empowering rural women: 1. Empowering rural women policies, institutions, and gendered outcomes in natural resources management 2. Empowering women farmer 3. Empowering women for food security

ACSC3 Singapore Declaration

Third ASEAN+ Civil Society Conference (ACSC-III) 2-4 November 2007, Singapore Singapore Declaration (Final Version) 1. We, about 200 participants from civil society organizations and trade unions across Southeast Asia gathered at the Third ASEAN+ Civil Society Conference (ACSC-III) in Singapore on 2-4 November 2007 to discuss issues of common concerns to people’s lives in the […]

2007 FFTC-RDA Korea Seminar Highlights

Seminar proceedings and selected presentations from the 2007 FFTC-RDA Korea “International Seminar on Enhancement of Women Farmers’ Role in the Development of Rural Asia” can now be downloaded by clicking on the links below 1. Seminar Highlights 2. Selected Papers 3. Photos ————— Read the seminar background here….

AsiaDHRRA to conduct alternative tourism workshop

AsiaDHRRA, will conduct a workshop on alternative tourism tomorrow, November 7, 2007 at the Partnership Center in Quezon City, Philippines. It will be participated in by several Phildhrra network members. The workshop to be spearheaded by Ms. Lorna David, aims to; To present the altour program concept of AsiaDHRRA To know the tourism thrusts and […]

DHRRA Malaysia among "Voices from the Grassroots" presentors during ACSC-3

DHRRA Malaysia represented by the Dengkil Community Center will be among the people’s organizations chosen to present “Voices from the Grassroots” during the First Plenary of ACSC-3 entitled Regionalism for the People: Building a Social ASEAN to be held on Friday, 02 November 2007. Seetha Sinapan, DHRRA Malaysia, will present an overview of the various […]

AsiaDHRRA to co-organize ACSC3 panel on sustainable rural development in ASEAN

AsiaDHRRA, in partnership with the Asian Farmers Association for Sustainable Rural Development (AFA), Focus on the Global South & Third World Network (TWN) will hold a panel session entitled Roadmap Towards a Sustainable Rural Development in ASEAN during the The 3rd ASEAN Civil Society Conference (ACSC3) to be held on 2-4 November 2007, at the […]

AsiaDHRRA participates in ACSC 2007

AsiaDHRRA, represented by Secretary General, Ms. Marlene Ramirez is participating in the ongoing ASEAN Civil Society Conference (ACSC 2007) being held on October 26-28, 2007 in Singapore. The regional event is organized by the Singapore Institute of International Affairs (SIIA) The Civil Society Conference is organized by the Singapore Institute of International Affairs with support […]

AsiaDHRRA co-organizes APA panel on ASEAN Fair Trade

AsiaDHRRA will co-organize a panel entitled “Towards Fair Trade In An Integrating ASEAN: Perspectives of Workers, Farmers and Informal Sector” during the 6th ASEAN People’s Assembly 2007. It will be held on October 25, 2007 from 8:30-10:00AM at the EDSA Shangri-La Hotel, Mandaluyong City, Philippines. The featured panel speakers are Ms. Alice Chang, UNI-APRO (on […]

Philippine Farmers to march on foot for 60 days to reclaim land

Quezon City, Philippines — As a non-violent way of protesting the more than 10 years of injustice they have gone through in trying to reclaim their ancestral land, 50 “lumad” farmers belonging to the Mapalad Multi-purpose Cooperative (MPC) will march on foot from their hometown of Sumilao, Bukidnon in the south to the capital city […]

AFA goes autonomous!

The Executive Committee of AFA decided to put up its own secretariat office in Manila last July 23, 2007. The decision marked the end of a process of autonomy which began in 2002, facilitated by its NGO partner and catalyst, AsiaDHRRA. It signalled the readiness of AFA leaders to take on bigger responsibilities in organizational […]

AsiaDHRRA participates in Philippines Altour Planning Workshop

Ms. Lorna David, AsiaDHRRA CBRMD Program officer, is set to participate in the Provincial Ecotourism Research Validation and Planning Workshop to be held on October 10-11, 2007, in the Irosin Sorsogon, Philippines. The workshop is being conducted by LIKAS, a Sorsogon-based NGO with the support of Peace and Equity Foundation, the Foundation for Sustainable Society, […]

AsiaDHRRA to present paper in FTCC seminar on women's role in agriculture

Ms. Marlene Ramirez, AsiaDHRRA Secretary General has been invited by FFTC to present a paper on the role of women in agriculture entitled Ensuring Rural Women’s Voice in Agricultural Policy Formulation at the seminar on Enhancement of Women Farmers’ Role in the Development of Rural Asia to be held on October 15-19, 2007 in Suwon, […]

AsiaDHRRA set to participate in 3rd APHD Pan Asia Farmers’ Conference

AsiaDHRRA has been invited by APHD SA to participate in the 3rd APHD Pan Asia Farmers’ Conference to be held on October 17-25, 2007 in the Province of Bohol located in the central part of the Philippines. The event includes two days of field exposure and community immersion in the Diocese of Talibon; and four […]

PDAP’s Push for Organic Rice: Enhancing the Survival of Filipino Rice Farmers in a Liberalized Economic Setting

The Philippine Development Assistance Program, Inc. (PDAP) is a consortium of Filipino and Canadian organizations that for the last 19 years has been working to reduce poverty in the Philippines. In partnership with Philippine NGOs and peoples’ organizations (POs), PDAP develops and implements socioeconomic projects funded through contributions from Canadian NGOs and Official Development Assistance […]

JaDHRRA launches Japanese Youth Philippine Exposure 2007

Twelve (12) japanese college students from Otemon University and Kobe University, led by their teachers, Dr. Yoshikuni Yatani and Dr. Hiroyuki Fujioka are set to begin their exposure program in the Philippines. They will visit farming communities in Camarines Sur and Legazpi City in the Bikol region and an urban poor community in Quezon City […]

Round-table discussion on Alternative Framework on Trade: WTO and Beyond

August 28, 2007 | 1:30-5:00 pm Partnership Center, 59 C. salvador St. Loyola Hts. QC, Philippines Organized by: TAG, AsiaDHRRA, AFA with funding support from Agriterra and Oxfam Rationale: Since its inception 12 years ago, the World Trade Organization (WTO) (along with the current global trade system that it promotes) has miserably failed to deliver […]

VietDHRRA: continuing human resource development in the countryside

IN 2006, VietDHRRA completed the household surveys for 11 pilot villages at 10 different provinces throughout the country. Covered in the research were the existing situation of farmer production, community lives and potentials of human resource development for rural areas. The network also conducted 6 TOT courses for more than 150 participants coming from 19 […]

Empowering and Engaging Rural People with the Market: AsiaDHRRA Experience

As a regional network, the most significant contribution of AsiaDHRRA is the formation of a regional federation of farmers – the Asian Farmers’Association for Sustainable Rural Development or AFA, a regional alliance of farmer federations and organizations in ten Asian countries, representing 9 million farmers. Established in May 2002, its formation was a fruit of […]

ASEAN Document On Poverty Eradication

In view of the social impact of the financial and economic crisis, the Sixth ASEAN Summit held in Hanoi in December 1998 proclaimed its resolve to safeguard the welfare of the poor and disadvantaged. The Hanoi Plan of Action mandates that ASEAN shall implement the Plan of Action on ASEAN Rural Development and Poverty Eradication […]

Regional Consultation Workshop on Farmers' Situation

AsiaDHRRA, in cooperation with AFA, PAKISAMA and PhilDHRRA will assist in facilitating the “Regional Consultation Workshop on Farmers’ Situation: Responding to Major Difficulties Faced by Farmers in Asia” on June 12-15, 2007 at the SEAMEO INNOTECH Center in Commonwealth Avenue, University of the Philippines, Diliman, Quezon City, Philippines. The consultation-workshop aims to facilitate the (1) […]

AsiaDHRRA dialogues with Food and Fertilizer Technology Center

Visits to two major international agricultural research institutes based in Taiwan –AVRDC and FFTC was dovetailed to the AsiaDHRRA ExeCom meeting. AsiaDHRRA was warmly welcomed by FFTC’s leadership led by Director Sing-Hwa Hu. The Food and Fertilizer Technology Center (FFTC) is a regional center who plays an unusual role among the world’s international agricultural centers. […]

AsiaDHRRA visits the World Vegetable Center

The ExeCom, with the AFA Chairperson, visited the World Vegetable Research and Development Center located in Shanhua, Tainan, south of Taiwan. The mission of the center is to alleviate poverty in the developing world through increased production and consumption of safe vegetables. Similar with the AsiaDHRRA’s priority target group, AVRDC also focuses on improving the […]

DHRRA visits: Malaysia and Indonesia

Two members were visited within the first quarter of 2007 namely DHRRA Malaysia and InDHRRA. The main objective of the visit was, after the formal mandate from the assembly in 2006, to share the strategic plan to a broader stakeholder of each DHRRA (staff and Board) the AsiaDHRRA strategic plan and generate deeper understanding and […]

ASEAN Talks Business

AsiaDHRRA joined an ASEAN seminar primarily attended by members of the business sector in the region. The objectives of the seminar were to present features of the ASEAN Economic community and to highlight key developments and prospects in ASEAN for trade in good and services, standards and conformance, customs, investment, finance, infrastructure, intellectual property, dispute […]

G33- CSO in Jakarta

As part of the continuing advocacy of AsiaDHRRA towards promotion of fair agricultural trade, a delegation was sent, together with the AFA Chairperson, to actively participate in the CSO Strategy Meeting on G33 which ran parallel to the meeting of G33 officials in Jakarta from March 20-21. The CSO parallel meeting was organized by the […]

ASEAN Dialogues with Farmers

Alongside its aim of sustaining the orientation and demystification process of its partners about ASEAN, AsiaDHRRA, together with the Asian Farmers Association (AFA), helped arrange a dialogue between farmer leaders and their NGO partners with the ASEAN Secretary General H.E. Ong Keng Yong. The dialogue concluded the two-day regional workshop of AFA entitled: Firming up […]

Civil Society Statement: G33 Ministers' Meeting

Civil Society Statement G33 Ministers’ Meeting Jakarta, Indonesia March 21, 2007 We are the small women and men farmers, indigenous people, fisherfolk, non-government organizations, research and advocacy groups and other agricultural stakeholders calling on the G33 to resist the underhanded acts of the United States, European Union and other WTO members to undermine the right […]

Guide to the Agreement on Agriculture: Glossary of Trade Terms

Aileen Kwa and Walden Bello | Focus on the Global South Agreement on Agriculture. Part of the Uruguay Round agreement covering issues related to agriculture — e.g., market access, export subsidies, and internal support. Aggregate Measure of Support (AMS). An index that measures the monetary value of the extent of government support to an economic […]

AsiaDHRRA ExeCom holds 2nd Meeting in NPUST Taiwan

The 2nd ExeCom Meeting was hosted by Dr. Wen-chi Huang, TaiwanDHRRA President, in the vast campus of the National Pingtung University for Science and Technology, where she is a senior professor. Chaired by Marimuthu Nadason, the ExeCom discussed, among others, organizational matters including approval of discussion and concept papers in relation to the network’s rural […]

AFA-AsiaDHRRA comments on WDR 2008

This paper presents AsiaDHRRA and AFA’s comments on the World Development Report (WDR). This was a response to the WDR 2008 consultation process. download the paper here….

Bina Desa: Rebuilding the Village

Desperate fishermen, distraught farmers,… In the struck province of Aceh, there must have been several thousands. Millions of euros were collected and put at their disposal by governments to smooth out the consequences of the tsunami. However, the means are primarily allocated to repairing roads, bridges and government buildings. Naturally, this is not unjust. Vredeseilanden, […]

Food, Agriculture And Forestry

by ASEAN Cooperation in Food Over the past year, demands for rice and sugar in ASEAN rose, but their supply still exceeded regional requirements. In view of this situation, the earmarked quantity of 87,000 metric tons of rice in the ASEAN Emergency Rice Reserve Requirements (AERR) will be maintained at the same level. To better […]

DHRRA Network Malaysia conducts Strategic Planning Workshop

DHRRA Network Malaysia conducted an orientation and strategic planning workshop entitled “Operationalizing DHRRA Malaysia and AsiaDHRRA Cooperation” on February 24-25, 2006 in Taiping,Malaysia. The two-day activity hopes to deepen stakeholdership, generate commitment and draw concrete plans in operationalizing the strategic plan of the network at the DHRRA level. Specifically, the activity hopes to: Enhance appreciation […]

Support for Jakarta flood victims

Jakarta is currently experiencing severe flooding. The area where Bina Desa office is located is also affected by the continuously rising floodwater. Bina Desa has marshalled relief efforts to assist the flooded communities. Bina Desa is now servicing as a relief and communication center delivering aid and information to affected communities. They have opened Posko […]

AsiaDHRRA participates in the WRD08 Roundtable

AsiaDHRRA upon the invitation of the International Development Research Centre (IDRC, Canada), Rimisp – Latin American Center for Rural Development participated in the upcoming WRD08 Roundtable held in Toronto, Canada on 25-26 January 2007 The Civil Society Consultation drafted specific recommendations to the World Bank about key issues and positions that should be included in […]

AsiaDHRRA participates in ACSC2 in Cebu

AsiaDHRRA together with members of the Solidarity for Asian People’s Advocacy (SAPA) Working Group on ASEAN organized the 2nd ASEAN Civil Society conference (ACSC2) in Cebu City, Philippines on December 10-12 2006. The ACSC2 was attended by more than 300 participants from various community-based organizations, civil society groups, NGOs, social movements, people’s organizations and trade […]

AFA AsiaDHRRA launches book during ACSC panel

AFA and AsiaDHRRA’s new book, entitled “Initiatives on Pro Small Farmer Trade”, was launched during the panel session on ASEAN regional integration in agriculture. The book contains 5 case studies portraying actual initiatives in alternative agricultural trading: (1) the successful efforts of Green Net in Thailand to market organic products; (2) the initiative by the […]

AsiaDHRRA joins the Phil-Japan Friendship Year 50th Anniversary Festivities

AsiaDHRRA participated in the Philippine-Japan Symposium: “Empowering the Poor in the Philippine Society toward 2015: Partnership Building between Philippine and Japanese NGOs in Poverty Alleviation” held on 24- 25 November 2006 at the Market, Market! Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City, Philippines. The year 2006 marks the 50th year of the resumption of diplomatic relations between the […]

On-Line Leadership Development Tool Up for Discussion

Lany Rebagay, Leadership Development Program Officer and Dr. Sung Lee, KoDHRRA President, are set to meet in February for the initial discussion of the proposed on-line leadership development tool for the network’s NGO leaders. Dr. Sung Lee, ExeCom member will anchor this program having developed a major on-line HR tool in Korea. They will try […]

AsiaDHRRA participates in the WSF 2007

AsiaDHRRA, represented by Ms. Esther Penunia participated in the Global Women Leaders’ Forum on Agriculture and Trade during the WSF. She also attended the seminar conducted by East African Farmers’ Federation on January 21, 2007, where she presented AFA’s experiences in regional integration. She also participated in a seminar on women farmers organized by KENFAP, […]

AsiaDHRRA to join the SAPA General Forum

AsiaDHRRA is set to participate in the First SAPA General Forum to be held in Bangkok, Thailand on 5-6 Feb, 2007. It will be hosted by Forum Asia. It is the first meeting of all SAPA members and partners since its inception at its first regional consultation meeting in Bangkok on 3-4 February 2005. About […]

AsiaDHRRA ExeCom holds first Meeting

AsiaDHRRA ExeCom held its first meeting in scenic Bohol Bee Farm on December 17-18, 2006. Among the important agenda were a review of the 6th AsiaDHRRA GA Proceedings and Resolutions, an orientation of the new ExeCom on AsiaDHRRA Programs and Projects, Networking and Representation, and Organizational Administrative, Financial, and Operational Policies and Procedures. In the […]

AsiaDHRRA joins the 3rd WRF Congress in Basque Country

AsiaDHRRA joined the 3rd Congress of the World Rural Forum (WRF) with the theme “Towards Development and Solidarity-Challenge and Commitment”, last October 19-21, 2006 in Basque, Spain. It was attended by around 300 participants from 32 countries, from four continents – Asia, Africa, Latin America, and Europe, mainly rural development organizations: agriculturists, cooperatives, civil society […]

AsiaDHRRA ExeCom and Secretariat in Leadership Development Seminar

The AsiaDHRRA ExeCom and Secretariat jointly underwent the 2006 Leadership Development Session (LDS) in Bohol on Dec. 15-16. The two-day leadership session, ably facilitated by management consultant Angge Medel, became a productive venue for the ExeCom and secretariat to understand their own as well as the others’ leadership approaches, identify their leadership strengths and weaknesses, […]

AFA-AsiaDHRRA holds Joint ExeCom Meeting

A joint meeting of the AFA and AsiaDHRRA ExeCom took place on Dec. 14, 2006 in Cebu City, Philippines to discuss the results of the external evaluation done by Ms. Dinky Soliman on the progress of AFA’s preparation towards full operational autonomy. A joint task force was created during the meeting to oversee the process […]

AsiaDHRRA explores development of Asia-EU Linkage

AsiaDHRRA, together with partners from PhilDHRRA, AFA, and InciteGov had a 3-day trip in Brussels in October 2006 which was kindly arranged and partly sponsored by the CSA (Collective Alternative Strategies). The main aim of the visit was to orient the group of the different development groups in Belgium (NGO, Foundation, Farmers Organizations, Belgian Technical […]

Code of Conduct of Asian NGO Leader

I am an Asian NGO Leader, I rose to the challenges of the times. I heed to the call and spirit of my generation for a just, free, empowered, sustainable, developed and happy rural Asia. I draw inspiration and courage from the community of rural people I serve and from the support of my family, […]

The Disagreement On Agriculture

By PETER EINARSSON The World Trade Organisation’s (WTO) agriculture agreement is coming up for its first renegotiation. Whether or not the ‘new round’ of the WTO becomes reality, members have committed themselves to revisit the agriculture rules. In an article based on a longer study, Peter Einarsson gives an overview of the agreement and reviews […]

Trends And Patterns: The Emerging Asian NGO Leadership Framework

The Asian NGO Leader’s Dialogue (ALD) started in 2003 as an expression of NGO leaders’ shared commitment to sustainable rural development. Participants are NGO leaders representing diverse cultures, ideas, and experiences, as well as different generations. Since it started, the ALD has provided a venue for dialogue and exchange among NGO leaders on issues relating […]

Mirren Larrea, WRF completes Asian Exposure Program

Miren Larrea has recently concluded her two-month Exposure Program to Asian countries and has gone back to her beloved Basque country. Her exposure program is in line with WRF’s broad plan to establish parternships with farmers’ groups in Asia. Mirren’s major objectives, firstly, was to gain a deeper understanding of Asian rural realities and country […]

AsiaDHRRA Strategic Plan: 2005-2010

AsiaDHRRA remains committed to its vision of “Asian rural communities that are just, free, prosperous, living in peace and working in solidarity towards self-reliance.” To contribute to this long term vision, it aims to play the role of a promoter and catalyst of relationships with various partners through the people to people dialogue and exchange […]

Capacity.org features AsiaDHRRA Leadership Program

AsiaDHRRA Article entitled ‘Human Resources Development in Asia. Nurturing leaders from within’ has been published this month in the printed magazine capacity.org and on the website Capacity.org is a web magazine and web portal intended for practitioners and policy makers who work in or on capacity development in international cooperation in the South. The site […]

AsiaDHRRA secretariat meets with JaDHRRA

Members and officers of Japan Partnership for the Development of Human Resources in Rural Areas (JaDHRRA) met with the secretary general and other staff of AsiaDHRRA at Osaka on July 10, 2006, The meeting is part of a possible strategic planning process for the local DHRRA. Defining the role of JaDHRRA in the context of […]

AsiaDHRRA 2005 Annual Report out now!

Available for download is the 2005 AsiaDHRRA Annual Report in PDF format. A limited quantity of the printed copies are also available in our office. Click to download the 2005 AsiaDHRRA Annual Report

AsiaDHRRA's new ExeCom

AsiaDHRRA elected a new set of ExeCom members during the 6th General Assembly held in Taiping, Malaysia on June 20-22, 2006. Marimuthu Nadason – Chairperson Dr. Sung Lee – Vice Chairperson North Asia Jaybee Garganera – Vice Chairperson Southeast Asia Sil Vineth – Vice Chairperson Mekong Region Dwi Astuti – Women Representative Wenchi Huang – […]

AsiaDHRRA General Assembly

The AsiaDHRRA network successfully held its 6th General Assembly in Taiping, Malaysia on June 20-22, 2006. Among the highlights of the event are the presentation of 4 case studies on the Models of PO-NGO Partnerships in Cambodia, Indonesia, Philippines, Taiwan); a levelling-off on the PO autonomy process especially as it relates to AFA and AsiaDHRRA […]

Secretariat conducts Midyear Assessment and Planning with the New Chairperson

The AsiaDHRRA Secretariat together with the new chairperson, Marimuthu Nadason conducted its regular midyear assessment and planning activity from July 18-21, 2006 in Manila, Philippines. Taking off from the clear mandates and action points identified during the recently concluded 6th General Assembly of the network, the secretariat together with its new chairperson discussed operational strategies […]

Initiatives on Linking Small Farmers to the Market

Lany V. Rebagay, AsiaDHRRA program officer presented a paper o­n “Empowering and Engaging Rural People with the Market” in a seminar workshop sponsored by FAO and hosted by VECO last May 8-12, 2006 in Bali, Indonesia. The seminar was attended by about 50 participants representing various NGOs, development groups, market players and actors, and support […]

Declaration Adopted During the International Seminar On WTO, Food Sovereignty and Alternatives to Globalization

The following is the Declaration adopted during the INTERNATIONAL SEMINAR ON WTO, FOOD SOVEREIGNTY AND ALTERNATIVES TO GLOBALIZATION organized by Asia Pacific Network for Food Sovereignty (APNFS), Asian Farmers Network for Sustainable Development (AFA), Asia Partnership for the Development of Human Resources in Rural Asia (AsiaDHRRA) and International South Group Network (ISGN) held at Boys […]

AFA and AsiaDHRRA in First Farmers' Forum

AFA represented by Tri Heru Wardoyo, Esther Penunia and AsiaDHRRA represented by Marlene Ramirez participated in the recently concluded First Farmers’ Forum in conjunction with IFAD’s 29th General council Meeting held from 13-16 February 2006 at Palazzo dei Congressi, Rome, Italy. Around 55 representatives of farmers’ organizations from Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, […]

Lao Cooperation Continuing

AsiaDHRRA visited the Lao Community Development Association (LCDA) last February 10-11, 2006. A dialogue with the leaders of LCDA and an exchange on the situation of the local NPOs in Lao took place. During the visit, preparations related to the conduct of a forum among local NPOs was discussed. It was agreed that a mapping […]

A rich and inspiring ALD3 in Cambodia

The 3rd Asian NGO Leaders’ Dialogue (ALD3) was held last February 6-10, 2006 in Siem Reap, Cambodia. It was participated by key NGO leaders from eleven countries in Asia and was the culmination of the first phase of AsiaDHRRA’s programming on leadership development. It was warmly and successfully co-hosted by CEDAC, SILAKA, and CamboDHRRA. The […]

15th AsiaDHRRA ExeCom Meeting

The AsiaDHRRA ExeCom met on February 5, 2005 in Siem Reap, Cambodia to discuss the highlights of the 2005 Evaluation and 2006 Planning conducted in January in Manila. The year end evaluation and planning was participated in by two ExeCom representatives. The highlights included major gains, accomplishments and issues met in the course of AsiaDHRRA’s […]

AFA Strategic Planning and Second General Assembly moved to Cambodia

After the postponement of the original schedule last February, the AFA Strategic Planning and Second General Assembly will finally push through on April 6-12, 2006 in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, to be hosted by Farmer and Nature Net (FNN), an AFA associate member, with the assistance of its NGO partner, CEDAC (Cambodian Center for Study and […]

SEACA to hold BOT Meeting on March 28

The SEACA Board Meeting will be held in Manila on March 28-29 at the Innotech Center, SEAMEO, Quezon City. It will be attended by 16 representatives from the national and regional members of SEACA. The meeting shall consist of two parts namely a Leaders’ Forum on Transformative Leadership and the SEACA Board Meeting proper that […]

SAPA gathers momentum

AsiaDHRRA, together with 30 participants from Asia-based regional organizations held the SAPA (Asian Consultation on Strategic Action Planning on Advocacy at International Meetings 2006) last 3-4 February 2006 at the Windsor Suite Hotel, Bangkok, Thailand. The idea of conducting a SAPA meeting came about during an informal sharing and consultation among several regional NGOs present […]

Happy Women's Day!

Today, March 8, International Womens’ Day, we celebrate women’s power to make our world a better place to live in – as daughters, sisters, mothers, wives, friends, workers, activists and as ourselves – individuals. Our world is full of stories and living examples of women making a difference whatever, wherever they are – at home, […]

Latest Publications: Asian Leadership Program

AsiaDHRRA’s Leadership Program has recently published a book on Asian NGO Leadership. The book entitled “Tapestry of Asian NGO Leadership: Stories, Trends, Patterns” presents a collection of the leadership stories from select Asian NGO Leaders. The publication, in PDF format, may be downloaded by clicking on the book thumbnails on the left.

DHRRA Network Malaysia begins OJT in AsiaDHRRA

Mr. Ismail Abd Aziz, of DHRRA Network Malaysia began his 3 month re-orientation and skills enhancement internship at the AsiaDHRRA secretariat office in Manila, Philippines. Among his learning targets include skills in secretariat managment, advocacy and information technology and partnership building. You can view his progress by visiting his blog at ismaildhrra.blogspot.com

ALD3 to be held in Siem Reap, Cambodia

The 3rd Asian NGO Leaders’ Dialogue will be held on February 6 – 10, 2006 in Siem Reap, Cambodia. It hopes to provide venue for NGO leaders to reflect upon the actions, gains and challenges undertaken by civil society leaders on globalization issues particularly on the recently concluded WTO MC6 in Hongkong. Furthermore, the dialogue […]

AFA and AsiaDHRRA participates in IFAD Consultation

AFA and AsiaDHRRA participated in the Regional Consultation for Farmers’ Organizations in Asia, convened by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). The consultation is part of IFAD’s global process to institutionalize a mechanism for exchange, dialogue and partnerships with small farmers and rural producers’ organizations at all levels of IFAD engagements. AFA partners Sor […]

Appeal to Release Anti WTO Protesters

Mr. Donald Tsang Chief Executive Special Administrative Region of Hong Kong People’s Republic of China Dear Mr Tsang , Happy New Year! We, leaders and members of the Asian Partnership for the Development of Human Resources in Rural Asia ( AsiaDHRRA), a network of twelve non-government organizations in eleven countries in Asia, and an accredited […]

14th AsiaDHRRA ExeCom Meeting and ERA/DHRRA Malaysia Visit

The ExeCom met in Taiping, Malaysia for its regular governance activity. It was warmly hosted by Marimuthu Nadason, of DHRRA Malaysia and Vice-Chairperson for Southeast DHRRA cluster. Key organizational decisions were taken especially with regards the 5-year strategic planning process, its resource development plans, and upcoming major network events. Alongside the organizational agenda was the […]

AsiaDHRRA in the SOMRDPE meeting in Manila

AsiaDHRRA had the opportunity to be part of the program during the 5th ASEAN Senior Officials Meeting on Rural Development and Poverty Eradication (SOMRDPE) meeting in Manila from 12-14 October 2005. AsiaDHRRA’s presentation which took place in an open session on October 13 at the The Manila Peninsula Hotel, Makati City was coordinated through the […]

AsiaDHRRA staff in CTA Training

In line with the staff development thrust of the network, AsiaDHRRA sends two of its senior staff as Chief Technical Advisors (CTA) for Agriterra in the CTA annual advisory meeting on November 13-21, 2005 in Arnhem, Netherlands. The meeting aims at improving advisory skills of CTA and liaison officers for the benefit of Rural-based Producers’ […]

PhilDHRRA convenes 19th General Assembly

PhilDHRRA successfully held its19th General Assembly with the theme “Reflecting and Reshaping the Network towards sustainable rural development” in November 8-9, 2005 in Cebu Grand Hotel, Cebu City, Philippines, hosted by PhilDHRRA-Visayas. The assembly approved PhilDHRRA’s financial sustainability plan which was an output of a serious consultation and planning with the 73 NGO members of […]

AsiaDHRRA provides assistance in RNIP Training

AsiaDHRRA was tapped by the Regional Network for Indigenous Peoples (RNIP) to organize and coordinate a week-long training in Pontianak, Kalimantan, Indonesia aimed at preparing community development facilitators and IP leaders to link community needs with available local resources and opportunities from NGOs, government institutions and other agencies. The workshop sessions focused on Community Organizing, […]

30 Years! For InDHRRA (Sekretariat Binadesa)

InDHRRA celebrated its 30th year anniversary in July 21-23, 2005. The anniversary was meaningfully as a community immersion activity in Lorejo Village, in Jogjakarta. True to the spirit of Musyawarah, series of dialogues took place focusing on the issues of agrarian reform, food security, women concerns, and other rural development issues, challenged by the anniversary […]

AFA Blog now in beta test

The transition from the AFA website CMS to a blog format is now continuing with the beta launching of asianfarmers.org. Please visit the website by clicking here

Nothing impossible: reflections on my internship

By Shui Tsai  My first contact with AsiaDHRRA was the Farmers’ Exchange Visit in Taiwan in 2003. At that time, I had the opportunity to meet people from different countries. During the FEV, I learned a lot from them because they shared information with me on how they contribute to help farmers in their respective […]

Development and Happiness: reflections on my internship

By Ryoko Tsuboi Time passes so fast. Since I started this training program, a year and some months have passed and now I am looking back my stay here in AsiaDHRRA. Honestly, I don’t think I could get enough things that I need to run JaDHRRA as a secretariat staff. But still there were many […]

AsiaDHRRA holds Strategic Planning

The AsiaDHRRA ExeCom and Secretariat conducted a Strategic Planning in March 20-22 in Manila Philippines. The leadership defined the network’s strategic objectives and priority thrusts for the next five years (2005-2010). The key achievements of the network the past five years and the strength it has gained as an organization gave the leaders impetus to […]

JaDHRRA Study Tour

JaDHRRA in partnership with PhilDHRRA and AsiaDHRRA conducted a study tour last March 11-18, 2005. It was participated by sixteen (16) students and professors from two Japanese universities (Kobe and Otemon Gaukin University). Thematically, their interests were on health, education, and agrarian reform. The group visited various rural communities in Sorsogon, Albay, and Camarines Sur. […]

AFA conducts 11th AFA ExeCom meeting

AFA held its 11th Executive Committee (ExeCom) last March 9-10, in Chiang Dao district, Chiang Mai province of Thailand, right after the Thailand FEV. The ExeCom decided to register AFA in the Philippines, and approved project concept papers on AFA’s WTO advocacy work for year 2005 sustaining the sustainable rice campaign through mainstreaming of the […]

AFA conducts 6th Farmers’ Exchange Visit in Thailand

Forty-four participants from ten Asian countries participated in the 6th Farmers’ Exchange Visit (FEV), conducted by AFA and AsiaDHRRA and hosted by SorKorPor (SKP) Thailand last February 28 to March 9, 2005. The first part of the FEV was the first celebration of AFA Day, held February 28, at a village in Sattahip, Chonburi, Thailand. […]

AsiaDHRRA AFA set to contribute to WTO campaign leading to Hongkong Ministerial meet

Hundreds of leaders from Civil society groups across the world came for the “International Consultation Meeting on Civil Society Actions towards WTO MC (Ministerial Conference in Dec 2005″ ) held last February 26-27, 2005, in Hongkong. The consultation was conducted to coordinate plans of all advocacy groups before and during the December ministerial in HK […]

AsiaDHRRA/AFA conducts dialogue with WTO Agri Trade negotiators

AsiaDHRRA and AFA jointly conducted the “Civil Society Government Dialogue: Possibilities of Working Together for Fairer Agricultural Trade” last March 1-2, 2005, at the Pinnacle Resort Hotel, Chonburi, Thailand. The dialogue was attended by 63 participants from 11 Asian countries –Leaders from farmers; organizations and non-government organizations working with the rural sector and representatives from […]

2nd Asian NGO Leader’s Dialogue held in Thailand

Thirty-three NGO leaders convened at the Pinnacle Resort Hotel in Chonburi, Thailand last March 1-5, 2005 for the Second Asian NGO Leaders’ Dialogue supported by the OSIDEV. The event was a follow-up to the Asian Leaders’ Dialogue held in October 2003 in Cyberjaya, Malaysia. The first part provided the opportunity for the participants to deepen […]

AsiaDHRRA 2005-2010

AsiaDHRRA will conduct a strategic planning workshop on March 20-22, 2005 in the Philippines. The workshop is part of the strategic planning of the network. A preparatory activity which includes a simplified “social audit” of the network was undertaken early this year.

Field visit in Changmai

On March 3-6, 2005, AFA through SORKORPOR, its member in Thailand, will host a four day “Field Visit to Sustainable Agricultural Technology Sites in Chiang Mai”. Participants will have a chance to stay with foster farming families who practice sustainable agricultural technologies. After the field visit a capacity building session focusing on the “Review and […]

Dialogue with WTO Negotiators

On March 1-2, 2005 Asian NGO leaders together with farmer leaders from the Asian Farmers Association for Sustainable Development (AFA) will be exchanging views and opinions with some of the Asian Country Chief WTO negotiators. The dialogue will focus on identifying strategies for engaging government’s WTO agricultural trade negotiators.

Leaders' Dialogue to be held in Thailand

The dialogue with trade negotiators will serve as the first part of the leaders’ Dialogue which runs until March 6, 2005 at Pinnacle Hotel, Sattahip, Thailand. The second part will focus on sharing and discussion on the responses to the Tsunami disaster. NGO leaders involved in relief and rehabilitation efforts will be sharing their efforts […]

11th AFA ExeCom Meeting in Thailand

The 11th AFA ExeCom’s meeting will focus on conceptualizing and finalizing project proposals which can be submitted by AFA to specific funding partners. Also, a joint meeting with AsiaDHRRA ExeCom regarding AFA’s autonomy process will be conducted.

Shui Tsai to present case study at NPUST

Shui Tsai, TaiwanDHRRA volunteer at AsiaDHRRA will present a lecture on December 8, 2004, 10-12 a.m at the National Pingtung University of Science & Technology. The presentation entitled “A Case Study of Regional NGO Operation” showcases the experiences, learnings and achievements of AsiaDHRRA’s three decades of solidarity and partnership building and development work in rural […]

2nd Asian Leaders' Dialogue to be held on February 2005

The Second Asian Rural NGO Leader’s Dialogue, themed “Defining and Nurturing Asian NGO Leadership Amidst Globalization” originally set to be held on November 15-20, 2004 in Bangkok, Thailand has been rescheduled sometime in the first quarter of 2005. What is ALD? The Asian Leaders’ Dialogue is a central component of a 3-year project under AsiaDHRRA’s […]

A Successful 30th Anniversary

AsiaDHRRA’s 30th Anniversary DHRRAW conference was successfully concluded, attended by 130 development practioners from 12 Asian countries. The Opening Guest speakers were Secretaries Dinky Juliano- Soliman and Ging Quintos-Deles, representing the Department of Social Welfare and Development and the Office of the Presidential Adviser to the Peace Process, respectively. It was a happy occasion to […]

The 5th AsiaDHRRA General Assembly

The 5-day event was capped by the business meeting of AsiaDHRRA’s 5th General Assembly. Updates on the resolutions passed in the 2002 GA in Kuala Lumpur were presented. The Chairperson recalled the network’s key accomplishments for the past two years as presented during the DHRRAW. The GA likewise accepted the DHRRAW outputs and the major […]

MyanDHRRA is newest member of the DHRRA Network

MyanDHRRA, as represented by the SEARSOLIN Alumni Association of Myanmar (SAAM) was ratified as the newest member of the DHRRA network. The members warmly welcomed the MyanDHRRA representatives who vowed to also develop their DHRRA in the coming years. After more than four years of inter-action with SAAM, it was already deemed timely to respond […]

AFA conducts Asian Rice Forum

Thirty two farmers and NGO leaders from ten Asian countries belonging to AsiaDHRRA and AFA (Asian Farmers’ Association for Sustainable Development) attended the “Asian Forum on Rice: Promoting Sustainable Rice, Upholding the Interests of Small Rice Farmers”, held from August 9-18. The event is part of AFA’s and AsiaDHRRA’s joint Sustainable Rice Campaign, in celebration […]

TaiwanDHRRA OJT

The second DHRRA On-the-Job Trainee arrived in August 02, 2004 from Taiwan. Ms. Shu Hui Tsai, a second liner of TaiwanDHRRA, has a master’s degree in Agribusiness Management from the National Pingtung University of Science and Technology. She will join the AsiaDHRRA secretariat for one year following an OJT program that was jointly developed by […]

Support Solicited for the AsiaDHRRA Anniversary

Ushering on its three decades of nurturing partnerships, solidarity building and working with rural communities, AsiaDHRRA in a joint project with PhilDHRRA, has solicited the support of corporations, individuals and partners in development by being one of the sponsors/advertisers in the AsiaDHRRA 30th Anniversary Souvenir Program. The funds that will be solicited will be used […]

2nd Leadership Development Session Held

Last May 17-21, 2004 key leaders and staff of AsiaDHRRA took a break from work and headed to Development Academy of the Philippines (DAP) in Tagaytay to energize their spirit and further hone their leadership capacity. The second leadership development session included a refresher session for the second liners to prepare them for the second […]

AsiaDHRRA convenes regional caucus for SEACA, attends BOD Meeting

As a regional member organization of the Southeast Asia Committee on Advocacy (SEACA), AsiaDHRRA participated in the Board of Directors meeting held last May 7-8 in Hanoi, Vietnam. In preparation for the Board meeting, AsiaDHRRA convened a caucus of SEACA’s regional partners, among them Asian Women Cooperative Forum (AWCF), Asian NGO Coalition for Agrarian Reform […]

AsiaDHRRA Attends World Social Forum

Esther Penunia, AsiaDHRRA’s Program Officer for Regional Policy Advocacy and Movement Building,  participated in the World Social Forum (WSF) in Mumbai, India, last January 15-21, 2004 as o­ne of the representatives of Southeast Asia Committee o­n Advocacy (SEACA), a regional advocacy network. Ms. Penunia attended various conferences o­n globalization and peasant issues organized by various […]

AsiaDHHRA is now an ASEAN NGO Affiliate

The ASEAN Standing Committee, at its meeting held on 5-7 May in Jakarta, Indonesia, accorded AsiaDHRRA an ASEAN-affiliated NGO status. As such, it is expected that AsiaDHHRA can engage into the mainstream of ASEAN activities, be informed of the major policies, directives and decisions of ASEAN as well as having the privilege of participating in […]

AFA Conducts 2nd Core Group Strengthening Workshop

The newly-composed Executive Committee (ExeCom) of AFA (Asian Farmers’ Association for Sustainable Rural Development) held its 2nd Core Group Strengthening Workshop last June 1-6, in Cambodiana Hotel, Phnom Penh, Cambodia. The workshop, with the theme, “Enhancing AFA to Promote the Asian Peasant Agenda”, was attended by 19 participants representing the regular members of AFA and […]

DHRRAW 2004 to be held on August 9-13, 2004

The AsiaDHHRA 2004 Workshop celebrating AsiaDHRRA’s 30th anniversary will finally take place in August 9-13, 2004 at the Development Academy of the Philippines Conference Center in Tagaytay City, Philippines. Our member in the Philippines, PhilDHRRA, whose pioneers and leaders are in the forefront of pursuing a wide range of social development initiatives, is generously co-hosting […]

AsiaDHRRA and AFA participate in EARWG seminar

Tri Heru Wardoyo, AFA Chairperson, Vic Fabe, AFA ExeCom member, and Esther Penunia, AsiaDHRRA Advocacy Officer, participated in a three day rice seeds seminar with the theme: “Rights, Life and Culture, Stand Up for our Rice”, held in Devt. Academy of the Philippines, Tagaytay City, Philippines last March 29-April 2. The workshop was organized by […]

AsiaDHRRA joins APHD Planning for SA Program

AsiaDHRRA participated in a planning workshop conducted by Asian Partnership for Human Development (APHD) to formulate its five year plan for its Pan-Asian Sustainable Agriculture Program. The workshop was held in Bangkok last July 6-7. During this workshop, the APHD partners from ten countries in South and Southeast Asia saw AFA as a potential regional […]

AsiaDHRRA shares AFA formation experience with SA Network

Farmer leaders of the Sustainable Agriculture Network (SA Network), a national network of sustainable agriculture advocates and practitioners assisted by the Catholic-based National Secretariat for Social Action (NASSA) in the Philippines, was pleased to know about how AFA was formed and the insights that AsiaDHRRA acquired in the five-year formation process. Esther Penunia shared the […]

Regional Rice Forum

One of the major activities of the Sustainable Rice Campaign being undertaken jointly by AsiaDHRRA and AFA is the conduct of a Regional Forum on Rice: Promoting Sustainable Rice, Upholding the Interests of Small Rice Farmers. This forum is scheduled to be held August 11-19 in Tagaytay City, Philippines. During this forum, a training-workshop on […]

AsiaDHRRA’s 5th General Assembly on August 14

The 5th general assembly will be held on August 14 at the Bayview Park Hotel, Roxas Blvd, Manila. Participants in the DHRRAW 2004 workshop are expected to attend. The theme of the assembly is “Enhancing Our Capacity for Effective Partnership With Rural People by Harnessing Organization Expertise and Nurturing Solidarity”

2nd Leadership Dev't Session to be held in May 2004

The key leaders the Asian partnership for the Development of Human resources in Rural Asia (AsiaDHRRA) will be having the second leadership development session on May 16-21, 2004 at Development Academy of the Philippines (DAP) Conference Center and Hotel in Tagaytay, Philippines. The Leadership Development session is part of the continuing effort of the network […]

AFA Launches 2004 Sustainable Rice Campaign

Year 2004 is International Year of Rice. Being a regional farmers’ organization in the largest rice-eating and rice-producing region in the world, AFA embarked o­n a Sustainable Rice Campaign this year. To launch this campaign, a rice forum and a rice festival were held last February 15, in Karawang, West Java, as part of the […]

Sharing on Good Practices for Poverty Reduction

AsiaDHRRA joined the CIIR’s round table discussion o­n Development NGO Good Practices in Poverty Reduction last February 27-28, 2004 at Sulu Hotel, Quezon City. The forum looked into a framework of documenting good practices that was used to capture key elements of good practices in three countries. Case studies featuring good practices in Indonesia, Philippines […]

AsiaDHRRA and AFA release new Book and 5th FEV Monograph

The book, “Shaping the Asian Peasant Agenda: Solidarity Building Towards Sustainable Rural Development in Asian Rural Communities” was launched last February 16, as o­ne of the activities during the AFA GA. It is jointly published by AFA and AsiaDHRRA. The book contained the nine country reports, workshop results and lectures of keynote speakers and resource […]

1st SEARDA Project Advisory Group Meeting

The PAG, which serves as an advisory body to the Southeast Asia Rural Development Award (SEARDA), met for the first time in February 11, 2004 in Jakarta, Indonesia. It is composed of respected individuals from the NGO, academe, and the government sector. They discussed in detail the program design and the specific components of the […]

AsiaDHRRA ExeCom holds 11th Meeting

The 11th AsiaDHRRA ExeCom Meeting was held in Depok Indonesia last February 13-14, 2004. InDHRRA hosted the meeting. The main agenda included an assessment of 2003 accomplishments and the approval of 2004 priorities, plan, and budget. The network will sustain its thrust of developing leaders in the context of globalization, assist in the organizational development […]

Agrarian Reform Learning Exchange in the Philippines

Four government representatives from Indonesia’s Land Management Board together with representatives from InDHRRA and API (Aliansi Petani Indonesia) came to the Philippines last October 16-24, 2003 for a learning visit focusing on how to make agrarian reform work through tripartite partnership. They met with the Department of Agrarian Reform Secretary Roberto Pagdanganan as well as […]

Central Highlands Technical Cooperation in Vietnam

AsiaDHRRA concluded its 3-year Technical Cooperation with the National Institute for Agricultural Planning and Projection (NIAPP) on the Poverty Alleviation Project entitled: Organizing and Building People’s Capacity in the Central Highlands. Despite the constraints faced of a community development project framework used in the context of Vietnam, the local implementing partners in the provinces of […]

AFA Approves 8-point Asian Peasant Agenda

The Executive Committee (ExeCom) of AFA approved an 8-point Asian Peasant during its 6th meeting held last October 26 in the boardroom of the Vietnam Farmers’ Union in Hanoi. The Agenda was a synthesis of the results of the three sub-regional conferences AFA held the past two months. It was a response to problems they […]

AsiaDHRRA Assists in Evaluation of Agriterra-SKP Partnership

AsiaDHRRA cooperated with Agriterra, a development arm of five farmers’ unions in Netherlands, in the evaluation of the partnership between Sor Kor Por (SKP), ZLTO and Agriterra. SKP is a national farmers’ federation in Thailand and an AFA member; ZLTO is the union of farmers in the South of Netherlands. The main objectives of the […]

JaDHRRA volunteer on OJT as AsiaDHRRA Secretariat

AsiaDHRRA welcomes the October arrival of Ms.Ryoko Tsuboi, a JaDHRRA volunteer who will undergo a one- year on-the-job training (OJT) at the AsiaDHRRA secretariat office in Quezon City, Philippines. The OJT program was designed as part of the second liner development program of the network. It is hoped that after one-year OJT service, the volunteer […]

AFA Conducts Mekong Sub Regional Conference on the Asian Peasant Agenda

The Asian Farmers’ Association for Sustainable Rural Development (AFA) conducted the Mekong Sub regional conference on the Asian Peasant Agenda last 22-26 October in Hanoi. It was attended by 20 participants from Thailand, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam . The participants pushed for the implementation of alternative trade, particularly farmer-to-farmer market exchanges. It also decided to […]

Regional NGO Caucus in Manila for SEACA

The AsiaDHRRA Secretary General, with SEACA secretariat support, convened a caucus o­n 15 October (followed up in 4 November) among seven (7) regional organizations based in Manila to share the developments in the Advocacy Capacity Building Program of SEACA and to discuss the prospects of broadening the SEACA regional caucus to other groups interested in […]

Asian NGO Leaders Dialogue on Globalization

Rural NGO leaders from various generations and culture from 10 Asian countries met in Cyberjaya last October 28-31, 2003 to reflect together and share ideas and experiences on rural NGO leadership amidst globalization. There was a dynamic exchange of stories and points of view on the personal and societal effect of WTO on the poor […]

Asian Farmers Exchange and Exposure Visit and Dialogue – South Korea

Asian Farmers Exchange and Exposure Visit and Dialogue held in Suwon City, South Korea on 22 to 30 November 1999\ Asian Rural Farmers’ Commitment Asian Farmers Exchange and Exposure Visit and Dialogue: Rural Farmers Formation and Strengthening for Self-Reliance Development & Networking We, the farmer-leaders representing seven countries in rural Asia, in solidarity with the […]

Asia Regional Dialogue on People's Movements

Asia Regional Dialogue on People’s Movements: held in Yogyakarta, Indonesia on June 19 to 23, 1996 Regional Dialogue on Asian Rural People’s Movements: Analysis and Strategies in an Era of Globalization We, the participants from the Asian Partnership for the Development of Human Resources in Rural Asia (AsiaDHRRA) network, in solidarity with the other participants […]

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