Convenor Vernie Yocogan- Diano Innabuyog, Philippines Co-convenor Ushakumari Jayakumar Thanal, India Members Khushi Kabir Nijera Kori, Bangladesh Suntaree  Saeng-ging  The Northeastern Women's Network, Thailand Kim Young Ran Korean Federation for Environmental Movement (KFEM), Korea Risma Umar Solidaritas Perempuan (SP), Indonesia Chhoouen Thavy Banteay Srei, Cambodia Gombosurenegiin Uranstooj Centre for Human rights and Development (CHRD), Mongolia Programme Officer Tomoko Kashiwazaki

The rhetoric of the promises of globalisation or the global integration of market has been proven to be empty.  Globalisation, which has been marketed as the only way to development, has, in fact, widened the disparity between the developed and developing countries; the elite and the marginalised sectors of our societies.  It has expanded the access and control of resources of the few and on the other hand, increasing the number of the landless and the economically and socially displaced communities.  Globalisation reinforced power relations between the elite state and the people; between lackey governments and the transnational corporations.  Economic policies of free market breed social policies and relations which reinforce patriarchal systems affecting livelihoods and lives of women. 

This is the framework which the World Trade Organisation (WTO) operates in, and with which the various free trade agreements are being made coherent.  The need for a uniform set of trade rules which would result in fair trade has been exposed to be a ruse to facilitate control by the developed countries over the developing countries. Under the WTO trade regime, the developed countries are able to maintain protectionist policies while forcing open the markets of the developing countries.  These agreements are entered into by the different member countries under a semblance of democratic processes, when in reality, arm-twisting and economic blackmails are the main ingredients of the negotiations in the different WTO meetings.  

Interlinked with WTO are the trade agreements pushed and entered into bilaterally or multilaterally.  Over the years, through trade and investments, the control of transnational corporations or TNCs has been increasing in the world’s food production.  Only four companies control 90% of the world's exports of corn, wheat, coffee, tea and pineapples. As long ago as 1983, over 70% of world trade in rice, cocoa beans, bananas and sugar, was controlled by just 3 to 6 TNCs. Also, in 1983 over 85% of world trade in such materials as forest products, cotton, tobacco and jute were controlled by just 3 to 6 TNCs. Trends in globalisation will most likely have increased, rather than decreased, this control on agricultural commodity distribution.

What has it meant to the lives and livelihoods of women in the region?
The Asia Pacific accounts for 40% of the world’s territory, and has 61% of the word’s population.  The region has also almost two-thirds of the world’s poor, living on less than a single US dollar a day. (UN ESCAP, 2004)  This poverty level is not improving given the impacts of the trade agreements being entered into by national governments within this region, particularly on agriculture. 

Women account for more than half of overall food production. In South East Asia, women provide up to 90% of labour for rice cultivation, while their contribution is even greater in secondary crop production such as legumes and vegetables. In fisheries sector, women play significant role throughout the Asia Pacific region. However, this has not ensured food in their mouths, nor money in their pockets. More than half of the 512 million hungry and malnourished in the region are women and girl-children.

Rural and indigenous women in the Philippines are forced to leave their communities to become migrant workers due to the increased level of poverty. “Urgent issues are land rights and mining. Water insecurity is caused by the pollution of mining companies. … Water resources are also being taken over by foreign mining companies…” .  The accelerated trade liberalisation of the Philippine government has opened the resources to market – minerals, water, forest and land.  This has made basic services unavailable and inaccessible to women from the rural communities whose livelihoods have been taken away by the corporations. 

Along with this is the intensifying violence as response to the growing resistance to globalisation and the corporate control over our resources, particularly in the countries of the Philippines, Pakistan, Indonesia and Thailand, there has been a growing determination to accelerate organising and mobilising women at the grassroots level.

Food Sovereignty as alternative to Corporate Control
Food sovereignty has been consistently the guiding framework of the 3 year programme of WEN (2003-2005).   With food sovereignty, APWLD not only aspires for food security but recovering women and men’s control of their means of production, and putting their well-being as central for development, not profits for corporation.

At the core of the struggle for food sovereignty, APWLD believes that an integral part of this advocacy is the dismantling of power structures which govern food production, control of means of production, marketing, distribution and decision-making.  These power structures are not only present in the relationship between the state and the people, but also within communities, and within families. 

The 3 year programme of WEN (2003-2005) has set the following objectives:

• to further develop and deepen the framework of food sovereignty from a feminist perspective;
• to build the capacity of the APWLD network members and other organisations to advocate for  food sovereignty and other related rights at the national, regional and international levels; and
• to support organising of marginalised women’s groups on the issues of food sovereignty.

To continue to meet these objectives, activities and campaigns have been undertaken and launched by the Task Force, some are part of ongoing bigger projects, some are new initiatives which are hoped to be continued in the coming years.

Within the framework of the advocacy for food sovereignty, “Don’t Globalise Hunger! Assert Women’s Rights to Food Sovereignty” Campaign has been initiated and launched jointly by WEN task force and the Rural and Indigenous Women (RIW) task force.  This is to provide a platform for other members of APWLD and its networks to be part of the resistance to the corporate control of food, agriculture and the lives of women and their communities. 

The main objectives of this campaign:

• raise awareness among women from grassroots organisations about the link of the role of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and other significant international and regional instruments and institutions in the current situation with hunger and poverty;
• contribute in mobilising and strengthening of grassroots women organisations in their struggle against corporate globalisation, in the Region in general, in participating countries in particular, from a rights-based perspective;
• link the promotion of corporate agenda with state violence particularly against women activists fighting for their rights to food and land; and 
• promote Food Sovereignty as an alternative to corporate globalisation by supporting related national campaigns.

Through out the campaign, the calls made were:

• derailment of the WTO 6th Ministerial Meeting
• WTO and TNCs out of food and agriculture
• women’s right to land and food
• protection and promotion of rights of women to defend their rights to food and land;
• food sovereignty as an alternative to corporate control of food and agriculture.

This campaign has been launched in 2005 and will be carried throughout the next 3 year programme cycle.  It is under this campaign that series of activities at the regional as well as national levels have been carried by the APWLD Secretariat and the APWLD members.

Women’s Regional Conference on Food Sovereignty and Globalisation (Chiang Mai, Thailand/July 18-21, 2005)
The Forum was an opportunity for women from the region to share their current issues on food, land and agriculture. But more than that, the Forum was also tasked to provide additional information and analysis which would link global forces, like WTO, among others, and their role in the lives and death of the local communities. The sharings from resource persons like Azra Talat Sayeed (Roots for Equity, Pakistan), Titi Soentoro (APWLD Regional Coordinator), Marina Durano (International Gender and Trade Network – IGTN), and Amarsanaa Darisuren (UNIFEM) were instrumental in doing this. 

The Forum was organised with the objectives of assisting women to have a broader perspective of their struggle, that will empower the communities and organisations they belong to, to be able to see their problems, or their situations as linked, and in fact, affected by the other forces and factors outside themselves, outside their communities; and to be able to see how other groups from other communities and countries are actually doing something about their situation, in affecting positive changes in their lives as individuals and as communities.  On the fourth day, the Forum was brought to a village in Chaiprakhan District of Chiang Mai.  There, the sharing was continued, this time with a bigger community of women in the village.  This village, which mostly thrived from their produce of garlic and chilli, is being adversely affected by dumping of Chinese garlic into the Thai market. This dumping is legalised by the trade agreement entered into by the Thaksin government with China.  The sharing with the women from the village was very significant as it contributed to the organising efforts of the Thai group (Northern Development Foundation) among the women in the village.  A week after the forum, NDF shared with us that the community meeting had positive impacts on the women that they decided to have a regular meeting among themselves to talk about the different issues they are facing with. 

The regional forum specifically invited women from grassroots organisations and those who would have the capacity to share the things learned on this level with the other women from her organisations and communities.  There were around 55 participants coming from Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, India, Cambodia, Mongolia, Burma, Korea and Nepal.  The women came from different sectors – peasant communities, agricultural workers, women from the fisheries, Dalit and indigenous communities. This effort was made to ensure that there will be similar forums or dialogues on the national and community level. It was geared towards empowering women as well as broadening the ranks of people actively involved in the formulation of alternatives.

In the forum, the “Don’t Globalise Hunger! Assert Women’s Rights to Food Sovereignty!” campaign was launched.  A calendar of activities of community actions, and plans for national as well as international campaigns and actions was drawn up from the participants.  Dates of collective action were identified. 

Support to National Activities
As part of the Don’t Globalise Hunger! campaign, the TF members committed to carry out national activities/campaign actions at the community and/or national level.  These actions in different countries would culminate at the WTO MC6th.  There were national members which were given financial support by the TF, while there were others where the secretariat actually participated in one of the national actions:

Center for Human Rights and Development (Mongolia) – Women, Poverty and Free Trade National Forum / October 3-5
Sustainable Development Foundation (Thailand) – National Consultation on Women, Food Security and Sustainable Livelihoods/October 16-18
Bantay Srei (Cambodia) – People’s Caravan on Food Sovereignty an Justice (Action Aid and People’s Alliances and Social Groups of Cambodia) / November 13/Phnom Penh

Other groups had series of different actions in their own countries –
Solidaritas Perempuan (Indonesia)
Roots for Equity (Pakistan)
Innabuyog (Philippines)
Thanal (India)

Campaign materials
As part of the information awareness, campaign materials were printed and distributed in the different forums, workshops and conferences that the APWLD Secretariat attended.  But these campaign materials were also distributed to the TF members for their own use in the national actions.  These materials are - posters (2 types), flyers, bandana, banners, campaign paper, and flags. 
 
Website
A website was created which is the portal for the different actions, events, statements, photos from the different countries in the region – www.dontglobalisehunger.org

Consolidated Actions
There were a few significant dates during the year in which the participating organisations agreed to have simultaneous actions. Some participating orgnaisations held demonstrations in their areas, forums, and issued press statements on October 16 - World Foodless Day and November 25 – International Day to End Violence Against Women

These actions within the “Don’t Globalisation Hunger!” campaign culminated at the WTO 6th Ministerial Meeting in Hong Kong.

Network Support Activities
The Free Trade Agreement (FTA) of Thailand with other countries (e.g. USA, China and Australia) are one of the major issues that the NGO movement in Thailand is trying hype up to generate interest and understanding among the local communities as well as general public.  FTA WATCH-Thailand is conducting campaign actions to get the participation of the public in the discussion of these agreements, and expose the actual and potential impacts of these agreements on the livelihood of the communities.  As part of its support, APWLD PO participated in the Thai action in Pattaya (March 2005), during the negotiation of the THAI-US governments, and public forum in Bangkok (May). 

In Indonesia, the PO acted as resource person for the Women and Food Sovereignty public forum (April), as part of the ongoing advocacy of Solidaritas Perempuan on food sovereignty. 

As part of capacity-building of the TF members, WEN TF supported the participation of the programme officer and a staff of Roots for Equity (Pakistan) to the HBF Summer School (Berlin/September).

Food Sovereignty Kit