The World Trade Organization (WTO) hailed the recent Hong Kong Sixth Ministerial Meeting last December 2005 as a positive movement towards the conclusion of the Doha Development Round. The round was supposedly geared towards ensuring that trade contributes to the development objectives of least developed and developing countries.

Agrarian reform, or AR, is the redistribution of public and private agricultural lands, regardless of produce and tenurial arrangement, to landless farmers and regular farm workers, to include support services and other arrangements alternative to distribution of land such as production/profi t sharing, labor organization, or distribution of shares of stock.

What is the GATT-WTO?

The World Trade Organization (WTO) describes itself as “the only international organization dealing with the global rules of trade between nations. Its main function is to ensure that trade fl ows as smoothly, predictably and freely as possible.”

During the Millennium Summit of the United Nations (UN) in September 2000, 147 Head of States and Governments and 191 member-states adopted the Millennium Declaration. The Declaration embodies structured development goals and targets. The adopting countries committed to achieve its targets to reduce poverty, hunger, disease, illiteracy, environmental degradation and discrimination against women by 2015. Expert studies projected the resources required to attain the goals and what are expected to be available.

Rice is a very important commodity in our lives, as it is the staple food of about 3 billion, or three quarters, of the people in the world. Two hundred fi fty million farmers depend on rice cultivation. Ninety percent of the world’s rice is produced and consumed in Asia.

Contents: 

• The Seikatsu Club Consumers Cooperative: A Unique Producer-Consumer Relationship in Japan
• PDAP’s Push for Organic Rice: Enhancing the Survival of Filipino Rice Farmers in a Liberalized Economic
• Setting Green Net: A Trailblazer in Organic Marketing in Southeast Asia
• The Fair Trade System: Focus on the Oxfam-GB Model
• Emergency or Expediency?: A Study of Emergency Rice Reserve Schemes in Asia 

CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS

This book, “Shaping the Asian Peasant Agenda: Solidarity Building Towards Sustainable Rural Development in Asian Rural Communities”, portray the perspectives of AFA and AsiaDHRRA on the agrarian and agricultural situation in their own countries and of the sub-region. It contains country reports, workshop results and lectures of keynote speakers and resource persons, presented during the sub-regional conferences conducted by AFA from August till October of 2003.

Over millions of years, nature has built up an intricate system of relationship of exchange and mutual dependence among its elements - land, water, air, forest, sunlight and living things - to create what we call the ecosystem. It is the life support system of all living things on this planet and provides not oniy the daily needs but also saves resources for future generations. But this very life support system is endangered by man's aggression against nature. In the last few decades, the aggression has reached unprecedented levels.

Information tool about organic farming. Content includes:

• What is organic farming?
• Why organic farming?
• Organic farming back to traditional method
• Use of pesticide 
• The soil for organic farming

AFA Field Visits and Farmer Interactions 2006-2007

Learning good practices in land reform, organic agriculture and pro-small farmer marketing and trading.

Interview with Ma Khin Win, Chairperson of Thone Se Basic Trade Union (a member of AFFM). With English subtitles.