Southeast Asia Regional Initiatives for Community Empowerment
Agroecology transformation demands not just the right practices
but human-rights-based governance--SEARICE
SEARICE executive direcctor, Normita Ignacio, as panelist in the session on "How Policies Shape Agroecology Approaches" at the Agrobiodiversity Conference 2024 in Pokhara, Nepal
NEPAL, 9 April 2024--At the ongoing Agrobiodiversity Conference 2024 in Pokhara, Nepal, SEARICE declared that mainstreaming agroecology requires not just the right practices but also a new kind of governance that is committed to operationalizing the agroecology agenda.
Speaking at the conference session on “How Policies Shape Agroecology Approaches,” SEARICE executive director Normita Ignacio said that transformation in governance demands a human-rights based approach to policy-making that recognizes the rights of peasants and humanity’s right to food.
Ignacio highlighted SEARICE’s experience in participatory development of a local government ordinance as an example of this approach to policy formulation.
The Sustainable Agriculture Code of Arakan—a municipality in the North Cotabato province of the region of Mindanao in the Philippines—was adopted in 2017 with the support of SEARICE.
The Code contains groundbreaking provisions for: (1) the protection and promotion of the traditional seed system; (2) institutionalization of community seed banks & municipal-wide seed registry; (3) implementation of benefit-sharing for the support of the capacity building and livelihood projects of local communities; (4) prohibition of use of genetically-modified crops; (5) protection of farmer-bred varieties and access to seeds; and (6) provision of incentives for farmer-breeders.
However, the Code was made even more unique by the participatory manner in which it was developed and pushed in the municipal legislative body. In 2012, SEARICE formed a partnership with the municipality to initiate the process. Following this, a multistakeholder workshop, participated in by farmer representatives from the different villages in Arakan and local government officials, was facilitated by SEARICE prior to developing the draft Code. From 2014 to 2016, farmer leaders, supported by SEARICE, lobbied with the municipality until the Code was enacted in 2017. The farmers made their advocacy for the Code an election issue during the 2016 national elections in the Philippines: they declared that they would not vote for candidates that did not support the Code.
The Sustainable Agriculture Code of Arakan has become a model for other municipalities in the country that desire to shift to sustainable agriculture.
Ignacio said, ““Political will, genuine concern for the people and recognition of farmers’ rights were key factors in this successful exercise in governance.”
The Agrobiodiversity Conference gathered representatives from Forest and Farm Producer Organizations (FFPOs) and indigenous peoples and local communities (IPLCs), governments, local and international civil society organizations and other stakeholders from Asia, Africa, Latin America and Europe.
The conference session on “How Policies Shape Agroecology Approaches” was keynoted by Oliver Oliveros, Executive Coordinator, Agroecology coalition: Principles and Elements of Agroecology, and Mario Marino, FAO Technical Officer, International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (Agrobiodiversity, landraces, seed laws).
Ignacio’s co-panelists for the session included Ms. Shabnam Shivakoti, Joint Secretary, Nepal Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development and Georgina Vargas Catagora, professor of Agroecology, Bolivian Catholic University, La Paz, Bolivia.
SEARICE executive direcctor, Normita Ignacio, third from left, at the session on "How Policies Shape Agroecology Approaches" at the Agrobiodiversity Conference 2024 in Pokhara, Nepal