Proposals from the conference on WCARRD 20/20: Emerging Trends and Perspectives of Agrarian Reform in Asia

Delegates to the international conference on Emerging Trends and Perspectives of Agrarian Reform in Asian reviewed the Programme of Action of the World Conference on Agrarian Reform and Rural Development (WCARRD).� They concluded that the goals and proposed actions, commonly called The Peasant�s Charter, is as relevant today as it was 20 years ago.�

The Conference noted that the imperatives to empower the rural poor through agrarian reform and by their direct participation in policy formulation and programme implementation have been carried forward into a wide range of subsequent agreements at the international level.� The agenda for agrarian reform and its various component elements appears in such globally significant conventions and programmes of action as the Earth Charter, the Beijing Conference on Women, the Social Summit and the World Food Summit.

Mindful that over 800 million people are unable to meet their daily household food requirements, the delegates highlighted that particular actions are needed to address the needs of the 350 million� who are landless or near landless.���

The Conference sited the vision of The Peasant�s Charter as an important guide to formulating future policies and programmes for sustainable rural area development.� They noted that the programme of action of WCARRD was built on principles that are as essential today as they were in 1979, in particular that:

• the rural poor must be given access to land and water resources, agricultural inputs and services, extension and research facilities;

• they must be permitted to participate in the design, implementation and evaluation of rural development programmes;

• �the structure and pattern of international trade and external investment must be adjusted to facilitate the implementation of poverty-oriented rural development strategies; and,

• growth is� necessary but not sufficient, it must be buttressed by equity and people�s participation.

The delegates drew attention to the need for renewed efforts to merge the efforts of civil society organisations, governments and the international community into common strategies to combat rural poverty.� They noted the unique nature of The Popular Coalition to Eradicate Hunger and Poverty, as a global mechanism that is striving to unite these three sectors in a common effort to:

• �revive agrarian reform on national and international agendas;

• support the struggles of peasants to gain access to productive assets; and,

• popularise the need to empower the rural poor by ensuring their secure access to land, water, common property, credit, technology and markets.

The Conference called on the partner organisations in The Popular Coalition to Eradicate Hunger and Poverty and the Asian NGO Coalition to facilitate the:

1. Revival and strengthening of a Peasants� Charter for 2000 that incorporates the commitments in other international documents and to emphasise the principles and interventions that have particular relevance to the conditions of the next millennium. These commitments highlight the need of agrarian reform in relation to other issues such as food security, environmental protection, social development, gender equity, population and development, human rights, etc.

2. Intensification of local, national, and global networking in each country and regions (e.g. through the Knowledge Network) to work towards agrarian reform and to initiate an action program to strengthen national level networks of civil society organizations working on agrarian reform and rural development.

3. Research and study of the new innovations or trends in AR and to disseminate the findings in order to inform and engage civil society of impact of such modalities as market-led or globalized land use and other implications of the WTO and international lending institutions.

4. Participation in upcoming international conferences and events to create space for discussion and inclusion of AR in the agenda in such meetings as:

5. �WTO Seattle Meeting for the Millennium Round in November 1999

   1. Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) � April/May 2000

   2. FAO Conference starting in November 1999

   3. FAO Regional Meetings to start February� 2000

   4. Committee for World Food Security (CFS) meeting scheduled - September 2000

   5. UN Millennium Civil Society Meeting �May 2000

   6. Others

6. Expansion of dialogue between governments, inter-governmental organisations and civil society on agrarian sector reform and the related relevance of smallholder farming to broad based economic development and sustainable resource management.

7. Co-operation between the civil society and financing institutions to undertake joint activities to further the objectives of WCARRD but with the understanding that such co-operation is based primarily within the framework and principles espoused by civil society.

8. Advocacy work of civil society to influence the formulation and implementation of national and macro-level economic and agricultural policies to pursue agrarian reform concerns.

9. Identification, documentation, and objective evaluation of the experience of civil society in agrarian reform and rural development to test the operational viability for community level experience to be upscaled and thereby used as basis for formulating public policies and designing government programs.

10. Prioritisation of the indigenous peoples, women, lower caste, and other marginalized sectors of society as beneficiaries, partners, and actors in the struggle for agrarian reform.

11. Work in solidarity with farmers and agricultural workers who continue to fight and struggle for their right to land, livelihood, and dignity particularly the MAPALAD Farmers of Sumilao, Bukidnon, Philippines who have� exhausted all means to claim this right and whose sacrifices have become an inspiration for farmers all over the world.

The Conference, organised under the auspices of the Asian NGO Coalition for Agrarian Reform and Rural Development and The Popular Coalition to Eradicate Hunger and Poverty was attended by civil society organisations from the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Japan, Thailand, Cambodia, Nepal, India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Brazil and Germany along with representatives from the Government of the Philippines, the World Bank and FAO.

This Conference mandated The Popular Coalition to Eradicate Hunger and Poverty� and the Asian NGO Coalition� to catalyze and� make use of available mechanisms to plan and to mobilize resources to act on these proposals.