Asian Transformations in Action - Api-fellowships.org

SPECIFICITIES OF GLOBALIZATION 145TRANSFORMATIONS IN AGRARIAN LIVELIHOOD ANDTHE SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE MOVEMENT UNDERGLOBALIZATIONSupa YaimuangIntroductionThe dynamic transformation of agriculture in manycountries around the globe has been actively occurringunder globalization. Globalization has created powerfuleconomic, political, social and cultural ties acrossborders (Singh 2007). After the Second World War,the development of economic ties became the majortheme in global integration as international trade andinvestment were enhanced and production technologygreatly improved in line with the growth of transnationalcorporations (TNCs). Information technology hassignificantly speeded up this integration, especially inthe flow of money and investment, labor, production,information and culture.Within the context of globalization, the global economyhas been accelerated by the ideology of neoliberalism.Neoliberalism, which developed from capitalism, isdefined as trade liberalization in terms of goods, servicesand capital, allowing them to flow across borders withoutstate control, leading to rapid economic growth (Janyapes2000). In this context, TNCs have gained greaterpower in economic negotiations that have includedderegulation, privatization, trade stabilization andliberalization. Meanwhile, international organizationslike the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the WorldBank and the World Trade Organization (WTO) haveplayed important roles in gearing up this economictransformation.Consequently, agricultural transformation has inevitablymoved forward under several bilateral and multilateraltrade agreements. These trade agreements have beenmade between developed countries, in which agricultureis highly subsidized, and developing countries, which arepoor. The concept of trade liberalization considers thatfree trade will bring about competent trade competitionand efficient production. It has been implemented bymany international organizations as a method of povertyreduction. As a result, farmers’ ways of life have beentransformed and small-scale farmers have inevitably hadto adjust to the context of globalization. As an alternativeto these changes, sustainable agriculture is proposedby the agricultural community. It was conceived as aresponse to the impact of the Green Revolution.The objective of my study was to understand changesin the agricultural sector and the creation of farmers’alternatives in the development of sustainableagriculture in Japan and Indonesia. In Japan, this studyfocused on farmers’ livelihoods and farmers’ groups inthe prefectures of Mie, Saitama, Fukuoka, Hiroshima,Hokkaido and Yamagata. These farmers are involved inthe development of sustainable agriculture includingthe issue of farmer-consumer linkages, as well as relatedpolicy issues. In Indonesia, the study was conducted inrice-based communities in Wonogiri District, CentralJava and Ngawi District, Eastern Java. The study focusedon the impact of trade liberalization and the formationof the communities’ alternatives based on local cultureand biodiversity. The study was conducted at twolevels. At the policy level, data were gathered through aliterature review and interviews with local state officials.On the issue of sustainable agriculture and communities’alternatives, the study was focused at the communitylevel. Data were gathered through interviews withfamily members and members of community groups,NGO staff and university academics. Participation invarious activities such as meetings, seminars and onfarmvisits also generated data.Agricultural change: Political, economic and socialcontextAgricultural change in the two countries has beencaused by changes in their political, economic andsocial systems. These include the change to adopt asystem of capitalism, which in Japan took place after theSecond World War. In Indonesia, after independencein 1945, the country declared itself a democracy andlaunched a land reform program. Japan moved towardsindustrialization while Indonesia was still in the stageof nation building, adopting capitalism in 1967. Aftera land reform program, the farmers in both countriesbecome small farmers. In Japan, the average landholding per family is one hectare except in Hokkaido. 1Meanwhile, in Indonesia, the average land holding isonly 0.35 hectare. On the island of Java, where theland is fertile and suitable for farming and hence, thepopulation relatively dense, the average land holdingis only 0.25 hectare. In Japan, the farm population isdecreasing. In 2005, 1.96 million families were farmersAsian Transformations in ActionThe Work of the 2006/2007 API Fellows