Asian Transformations in Action - Api-fellowships.org

SPECIFICITIES OF GLOBALIZATION 151for by small farmers and civil society. The appeal forfood sovereignty is not only being heard in Indonesiabut is happening in many countries. The main demandis to recognize farmers’ rights to natural resources andto preserve a food base of food production and marketaccess, and a local economy where all farmers havethe freedom to set up their own food production anddistribution system.The link with partners in societyThe need to seek alternatives in organic farming andthe link with consumers has led to the development ofnew relationships and social activities. There are linksbetween organic growers groups and consumers suchas the Rainbow Plan Project, which mutually managesgarbage, or the Hiroshima Group, whose memberstogether protect the environment. There are otherrelationships established by people such as the networkof the Asian Farmer Exchange Center, consistingof farmers and city dwellers working together, or awomen’s group called We 21 at Kanagawa, wherethey have opened a recycling shop and donate part ofthe money to support development work in Asia andAfrica. A group called Kurume in Fukuoka prefecturewas formed, with members working as volunteers andsending support to African countries. In fact, thesegroups have coordinated with local governments andpeople’s organizations in many countries.In Indonesia, cooperation between farmers’ group,NGOs and academics has existed for a decade, and hasdeveloped into a social movement to address people’sproblems. The development of a local plan under thejoint cooperation of NGOs, GOs and farmers or researchand experimentation on bio-fertilizer or organic farmingtechniques are the starting points for civil society toaddress the agricultural sector’s problems. However,sustainable agriculture has not received support fromthe government. Social relationships are forming underthe framework of building a peaceful and just society.This is one social movement among many which fightsagainst the globalization current.Conclusions: Agricultural methods in the globalcontext—different conceptions and ideologiesThe free trade system has brought about significantchanges for small-scale farmers in both countries.As a result, the food sovereignty of the two nationshas not only been decreased but has also become lesssecure, particularly under the current global energycrisis. Agricultural areas have been turned into energyresources regardless of the consequences of globalwarming. It is most likely that the agricultural sectors ofthese two countries will increasingly become large-scaleor industrial. Small-scale farmers have been pushedaside physically, economically and culturally. Foodproduction is no longer limited by borders. Economicmarketing in the context of globalization has created aborderless system across the globe, regardless of the typeof food, monetary system, trade, society or culture.Within such transformations, an alternative hasdeveloped and grown up against globalization, whichfocuses on materialism, while abandoning spiritualvalues and concern for the environment. Alternativeschemes have been initiated such as natural farming inJapan and traditional agriculture in Indonesia that havebecome modern-day organic farming. These systemsoppose globalization and create social alternatives. Inreference to global and national changes, Fukuoka-san(1987), the Japanese farmer, clearly stated his opinionabout agricultural and social methods in his book, TheOne Straw Revolution: “An ultimate goal of agricultureis not growing crops but building up human fertility.”As we are unable to separate any parts of our lives, if wemodify our agricultural methods, then we alter our foodand social character, as well as our values. Sustainable ororganic farming has linked humans to the environment,not to mention the connections that have grown amonglocal communities. The eagerness of Japanese andIndonesian consumers to consume organic food grownusing sustainable methods reflects how they have turnedtheir ways of life back to nature. The teikei system is aneffort to build up a direct connection between producersand consumers, that is, an attempt to create a new socialrelationship between farmers and consumers throughorganic products. Similarly, the Rainbow Schemeinitiated in Nagai, Yamagata prefecture builds up arelationship between urban people and farmers withina common society. These alternatives have improvedcommon knowledge among organic farmers in termsof harnessing lunar and seasonal cycles. Traditionalknowledge has been refurbished through a commonprocess. This has revealed an effort to systematicallydevelop agricultural alternatives by focusing not onlyon production but thoroughly combining productionwith its surroundings. For instance, Indonesian farmershave kept up their agricultural traditions such as theritual to worship Mother Rice. Thus, while some ritualshave already been modified, others still exist in someform.The applicationLike Indonesia, Thailand is an agricultural country.Small farmers in Thailand face the same problems as theAsian Transformations in ActionThe Work of the 2006/2007 API Fellows