The People's Caravan for Food Sovereignty, an internationally-linked programme to assert rights to land and food, involving thousands of agriculture producers in Asia will kick off in Malaysia on Independence Day (Aug 31).

The one-day event, organised by Penang-based regional non-government organisation Pesticide Action Network Asia Pacific (PAN AP) and pro-migrant rights NGO Tenaganita will be launched at the Chang Hua Kor Moral Uplifting Society in Bukit Mertajam at 11am by Permatang Pauh MP Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail.

The co-organisers of the programme, which include a seminar on food sovereignty, art competition for school children, local food and fruit festival, health camp and stage performances are Save Ourselves (SOS) Penang, Suaram and local resident groups.

PAN AP executive director Sarojeni V Rengam said the Caravan is expected to mobilise about one million supporters in Asia.

"The issue of food sovereignty is important because we have 840 million people hungry and two billion undernourished in the world," she told a press conference in PAN AP's office.

"In Malaysia, we have about 30 percent of children below five years old who are malnourished. This is not a figure to be happy about considering that we are on the way to becoming a highly developed nation," she added.

Return to the people

The four main demands of the Caravan include safe food which is ecologically produced, to return food and land rights to the people, to take global institutions like the World Trade Organisation out of agriculture and to leave the decision making to the food producers themselves.

Culminating in Nepal at the end of September, the Caravan is set to visit 16 other countries in Asia and Europe including Indonesia, Thailand, Cambodia, Philippines, Mongolia, India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Japan, South Korea, China, Belgium, France and Germany.

Meanwhile, representative of the Permatang Pauh residents Muhamad Rodzi Abdul Hamid said locals groups were compelled to express their dissatisfaction with how farmers, fruit growers and plantation workers were often "oppressed by elites favoured by the government".

"This group are merely interested in profits while farmers do not have rights to develop their own land because the government promotes corporate agriculture," he said.

Organic farmer and SOS coordinator Ong Boon Keong called upon the government to change the thrust of the current agriculture policy from capital intensive, export orientated, high-tech agriculture to a more sustainable one.

A right, not privilege

"In specific policies, we want the government to conserve cultivated food producing farmlands, reduce unsustainable food import bills and make Malaysia the regional hub on sustainable agriculture produce," he said.

Suaram coordinator Choo Chon Kai said "food is a right, not a privilege" and governments should not prioritise profits and deny people the right to live.

"We call on the government to respect, protect and fulfil the people's right to food by implementing concrete action for sustainable agriculture," he said.

"Any policy or programme put in place should make the people and country self-sufficient and not rely heavily on exports which will only benefit big corporate companies," he added.

Also present at the press conference, Tenaganita director Irene Fernandez questioned Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's agriculture policy, especially the recent announcement on Malay reserve land.

Fernandez said the signs are clear that Malaysia was moving fast towards corporate agriculture when Malays are asked to lease about 60 years of their lands to non-Malays.

"Sixty-years is a lifetime - we are really concerned that Abdullah's focus on agriculture seem to be out of focus," she said.

Recently, Deputy Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak said the Malay Reserve Enactment will be amended soon to enable such land to be leased out to non-Malays for development.

Describing the amendment as "a landmark decision", he said the lease would be for not more than 60 years.

He added that this new provision was very important because through this provision, Malay reserve land can be developed and increase its commercial value.

SUSAN LOONE is malaysiakini's Penang-based stringer.