by Cid Ryan Manalo
Kabankalan City, Negros Occidental, 20 July 2022 -- SEARICE farmer and CSO partners from the Visayas participated today in a regional forum on farmers’ rights.
SEARICE executive director, Normita Ignacio led the discussions on farmers’ rights in the context of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). SEARICE program officer for policy, Cid Ryan Manalo, gave an introduction to the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Peasants and Other People Working in Rural Areas (UNDROP) and discussed critical issues on the upcoming ninth meeting of the Governing Body of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (Plant Treaty).
Between these presentations, SEARICE partners shared their insights, raised critical questions on the future of agriculture in the country, and took on the challenge of sustaining the advocacy for the rights of peasants. The one-day forum was joined by farmers from Negros Occidental, Negros Oriental, Bohol, and Aklan. [Ends]
