"Thus civil society associations in authoritarian states may act more as replicators of the existing political order than as promoters of increased democratization. However, this rather logical observation, backed up by Jamal's empirical findings, has far-reaching implications for the efficacy of Western and global democracy initiatives in the Arab world and elsewhere, especially if those initiatives are less informed by critical thought.
...
Indeed, relying on multiple donors and interacting with donor agendas, Palestinian Authority ministries often appear to act as NGOs. In turn, Palestinian NGOs have historically acted in place of the absent state, a practice that has continued to some extent in the interim period, supplying a substantial portion of health services, to cite but one example."
Review of Amaney Jamal's book: Barriers to Democracy: The Other Side of Social Capital in Palestine and the Arab World. (Thanks Daniel)
I have blogged profusely about this issue, but as Daniel said: "more ammunition".
Monday, December 1, 2008
Creativity
"The sand excavated from the hundreds of tunnels snaking beneath the Gaza-Egypt border is being given a second life. The latest construction projects in Gaza are mud and sand stoves powered by firewood." (Thanks Marcy)
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Land grab?
The Guardian Weekly's cover page this week is titled "Rich World Buys Rights to the Fields of the Poor".
But I have a question here: why the surprise? What is -really- the difference between this and the fact that multinational corporations already control, through monopolies and monopsonies, food production in many poor countries, from Latin America to Eastern Asia? What are we worried about here? That the food produced in these large farms-colonies will be exported to South Korea or to Saudi Arabia instead of being available to the local people? But this is already happening everywhere, through export-oriented food production. In Egypt, for instance, organic food production on large scale farms managed by local investors, in partnership with foreign groups, produce food that is only destined for export. In India, the best quality fruits are shipped while the lower quality is sold on the local market.
Countries focusing on export encourage farmers to ship their "good" products (peanut oil in West Africa, for example) and, with the money they earn (a tiny little bit of money) buy imported, cheap and less healthy products (palm oil for example). The balance goes into the state coffers which communicate directly with politicians pockets. What will be so different if large scale export farming takes place on land leased by a foreign state or consortium, rather than by an international corporation? What will be different even if corporations are today looking towards buying export goods from cooperatives of small farmers? Not much, really: this is how the international trade-based food system already operates. Even in the case of the coops, the farmers are not really free because they are fully controlled by the pricing structure. What we are seeing is merely a variant.
"Rich governments and corporations are triggering alarm for the poor as they buy up the rights to millions of hectares of agricultural land in developing countries in an effort to secure their own long-term food supplies.The head of the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation, Jacques Diouf, has warned that the controversial rise in land deals could create a form of "neo-colonialism", with poor states producing food for the rich at the expense of their own hungry people."
Inside there is also a good dossier on Madagascar, Malaysia and Brazil. This new trend, adequately described as "land-grab", is an issue I have posted about frequently on this blog: that of the land deals currently going on between the governments of rich countries of the developing world (Gulf states, South Korea) and and those of poor countries which happen to have a reasonable natural endowment. While the finger is always pointing at the Gulf countries (and rightly so, this is part of a food strategy that came in response to the food crisis), this time, it is South Korea which has apparently leased one million hectares for 99 years in Madagascar. The island has one of the most diverse and unique biodiversity in the world, and although I am not a palm reader I can safely bet that large scale industrial agriculture will not foster environmental preservation.
But I have a question here: why the surprise? What is -really- the difference between this and the fact that multinational corporations already control, through monopolies and monopsonies, food production in many poor countries, from Latin America to Eastern Asia? What are we worried about here? That the food produced in these large farms-colonies will be exported to South Korea or to Saudi Arabia instead of being available to the local people? But this is already happening everywhere, through export-oriented food production. In Egypt, for instance, organic food production on large scale farms managed by local investors, in partnership with foreign groups, produce food that is only destined for export. In India, the best quality fruits are shipped while the lower quality is sold on the local market.
Countries focusing on export encourage farmers to ship their "good" products (peanut oil in West Africa, for example) and, with the money they earn (a tiny little bit of money) buy imported, cheap and less healthy products (palm oil for example). The balance goes into the state coffers which communicate directly with politicians pockets. What will be so different if large scale export farming takes place on land leased by a foreign state or consortium, rather than by an international corporation? What will be different even if corporations are today looking towards buying export goods from cooperatives of small farmers? Not much, really: this is how the international trade-based food system already operates. Even in the case of the coops, the farmers are not really free because they are fully controlled by the pricing structure. What we are seeing is merely a variant.
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Slingshot Hip Hop
I watched Jackie Salloum's excellent Slingshot Hip Hop about the lives of Palestinian rappers. Not to be missed.
Friday, November 28, 2008
Your time has come
If you can read Arabic, enjoy this excellent piece by Khaled Saghieh!
«هيدا زمانك»
خالد صاغية
«هيدا زمانك» عنوان العمل الغنائي الجديد لخالد الهبر، وهو أيضاً عنوان أغنية مهداة إلى الحزب الشيوعي اللبناني، كان قد أدّاها الهبر في حفلاته الأخيرة. العنوان نفسه لا يصلح للحزب وحسب، بل لكلّ التيّار اليساري العريض، على امتداد العالم، الذي خفت صوته في العقود الثلاثة الأخيرة تحت وطأة شعار «لا بديل».
لم يشأ أحد أن ينتبه إلى سقوط نظرية الـ«لا بديل» حين كانت مؤشّرات عدم المساواة تطلق صفّارات الإنذار، وحين كان المستوى المعيشي للملايين حول العالم يتدنّى باستمرار، وحين كانت أنماط حياة تزول عن وجه الكرة الأرضيّة، وحين تحوّل عمّال العالم غير المتّحدين إلى فريسة لوحش مستتر «لا بديل» منه. لكن، حين بدأ هذا الوحش يأكل لحمه، استفاق الجميع على ضرورة التغيير.
لكلّ الذين رمتهم الشركات العملاقة في الطرقات، هيدا زمانك.
لكلّ الذين قذفت بهم العولمة خارج قراهم ودكاكينهم الصغيرة، ليقطعوا آلاف الأميال ويعملوا في خدمة السيّد الأبيض، هيدا زمانك.
لكلّ الذين يجرّون أطفالهم مرغمين للعمل في مشاغل العرق، هيدا زمانك.
لكلّ الذين اجتاحت الصواريخ الذكيّة بيوتهم الصغيرة، هيدا زمانك.
لكلّ الذين أُطلق اسم التخلّف على عاداتهم وتقاليدهم وأغانيهم وآلهتهم وحبّهم لأبنائهم وللخبز الذي تعجنه أيديهم، هيدا زمانك.
لكلّ الذين استُخدِموا وقوداً لتحفيز النموّ وجذب الاستثمارات وخدمة الدَّين العام، هيدا زمانك.
لكلّ الذين يخضعون للابتزاز اليوميّ ليتمكّنوا من دخول مستشفى أو مدرسة، هيدا زمانك.
لكلّ الذين يحملون أحلاماً لا تتّسع لها الأسرّة، وحبّاً يفيض عن حاجات البشر، هيدا زمانك. أكثر من أيّ زمان... هيدا زمانك.
They don't like farming.
In the run-up to the parliamentary elections in Lebanon, every one is championing a cause and trying to get public support from it. But, Rasha Abu Zeki tells us, no one is willing to defend agriculture! Not among the loyalists and not among the opposition, whose minister of agriculture apparently never brings up agriculture in the council of minister! That's how bad it is.
Grape molasses
Rameh Hamiyyeh reports on the traditional processing of grape molasses in Qsarnaba, the Bekaa. This village is known for the cultivation of roses and the extraction of rose water. See here for more on grape molasses. There is increased interest in traditional foods in the press, that's for sure...
Vorsprunch Durch Technik
In Hasbayya, 8,500 tons of olive mills residues are disposed off in the Hasbani river every year. Mercy Corps, operating with USAID funds has tried to create a safe disposal mechanism. It din't seem to have worked. So the German aid agency moved in. This article's title is: "The Germans treat the failure of the Americans".
Thursday, November 27, 2008
The value shackles
"For more than a year, food manufacturers have been shaving package sizes and raising prices, declaring that they had little choice because of unprecedented increases in the cost of raw ingredients like corn, soybeans and wheat.
Now, with the price of grains and other commodities plunging, it may seem logical that grocery prices will follow. But while prices for some items like milk and fresh produce are dropping, those of most packaged items and meat are holding firm or even increasing. Experts warn that consumers should not expect lower prices anytime soon on most items at the grocery store or in restaurants." (Thanks Rania)
This cannot be accurate: the prices of raw material should minimally affect the shelf prices of food. This is issue is not talked about enough, and the result is that people blame farmers and farming for high food prices. Today I attended a talk on food trade, and the figures shown by the speaker, who is himself very involved with the food industry, indicate that the cost of raw ingredient is less than 10% of the final price of manufactured food. Transformation accounts for something like 16% and retail for... nearly 50%. So even a doubling of the prices of raw commodities should be passed on only as a 10% or less increase in shelf price. I will link to the presentation by the speaker as soon as it is uploaded. But meanwhile look towards greed for an explanation. The value chain: they should rename it the value shackles.
Now, with the price of grains and other commodities plunging, it may seem logical that grocery prices will follow. But while prices for some items like milk and fresh produce are dropping, those of most packaged items and meat are holding firm or even increasing. Experts warn that consumers should not expect lower prices anytime soon on most items at the grocery store or in restaurants." (Thanks Rania)
This cannot be accurate: the prices of raw material should minimally affect the shelf prices of food. This is issue is not talked about enough, and the result is that people blame farmers and farming for high food prices. Today I attended a talk on food trade, and the figures shown by the speaker, who is himself very involved with the food industry, indicate that the cost of raw ingredient is less than 10% of the final price of manufactured food. Transformation accounts for something like 16% and retail for... nearly 50%. So even a doubling of the prices of raw commodities should be passed on only as a 10% or less increase in shelf price. I will link to the presentation by the speaker as soon as it is uploaded. But meanwhile look towards greed for an explanation. The value chain: they should rename it the value shackles.
Terra Carolina
"So, yes, I was pleased that the rhetoric and the literature at Terra Madre were outwardly political, relying heavily on concepts of “rights” to good, clean, fair food, as well as handing out “manifestos” on the future of seeds and food policy. I definitely felt momentum building for social justice at home and abroad." (Thanks D.)
UNC-Chapel Hill student reflects on her experience in Terra Madre (many more posts on Slow Food Na Terra Madre in the archives)
UNC-Chapel Hill student reflects on her experience in Terra Madre (many more posts on Slow Food Na Terra Madre in the archives)
The global fair
"Transfair claims that it is ethically superior vis-à-vis usual trade practices. In a paper aimed at the press, Transfair affirms that ‘‘fair trade tackles the problems (of the world trading system, driven by profit maximisation for the few, regardless of labour standards, human rights and the environment) by putting people before profit’’.
Transfair also affirms that it offers its producing partners in the countries of the South ‘‘a fair price, long term cooperation, good working conditions, democratic working processes, and respect and promotion of human rights’’.
Transfair defines fair trade as ‘‘a trading partnership, based on dialogue, transparency and respect, that seeks greater equity in international trade. It contributes to sustainable development by offering better trading conditions to, and securing the rights of, marginalised producers and workers - especially in the South’’.
But in some cases, its critics say, exactly the opposite happens.
On the one hand, Transfair established cooperation contracts in 2006 with the German discount supermarket Lidl -- which has been accused of selling dumped goods and of violating their own workers' rights. Dumped goods are goods sold at less than what it cost to produce them.
On the other hand, Transfair is also cooperating with international corporations such as Nestlé which has faced charges of exploiting water sources around the world without paying attention to the rights of local populations or the environment." (Thanks Marcy)
From IPSnews. I will say more about social responsibility and trade in my post about the agribusiness conference I am attending in Cairo.
Transfair also affirms that it offers its producing partners in the countries of the South ‘‘a fair price, long term cooperation, good working conditions, democratic working processes, and respect and promotion of human rights’’.
Transfair defines fair trade as ‘‘a trading partnership, based on dialogue, transparency and respect, that seeks greater equity in international trade. It contributes to sustainable development by offering better trading conditions to, and securing the rights of, marginalised producers and workers - especially in the South’’.
But in some cases, its critics say, exactly the opposite happens.
On the one hand, Transfair established cooperation contracts in 2006 with the German discount supermarket Lidl -- which has been accused of selling dumped goods and of violating their own workers' rights. Dumped goods are goods sold at less than what it cost to produce them.
On the other hand, Transfair is also cooperating with international corporations such as Nestlé which has faced charges of exploiting water sources around the world without paying attention to the rights of local populations or the environment." (Thanks Marcy)
From IPSnews. I will say more about social responsibility and trade in my post about the agribusiness conference I am attending in Cairo.
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Universal right to food
"We hold that humanity should consider food a natural right of all human beings. This implies that agricultural products should not be treated as a market whose ultimate purpose is the generation of business profits, and that small farmers should be encouraged and strengthened because this is the only policy that can sustain the populations in rural areas. And with the goal of producing food that is both healthy and safe, we oppose the use of agro-toxins. Until now, governments have not listened to our demands. However, unless they make radical changes, social problems and contradictions will intensify and sooner or later they will explode. " (Thanks Rania)
Going further-but not all the way
"The $15 billion spent by the United States on aid would go further if there was a single agency held accountable for the efforts, said David Beckmann, president of Bread for the World, a coalition of U.S. Christian aid groups.
"When the government is debating what to do about trade or diplomacy, we need somebody at the table in the highest councils of the U.S. government to speak for poor people," Beckmann said in an interview." (Thanks D.)
"When the government is debating what to do about trade or diplomacy, we need somebody at the table in the highest councils of the U.S. government to speak for poor people," Beckmann said in an interview." (Thanks D.)
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Food Sovereignty Free Trade Conference
I'm speaking in this conference on Saturday December 6
Green Line Association and the International NGO/CSO Planning Committee for Food Sovereignty (IPC) are organizing a regional workshop titled:
Food Sovereignty vs. Free Trade - "Towards an alternative multilateral Agricultural Governance Framework"
In the wake of the global food and financial crises and the collapse of the Doha Round of the WTO negotiations, the main objectives of the workshop are to emphasize the importance of bringing the issues of food sovereignty and security into the forefront of the political discussion and planning for the region and to discuss the existing potentials for socially and environmentally responsible agricultural trade regimes arising from the failure of the free market as acknowledge by its protagonists. The workshop aims additionally at proposing the main requirements for an alternative international governance system for agriculture and food.
The workshop will include the launching of the Arabic version of the "Slow Trade - Sound Farming: A Multilateral Framework for Sustainable Markets in Agriculture. A publication developed by the Heinrich Böll Foundation and MISEREOR.
The workshop will be held in Lebanon from December 5-7, 2008 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel Beirut.
You attendance is highly appreciated and most welcome of course.
Green Line Association and the International NGO/CSO Planning Committee for Food Sovereignty (IPC) are organizing a regional workshop titled:
Food Sovereignty vs. Free Trade - "Towards an alternative multilateral Agricultural Governance Framework"
In the wake of the global food and financial crises and the collapse of the Doha Round of the WTO negotiations, the main objectives of the workshop are to emphasize the importance of bringing the issues of food sovereignty and security into the forefront of the political discussion and planning for the region and to discuss the existing potentials for socially and environmentally responsible agricultural trade regimes arising from the failure of the free market as acknowledge by its protagonists. The workshop aims additionally at proposing the main requirements for an alternative international governance system for agriculture and food.
The workshop will include the launching of the Arabic version of the "Slow Trade - Sound Farming: A Multilateral Framework for Sustainable Markets in Agriculture. A publication developed by the Heinrich Böll Foundation and MISEREOR.
The workshop will be held in Lebanon from December 5-7, 2008 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel Beirut.
You attendance is highly appreciated and most welcome of course.
Yemen...Hadramawt
"Thousands of acres of farmland were destroyed in Hadramaut Governorate, southeastern Yemen, by the late October floods, raising the spectre of long-term food insecurity, according to Agriculture Ministry officials.
"The devastation was huge. Hadramaut is now a food insecure governorate. Food security has been badly affected by the floods. Farmers depended on the produce from their land but now they will have to buy food items," Ahmed al-Ashlah, deputy minister of agriculture and irrigation, told IRIN in Seyoun."
http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=81642
I worked and lived in Yemen many years ago. I was last in Seyoun in June 2006. Pictures on my Facebook (for those who are my friends on Facebook)
"The devastation was huge. Hadramaut is now a food insecure governorate. Food security has been badly affected by the floods. Farmers depended on the produce from their land but now they will have to buy food items," Ahmed al-Ashlah, deputy minister of agriculture and irrigation, told IRIN in Seyoun."
http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=81642
I worked and lived in Yemen many years ago. I was last in Seyoun in June 2006. Pictures on my Facebook (for those who are my friends on Facebook)
The even hate our potatoes
"Israeli forces rolled into southeast Gaza Strip on Tuesday and bulldozers started to flatten farmlands, witnesses and security sources said.
The residents of al-Fukhari neighborhood, to the east of Khan Younis town, said nine tanks and two bulldozers suddenly entered the area and destroyed greenhouses and potato fields.
They added that the tanks used their machine guns to cover the bulldozers, forcing farmers and the residents to flee westward." (Thanks Marcy)
Sunny exile
Am in Cairo. Again. But this time I feel exiled, in the hotel near the airport where my conference is taking place. There is nowhere to walk to except the airport highway. But they have 2 great pools. So I worked on my butterfly and my suntan (more suntan than butterfly). Temperature: 29 Celcius.
International Conference for Sharing Innovative Agribusiness Solutions-From Farms to Markets: Providing Know How and Finance and is organized by UNIDO. Here's the conference website, and here's my contribution: I will give a presentation on the 27th.
I will blog about the conference as soon as I see more of it, but it promises to be interesting: the corporatization of rural development. Look at the panel and see who's there: Keynotes by the DG of UNIDO, the founder of SEKEM, a (very) large scale organic farm for export in Egypt, the Ambassador of Italy and the Minister of Agriculture. We will have a panel discussion advertized as "Davos format". Not joking.
International Conference for Sharing Innovative Agribusiness Solutions-From Farms to Markets: Providing Know How and Finance and is organized by UNIDO. Here's the conference website, and here's my contribution: I will give a presentation on the 27th.
I will blog about the conference as soon as I see more of it, but it promises to be interesting: the corporatization of rural development. Look at the panel and see who's there: Keynotes by the DG of UNIDO, the founder of SEKEM, a (very) large scale organic farm for export in Egypt, the Ambassador of Italy and the Minister of Agriculture. We will have a panel discussion advertized as "Davos format". Not joking.
Monday, November 24, 2008
Quota
"European agriculture ministers kept holding marathon farm subsidy reform talks Thursday after failing to reach a deal overnight.
...
...
The most contentious point in the bid to reform the bloc's controversial Common Agricultural Policy is the gradual lifting of milk quotas in coming years, with the quotas set to disappear entirely by 2015.
Germany has been insisting on special funding to support milk producers in difficult regions such as mountainous areas, where the producers are less able to handle the lifting of the quota system.
Germany, along with Austria and others, fears that a resultant drop in prices as the quota caps are lifted would jeopardize the future of farmers in mountainous regions.
Their operations are less competitive and less flexible than their counterparts on Europe's grassy plains."
Meanwhile, the same people insist that no country of the Developing World should protect its producers and prevent the collapse of their livelihoods. And they invite them to drop their puny protectionist measures and join the WTO.
Have you had your quota of double standards today?
Mysterious assailants
"Unfortunately all bees are already under serious Industrialised farming with its monocultures and pesticides has destroyed biodiversity and robbed the majority of bees of their habitat and food. While across the globe, the western honeybee – bred for its gentle nature and prolific honey making and pollination – is plagued by parasites and viruses, and also jeopardised by modern agricultural practices. More than a third of honeybees were wiped out in the US this year by Colony Collapse Disorder, a mysterious disease which is thought to be a combination of these assailants." (Thanks Marcy)
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