The World Food Day – bottom up approach?

Saturday we attended the event to commemorate The World Food Day 2010 arranged by ActionAid Tanzania, Oxfam and Haki Ardhi. 

It was a highly successful day!! We did the media stunt with the car, build together with volunteers from different organizations and university students around Tanzania, which was shown to all the participants including different media. The event shows and reflects how food security is compromised by foreign biofuel investments. 

In addition to that was our spokespersons were interviewed by BBC News. In the afternoon we had a world premiere on a short documentary presenting our key finding from the fieldtrip to Kisarawe and Rufiji. The documentary was prepared with help from DC Studio (we hope to be able to share it with all of you here on the side very soon!). 

Lastly but not least, we gave our speech (also posted on our blog) and presented a representative from the Ministry of Agriculture and Food security with a golden FOOD right FIGHTER Future Award! The idea behind the Future Award was to approach the stakeholders who are involved in the process of making the policies on biofuel investment in a positive and humorous way. Our message was clear: the stakeholders hold the Tanzanian future in the hollow of their hands and therefor they should start acting today – not tomorrow!

It was a long day (especially for those of us who unfortunately don’t speak Swahili) but worth the wait. Our approach really worked out very well and we are now in contact with the Ministry of Agriculture and Food security and arranging a dialogue meeting where we will hand them a report with our main findings and discuss what should be done in shorter and longer perspectives to Punch Hunger in Tanzania.

All the way through the training on the Global Platform we have being talking a lot about how important to the do the campaign ‘bottom-up’ and go to the streets, raise awareness and inspire people to ‘be the change’ and become FOOD right FIGHTERS themselves.

The World Food Day was the day we took action! After the event inside the walls of the Blue Pearl Hotel we took the media stunt with the car to the streets and the people. Some of the Swahili speaking students from the Global Change course explained the event and we talked to people who walked by on the streets (see the media stunt on http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IRkqDZ_9h-I&feature=player_embedded).


We experienced that, even though it is an upcoming issue in the media and newspapers like The Guardian and The Citizen have been writing about it, the ‘guy on the street’ did not know that the biofuel investments is a treat to food security in Tanzania.

But we cannot do this alone - and that is why we need YOU to take action! 

Our next public event is already next week on Tuesday the 26^th of October and you are ALL invited. We really want you to participate in the event and help us create public debate about biofuels in relation to the food security – how biofuel investment without a policy that ensures food security will increase poverty and hunger the Tanzania. Time and venue is on the drawing board but we will hopefully be able to post it on the blog later today – and you are of course always very much welcome to write us an email: msglobalchange2010@gmail.com

The FOOD right FIGHTERS’ speech at the World Food Day the 16th of Oct. 2010

We are all gathered here today at World food Day, to raise awareness of the global food problem and strengthen solidarity in the struggle against hunger, malnutrition and poverty.

 We are 20 youth Activistas - known as the “FOOD right FIGHTERS” from Uganda, Kenya, Denmark, Zambia, Zimbabwe, The Gambia and Tanzania with one common goal - to Punch Hunger in Tanzania.

Approximately one billion people are hungry in the world. According to the ActionAid report on implications of biofuel production on food security in Tanzania more than 36% of the population lives for less than a dollar a day and 60 % are food insecure, most of them are living in rural areas. That makes Tanzania among the poorest counties in the world.

We have been looking at the causes of hunger here in Tanzania and one of the recent causes is biofuel investment. Through our research in Kisarawe and Rufiji, we have seen how this affects the people. We have seen how food security has been compromised by biofuel production as land, water and labor which should be used for food production is being used for biofuel.  These findings are supported by the ActionAid report.

We have seen how TIC has allocated village land to biofuel investment and heard how investors promised the world to these people and yet almost nothing has happened. Still the farmers hope for a better future, where they get what they were promised - Schools for their children, water to survive, jobs for the youth and hospitals for the sick. Even in the rare cases where people do get jobs the conditions they work and live under are horrifying. They are based on seasonal contracts which mean no rights for the workers. We have cases where workdays are from 6 am to 6 pm every day of the week for a minimum wage of 3000tsh. Not only is this not enough money to feed their families, also, they have no possibility to provide medication or schooling for their children. This is not only depriving them of education but also against the labor law here in Tanzania that should ensure the wellbeing of the people.

The consequences of biofuel investment in Tanzania are huge. More and more land is being grabbed for biofuel production resulting, which has the potential for food insecurity if the situation is left as it is. This means that the farmers have less or no land for their own food production, and no money to buy the food they need.

The biofuel guideline has been under construction since 2006, and is now to be released. However they are not enforceable by law, and will not demand investors to own up to their responsibilities. That is way we say “No biofuel without a policy that is implemented and that ensure food security!”

You might think that this problem only affects the farmers in Tanzania, so why should you care?

The truth of the matter is that it does affect you. Tanzania’s future is on the line! Your future is on the line!

When the ministry of land through TIC allows the land to be taken from the farmers and given to biofuel companies, it becomes a threat to all Tanzanian people. Government has to prioritize food security and not only focus on investments that are not benefiting Tanzania.  Right now the government’s main focus should therefore be to feed the people of Tanzania. Make it a right to have food on the table in every household!

Reality is that people are dying of hunger! The biofuels investments do not benefit Tanzania by bringing any local development. This is only the beginning. As reported in The Guardian dated 11 October, four million hectares of land is as I speak being requested for biofuel production without a policy! Four percent of your country’s land is in danger of being used for biofuel production. If we don’t stand together now against this problem: food insecurity will only increase in the future. Not only will you not have enough food for you and your family - your children will be deprived of the right to go to school, and the right to have a bright future.

Africa’s land, Labour and Water is been exploited to grow biofuels that benefits the western countries. Is it right that YOU are growing food for the western vehicles, when YOUR children are starving in your country?

That is why we are Food right Fighters, and you can be a Food right Fighter too. Together we can create great social change and make hunger history. So take action! Be a Food Right Fighter!
We have a collective responsibility to make sure that biofuel investments do not compromise food security. “No biofuel without a policy- ensure food security!”

We demand that the ministry of energy and minerals ensures that the national biofuel task force develop a policy and regulatory framework for biofuel investment that ensures food security!

We demand that the ministry of agriculture, though its representation in the task force, push for a policy that ensures food security!

We demand that the ministry of land and TIC, stop approving land for biofuel production, without a policy!

And we demand that the government stops delaying the process of policy formulation!

The government should start taking the responsibility for their own people. Start supporting the local small scale farmers and the local development instead of endangering the wellbeing of the Tanzanian people by favoring the investors. Food insecurity is a political manmade problem, and therefore mankind can change it. Together we can change this!!

This is the World Food Day!

This is the time for social change!

We now want to invite some very important people up on stage that we believe have the power to make the change that we want. We believe in you, and that you can be the best food right fighter there is. Would a representative from the ministry of energy and mineral, the ministry of agriculture and food security and the ministry of land to kindly join us on stage?

We would like to present you this future award, for the effort that you are going to make in meeting your demands J we believe that you want the best for Tanzania, and we recognize your intentions of formulation a policy and legislation that will guide biofuel investment in a sustainable manner. Therefore it needs to been effectively implemented.

We would also like a meeting with you, to discuss the way forward in dealing with this problem.

No biofuel without a policy!! Ensure food security!

Findings of field work Kisarawe and Rufiji

How the land was acquired

·         They were not involved in land acquisition process

·         They did not know the underlying frameworks on land acquisition and land rights and they still not sure who to go for the compensations.

·         The government officials fraud them to make imprecise decision to let go off their land

·         They did not sign any contracts with the investor regarding their compensation.

·         Some villagers said the land acquired was under cultivation while others said land was not under cultivation or any other use.

·         Land was undervalued

Effect of the Biofuel Investment on the communities members

·         Low wage for the people employed by the investors farmers

·         Workers are being sacked constantly without pay!

·         Over exploitation of farmers in the farmers since they work for long periods

·         Workers working under difficult conditions since they have no protective gears

·         Farmers lost  farms in which they had previously used to grow mango, and cashew nuts and some for food production

·         Natural forests were cut down and this is upsetting the climate patterns.

·         Farmers lost their land and cannot collect fire wood and burn charcoal

·         Investors never kept their promises

·         Access to water is now limited as the water points were fenced off by the investors

·         Farmers unable to expand their farming

What the community members want

• They need their land back

·         They need compensation

·         They need pledged promises fulfilled (building schools, health centers and provision of clean water)

·         Building relations between the investors and the farmers

·          A network of the farmers

·         Land to be distributed between the investors and the farmers

 Investor’s side of the story

·         They got land from TIC

·         They paid for land (compensation for villagers) through the government, and so government pays the villagers on behalf of the investor

·         They will provide social services for the villagers ranging from water, building schools and health centers, and ambulances.

·         They will employ villagers to work for the farms

·         Villagers are stealing their farm products e.g. (stolen maize worth  60,000,000 from the Turkish investor in Nyamwage village)

What are we working with here!

·         The land given to investors by the government belong to the villagers

·         The value of the land is incomparable with the compensation or any promises pledged to provides social services together with the investment made by the investors in the land as of now

·         Land taken by the investors was not being used by the villagers for farming activities, but rather for harvesting charcoal, woods and firewood. In some cases, farming activities were conducted though in very small scale

·         Villagers do not have capacity to develop the unused arable land for farming activities in large scale

·         In an event the farming activities should be conducted in large scale, advanced implements must be used

·         From villagers  anecdote, there is a thirst using land for economic activities though in the same old ways  as earlier (undisturbed ecosystem)

·         There is no any economic activity that does not have side effect and so is the case for agro fuels.

·         Agro fuels is as same as other non food crops such as sisal and cotton and all have their side effects

·         The villagers were given undeserved status (object of charity) instead of domestic investor, basing on the fact that the land belongs to them.

What are we recommending!

That government should stop issuing more land for biofeuel investment until policies and regulatory frameworks are in place, such policies and regulations should ensure food security is assured and that the Tanzanians benefit from such investments.

What is our campaign about?

Food fight campaign, ensuring that food security is not threatened by biofuel investments.

Objective

Governments don’t allocate land for biofuel production without policies that ensure food security are in place.

Message

No biofuel investments without policies. Ensure food security

Target

Ministry of land

Ministry of energy and minerals

Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security 

And the government. 

THE WORLD FOOD DAY

World Food Day was proclaimed in 1979 by the Conference of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). It marks the date of the founding of FAO in 1945. The aim of the Day is to heighten public awareness of the world food problem and strengthen solidarity in the struggle against hunger, malnutrition and poverty. In 1980, the General Assembly endorsed observance of the Day in consideration of the fact that "food is a requisite for human survival and well-being and a fundamental human necessity"

Therefore every year, on October 16^th the world commemorates this day. This year round, the global change Tanzania 2010, intends to attend this day at the Blue peal in Ubungo plaza on this coming Saturday under the umbrella of Action aid Tanzania. Unfortunately this is a closed event not open to the public but the media and different Tanzania government officials will be present.

The theme of the day will be “land grabbing”, this theme being very much in line with our campaign, we intend to take advantage of the day to present a speech about our findings from the field and our message. As global change, we are against land allocation for biofuels investment in Tanzania until there’s a policy in place. According to our research and findings, the biofuels production in Tanzania right now is a threat to food security. We are hoping to drive our message to our main targets of our campaign that are the Ministry of Energy and minerals, Ministry for Agriculture and food security and the Ministry for land.

We are also planning to build a car model which we plan to present that day as a demonstration of how maize is used for fuel production to move cars while people are starving with no food to eat.

The global change Tanzania being the food right fighters and members of Activista, our objective is to also try to convince people that they can be the change that they want in terms of hunger alleviation by becoming food right fighters. We do not want to portray any negative image like being against the government.

As food right fighters we have the confidence in the Tanzania government that they can formulate a good biofuel policy that ensures food security. That is why as a way to show our confidence in the Government that day, we plan to present the three ministries with three future awards, them accepting the awards will be a promise to the Tanzanians that they will from now on punch hunger by producing the best policy that ensures Tanzania food security

A recap of the week that was...!

Looks like we’ve been gone forever from this site, we are not; here is a recap of the week that was

Thursday 16^th September:  24 hour camp

Yep we worked for twenty four straight hours, started at around 8:30 am, one of our cool facilitator knocks on every door announcing a 24hr camp and by 9:00am we are all set. All morning and part of the afternoon we worked in our campaign three groups: Research and Documentation, Communication and Events group. Tasks were as follows: first group framed the case story of the campaign and prepared for a field research. Group two was to deal with the communication aspect of the campaign, the message and the target and the last group was to come up with events for the campaign and particularly for a march to be held on Saturday .We were later to present this to a team of experts some big shots in NGO work in Tanzania at 5pm, after which we were to go back and take in their feedback and redo the task. We managed to cover at least 22 hours and energies were still high mission was accomplished.

Friday: Preparing for the UN march past

The march past was organized by a group called Global Call against Poverty, the goal was to push for the accelerated achievement of the MDGS, given that hunger tops the MDGs, this march provided a platform for us to present our campaign slogan, “Punch Hunger”.  We come up with T shirts, and two banners. One with slogan and was blank to have others write what their solution to hunger were.

Saturday… UN March Past

 We Joined the GCAP from UN Offices in Kinondoni, to Biafra grounds. It was a success. The Citizen newspaper wrote an article on us, and Nipashe had a picture of our blank banner.

We rested on Sunday, and Monday we had a debrief of the 24hr Camp, and UN march past, later in the afternoon we started preparing for a one week field research ( 25^th September to 2^nd October).  Tuesday we sent a team to survey the proposed sites for the research.  After that we agreed to going two districts: Rufiji and Kisarawe covering 11 villages in total. We will keep you posted on our visit, better still we try take you with us to Kisarawe, Rufiji and back to the platform.

Cultural Exchange

In all our blog posts we have talked about our project, but in this post I would like to look in to who we are as a group and add on to the dimension on what we are actually gaining from this course. In our group we are 20 people from 7 different countries in the age between 20-31 years. We have both Christians and Muslims and of course different sub religions from these two. We also have people who are none religious. We go to school together and besides that we also all live together under the same roof, a lot of us even in the same room. We prepare dinner together, we watch TV together, we eat together - in short we do almost everything together. The result of all this is a lot of cultural exchange. We have had a lot of interesting conversations about religion, homosexuality, manners, traditions etc. I think that in the process of this course we learn a lot about each others cultures and I think through this we actually also learn a lot about our own culture. The reason for posting this blog is a thought I got from thinking about this cultural exchange, that maybe in social change a key word should be exchange, wether it is culture, knowledge or other aspects, because I think in learning about others we can learn more about our selves and our backgrounds and through this knowledge we can learn our strengths and weaknesses.

Our First Public Appearance

Today we attended the press conference held by Action Aid Tanzania, to launch their HungerFREE Scorecard 2010 – Who’s really fighting hunger? The scorecard reveals that 20 out of 28 poor nationsare of track to halving hunger by 2015 whereof 12 are going backwards. Tanzania is ranked as number 15 out of 28, which only shows that much needs to be done still!

This was our first public appearance and engagement with the media. We presented ourselves and our slogan PUNCH HUNGER (Piga Vita Njaa!!) and had three of our group members interviewed by Radio Cloud FM Tanzania – SO COOL J

Also, we were asked by The Daily News to write an article on us and our campaign.

We are so motivated after this day and are looking even more forward to Saturday where we will join a procession to mark the UN summit in New York next week. We’ll keep you posted on the details…