16 Days of Women’s Global Action

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The special attention is recently paid to food safety by the consumers especially women, who are seeking for reliable resources for genuinely safe agriculture products. On the other hand, nowadays farmers especially women are strongly asserting to good health, good food and good environment. Initiating from the negative impacts of the overuse of toxic chemical in agriculture and food on health and environment, which are water pollution, toxic chemical residue in food stuff, land erosion and increasing diseases in human and animal, a number of international and local NGOs have been carried out the projects on awareness raising and capacity building for farmers and supporting them to applying a farming method which reducing chemical inputs at least level, called "ecological agriculture". Those projects receive the support from local authority at all levels and the government professional agencies, which pursue the same goal of providing safe and quality food for everyone and in the meantime protecting human health and good environment.
Women have become involved in different forms of struggle as they carry their fight in their farms, picket lines, street demonstrations, parliaments and urban centres. Women are holding up placards and are in the frontline – from protesting the American war on Iraq, right up to human rights struggles and the fight for freedom and justice in their own lands and workplace. Rural women are resisting corporate-dominated mal-development and trade liberalisation. All over Asia, women peasants, farmers and workers are organising to drive out transnational corporations such as Syngenta and Monsanto. Rural women are demanding food sovereignty. Women farmers are out in the fields practising sustainable agriculture and livelihoods. Rural women are fighting to take control of their bodies and claim their reproductive rights. Rural women are challenging patriarchy within their families and communities. Rural women are challenging national policies to incorporate the women's agenda and become represented in parliaments. Rural women have become leaders, resource persons, and speakers. Women have shown greater strength and courage in the face of increasing poverty and looming world food crisis..
One of the biggest challenges is promoting the farmers especially women farmers to pursue and expand ecological farming and to product of safe food, to protect human health and environment. It is a hope that the "Ecological Agriculture Campaign" would promote the women farmers to have a better understanding, a positive vision on ecological agriculture then encourage the women farmers in practicing ecological farming in the future. Besides, the campaign of ecological agriculture could inform and forward rural women's agenda and demands on ecological agriculture, safe food, good health and environment to policy makers at all level.

The organizational unit

The Centre for Sustainable Rural Development (SRD)
SRD is one of the leading Vietnamese science and technology organizations supporting poor rural communities to adapt to a changing environment and to sustainably manage their own livelihoods. Its success is underpinned by a holistic approach to development that spans from grass-roots capacity building to international advocacy.
Founded in March 2006, SRD inherited 28 years of experience from the International Cooperation for Development and Solidarity (CIDSE) in Vietnam, an international NGO that delivered successful development projects from 1975-2005. When CIDSE realized its ultimate goal of nationalizing local development activities in Vietnam, SRD was established to continue the important support of the rural poor across the country. SRD is officially registered as member organisation of Vietnam Union of Science and Technology.
Associations (number 281/QD-LHH dated 21 March 2006), with an operation permit from the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment (dated 30 March 2006).

-SRD-

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