Mode, in partnership with other non-governmental organizations in the Philippines and Southeast Asia, organized an International NGO Conference on Food Security and Trade Liberalization in February 1996. The key results of this conference were the formulation and adoption of a SEA food security agenda as embodied in the Balay Declaration; the formation on the Southeast Asia NGO Liaison Committee for Food Security and Fair Trade (now known as the Sea Council for Food Security and Fair Trade) and a consensus to advocate the building of national-based food security councils

The publication is the result of an exhaustive study carried out by ERA Consumer Malaysia and DHRRA (Development of Human Resource in Rural Asia) Network Malaysia in to the crucial issue of food security, which has become a matter of concern to people and government alike. In Rome in 1996, government of the world made a firm commitment at the World Food Summit to reduce the number of hungry and malnourished people.

Rice is the staple food of most Southeast Asians. In many Southeast Asian countries like Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia, their citizens consume more than 150kg/capita/year. Rice provides for more than 50 percent if their caloric and protein intakes (Table 1). It also provides livelihood and sustenance to millions of farmers and their families in the region. Rice is linked inextricably to their cultures and way of life. Because of the socio-political significance of rice, Southeast Asian governments had been heavily involved in the supply and distribution to assure consumers sufficient and stable supply at low prices and to maintain reasonable earnings for rice farmers.

This study is timely and fills a long-felt need among civil society movements for a critical but balanced assessment of the socio-economic impact of the ASEAN Free Trade Area agreement, in particular its effects on the small scale producers (men and women). Analyses on AFTA’s socio-economic impact are rare and usually anecdotal. Most references and academic studies carried out in the South East Asia region emphasis on the positive side of trade liberalization and the rate of the liberalization process, not on whether such liberalization is improving of worsening life in the ASEAN. Hence, this study was carried out to assess the positive and negative impact on trade, investment and agrarian situation in the individual ASEAN economies viz a viz other liberalization initiatives such as the bilaterals, Free Trade Area and the World Trade Organization (WTO).

The Agreement on Trade-related Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) is an important part of all the agreements that come under the WTO. It requires developing countries to grant either patent or sui generis (unique) protection for the ownership of plant varieties. The International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV) is seen to be the ready made solution for compliance with TRIPs. Even though the TRIPs agreement does not mention UPOV, nevertheless the governments from the South East Asian region are promoting and developing their own Plant Protection Acts and Bills in the pretext of being compliant with WTO

South East Asian Council for Food Security and Fair Trade (SEACON) is pleased to publish this booklet which aims to provide the people at large, mainly representatives of non-governmental organizations working with grassroots on issues related to agriculture, food sovereignty and trade to understand terminologies that are related to the agreement on Trade-related Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) and Farmers’ Rights.

Trade affects almost everything we do. Put Imply, it is the buying and selling of goods and services. It does not have to involve a monetary transaction. It might, for example, involve a simple exchange of goods or services of mutual value between two people living locally.

Pesticides are toxic chemicals deliberately added to our environment. They are poisons by design, whose pug pose is to kill or harm living things. They can kill or harm human beings as well.

Food security is an issue that needs serious attention especially in developing countries such as ASEAN countries. Food security is availability, accessibility and affordability of food to the people of a country. This is important as nowadays food is expensive, food import bills are increasing, and food production is sidelined for industrialization and cash crop production.