SAVE OUR RICE MESSAGE From Tamil Nadu, India for the Week of Rice Action 2007

The Week of Rice Action (WORA) will take off from Thakkolam, Tamil Nadu where women and farmers will get on bicycles and bullock carts and travel to villages in the state shouting anti-GMO slogans as well as bearing the message “Save Our Rice” when the campaign kicks off on March 28th 2007. The campaign organized by the Society for Rural Education and Development (SRED) is against Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO) and Thakkolam has been picked as the starting point to support farmers there who are faced with declining rice production due to the introduction of floriculture in the area. Whilst on the road they will shout slogans saying “No to GMO”, “No to Harvesters”, “No to Agro Chemicals and “No to WTO”. The women and farmers who are participating include the poor and maginalised farmers, and the Dalit and Tribal women who have been motivated by SRED to join in the WORA activities. According to R. Vimala of SRED, WORA will give the people a voice against the use of harvesters and agro-chemicals, as well as to oppose WTO’s unfair trade policies which have undermined the employment of agricultural workers in Thakkolam. WORA will end with a large symposium, to be attended by all sectors to discuss the importance of rice and the threats of GM food. SRED has also started collecting signatures for the 1 million signature campaign to save Asia’s rice. SRED had earlier started its Anti-GM Rice Campaign in Tamil Nadu from 11th to 16th January which coincided with the Pongal Festival. In conjunction with this rice harvest festival a street play was performed by its women’s cultural group entitled “Rice in the Life of Women.” During the play, seven varieties of rice, of various shapes and colours were displayed and distributed to hundreds of rural Dalit Women who gathered to watch the play. The play brought out the following features which highlighted the importance of rice to the people, particularly rice without chemicals :

- When a girl attains puberty the traditional ‘Chamba’ rice flour is used to prepare a special item called “Puttu” to give her more energy. - In marriage rice is used with turmeric to greet the newly married couple by blessing them. After marriage they are served with food, rice being the main item. - During pregnancy, women are given seven kinds of cooked rice for more energy and strength for the baby. - Pongal is celebrated by first worshipping God with sweet ‘pongal’ which is made of rice and which is shared among family and relatives. - Finally, the cooked rice will also be shared during funerals and rice will be tied to the person’s body before burial.

The SRED team also visited several villages to see how the seeds were preserved. Groundnuts are mixed with ashes and the top of the pot is covered with a bundle of straw, so that ants will not eat the seeds. The women demonstrated how they covered the seeds with soil. SRED also joined the Chennai debate on “Who Benefits from GMO Technology: Farmers or MNCs?" The Scientists spoke in favour of genetically modified food whilst farmers explained how it affected their lives. Vimala gave examples of the ailments suffered by the poor rural Dalit women which included survical cancer, removal of the women’s uterus, and premature births among some due to the effects of using chemical fertilizers. Farmers also handed out hand bills against the “Seed Bills.” Several seminars have also been organized on GMO and information on Food Sovereignty has been translated into the local language and distributed to the people in the area. 16/3/07

This initiative is regionally organised by Pesticide Action Network- Asia Pacific: PANAP (Special thanks to the colleagues of PANAP)