A press conference officially launched the long, culturally vibrant and important march across India, Bangladesh and the Philippines between November 13-30.

Fatima Burhad, of TNWF and SRED says the People’s Caravan is an expression of the frustration of thousands of farmers, landless peasants, farm workers, fisherfolk and indigenous people with the exploitation by transnational corporations (TNCs) and local elites of their lands, their food and agricultural production systems, and ultimately their lives.

"Globalisation, championed by the World Trade Organisations (WTO) program of trade liberalisation, has allowed powerful TNCs access to the weak economies of developing countries depriving the people of land and water and the very means of self-sufficiency in food production," said Burnad.

"Our people are suffering tremendously at the mercy of globalisation and its lapdogs – powerful, profit-driven TNCs and local elites aggressively pushing the only agenda they understand, the accumulation of great wealth at the expense of people and the environment," she added.

As a sign of solidarity for landless labourers and poor farmers in their struggle for land rights, the People’s Caravan joined their protest rally calling on the government to honor the recommendations made in the Kolapan Report – an investigation instigated by the government into the plight of agriculture workers made by a 15 member committee.

Three thousand agricultural workers and people’s movement leaders marched from Valluvar Kottam to Vani Mahal.

The report, submitted to the government in 1998, remains unpublished. The labourers demand the immediate implementation of the reports 41 recommendations. These include: pension and insurance provisions; compensation for work related death and physical injuries; social security; and the establishment of an independent board to liaise with agricultural workers.

A final demand, separate to the recommendations made in the Kolapan Report, is the call for land reform and equal wages for women agricultural workers.

Sarojeni Rengam, Executive Director of Pesticide Action Network Asia and the Pacific (PAN AP) – coordinators of the People’s Caravan – says the People’s Caravan is also about hope. "Farmers, landless peasants and farm workers from different countries along with consumers and anti-pesticide and genetic engineering advocates will come together in solidarity to challenge the effects of globalisation on their lives," commented Rengam.

"We will celebrate our local initiatives towards more sustainable healthy agriculture that embrace our local/ traditional knowledge and practices that can really feed our people and free them from dependence on hazardous pesticides and other dangerous agricultural inputs and technologies," she said.

PREPARE and the Centre for Indian Knowledge Systems (CICKS) will host a seminar discussing the health and environment impacts of pesticides and genetic engineering technologies in food and agriculture. This will involve government health officials, university students, academics, consumers and the press, among others.

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