[WSMDiscuss] Fwd: May 2 | GTA's Webinar #2: "Covid-19 – a response from Nayakrishi Andolan, a New Agriculture Movement in Bangladesh"

[Ashish Kothari]

To register/join, and for details: 
https://globaltapestryofalternatives.org/webinars:02

GTA's Webinar Series: *Dialogue on Alternatives in the Time of Global 
Crises*


  Dialogue 2: Covid-19 – a response from Nayakrishi Andolan, a New
  Agriculture Movement in Bangladesh

with*Farhad Mazhar*and*Farida Akhter*(Bangladesh)

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*Saturday 2nd May - 13.30 GMT/UTC*
To get your local time conversion, visit the webinar page 
<https://globaltapestryofalternatives.org/webinars:02>.

    The second in a series exploring the opportunities of promoting and
    creating systemic alternatives to global crises, this dialogue
    explores the responses emerging from local, sustainable, bio-diverse
    farming in Bangladesh. How can campaigns like a New Agriculture
    Movement or Nayakrishi Andolan led by farmers show us pathways to a
    just, equitable, sustainable future that helps avoid or deal with
    such crises better?


Information and registration 
<https://globaltapestryofalternatives.org/webinars:02>

*Nayakrishi Andolon*, “the New Agriculture Movement”, is an agricultural 
movement in Bangladesh that opposes the use of Western pesticides and 
genetically altered seeds. It farming practice is based on ten 
principles adopted by farmers themselves that includes no use of 
pesticides, preservation of local variety seeds, webinar 
pageconservation of plant, bird and animal genetic resources. Over 
300,000 farming families in 19 districts are involved in. The farmers in 
the movement don't use any external inputs and therefore not depend on 
the market for seed, fertilizer and pesticides, etc., they are free from 
indebtedness. In the context of the COVID-19 crisis, this is an 
advantage they obviously enjoy over the conventional 'modern' farmers. 
By promoting a simple crop mix called “economic, ecologic and 
subsistence mix”, they are less vulnerable to economical struggles 
compared to farmers cultivating for the market, or trapped into monoculture.


      Presenters


        Farhad Mazhar

Farhad Mazhar is well known for his critical writings on philosophy, 
environment, ecology and socio-political issues imaging the coming 
post-capitalist community free from all forms of hierarchies, economic 
oppression and technological surveillance and control. He is the 
Managing Director of UBINIG (Policy Research for Development 
Alternative) a policy research and advocacy group. He is one of the key 
organizers of the Nayakrishi Andolon, the farmer led biodiversity based 
ecological agriculture in Bangladesh. By professional training, a 
pharmacist as well an economist, Farhad is known for his work in 
biodiversity, agriculture, indigenous knowledge in seed and genetic 
resource conservation and medicinal plants as well as trade and 
globalisation, particularly the role of WTO in a post-Uruguay Round era.

He worked as a professional Pharmacist in New York for 7 years during 
1972-80. Initiated, worked and contributed to the setting up of one of 
the largest pharmaceutical factory, the Gonoshyasthya Pharmaceuticals, 
in Bangladesh during 1980-82, a project of Gonosthaya Kendra for the 
production of essential drugs and was involved in the formulation of the 
National Drug Policy, 1982. Farhad Mazhar is considered a major 
contemporary poet in Bengali. So far, 13 volumes of his poems as well as 
other books are published. He writes regular columns in most of the 
national dailies that shapes politics, development, environment and 
human rights issues of the country.


        Farida Akhter

Farida Akhter is the Executive Director of UBINIG (Policy Research for 
Development Alternative), and one of the key organisers of Nayakrishi 
Andolon (New Agricultural Movement). She is also the fouinder of 
Narigrantha Prabartana (Women’s Resource Centre) , Organiser of 
Coalition Against Bt. Brinjal in Bangladesh, a leading ember of Dialogue 
on Alternatives in the Time of Global CrisesUnited Women’s Front, and 
Convenor of Women’s Alliance against Tobacco (TABINAJ).

Farida Akhter is a women’s movement activist and a leading exponent of 
biodiversity-based ecological agriculture. She is campaigning against 
the harmful, unethical, deceptive and coercive introduction of GM crops 
in Bangladesh since the late 1990s both by raising awareness and 
demonstrating successful alternative. She writes regularly in Bangla and 
English language in national daily newspapers, and spend most of her 
time working with farmers in the village, organizing farmer’s rallies in 
the capital city Dhaka to draw attention of the policy makers, press 
conferences and briefing the journalists on the issue, and arranges 
workshops and trainings with researchers, NGOs, activists, women’s 
groups and consumers groups on various issues related to health, food, 
agriculture and ecological lifestyles.

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<https://globaltapestryofalternatives.org/webinars>.

Global Tapestry of Alternatives <https://globaltapestryofalternatives.org>

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