Thursday, March 06, 2008 Tañada, Ofreneo lead local trade confab By Gil Alfredo B. Severino
WITH some 20 million unemployed nationwide belonging to the agricultural sector, the 'alarm bell' is sounded prompting groups in Bacolod City to convene under the leadership of Wigberto Tañada currently the chairman of the Philippine Rural Reconstruction Movement (PRRM).
Tañada, who is also the lead convenor of the Fair Trade Alliance, will speak on "Fair Trade's Vision and the Nationalist Development Agenda" at the Check-Inn Pension, part of the two-day conference-workshop dubbed "Transforming Philippine Agriculture Through Balanced Rural Development Policies."
In a statement sent to Sun.Star Bacolod, it says, "agriculture under globalization, instead of creating more employment and value-adding industries has engendered the hallowing-out of the agro-industrial base of the country and produced massive unemployment, especially in the rural areas."
It is in this light that this conference-workshop was organized which is a roadmap towards competitiveness of Philippine agriculture and employment generation under a liberal-global condition.
The Center for Research and Special Studies (CRSS) co-sponsor this two-day conference.
Tañada will be joined by Fair Trade Executive Director Rene Ofreneo who will speak about "What is Trade Fair Advocacy?" and BUHAY party-list representative who will present a special reaction titled "The Agrarian Crisis: Why a Philippine Farm Bill?"
Edwin Balajadia of the PRRM Negros will contextualize the whole gamut of ideas presented and will speak on the topic "The Role of Fair Trade Advocacy in Visayas.
Workshop proper will tackle "Coherence in Trade and Development Policies" and "Breaking Agrarian Reform Impasse: The Role of Social Partnership and Social Dialogue."
