PROMOTE INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE FOR FOOD SOVEREIGNTY

A Statement on the Occasion of Tribal Filipino Week
 
As the country recovers from the devastating impacts of Typhoons Ondoy and Pepeng, the indigenous peoples of the Philippines offer a prayer of hope for the Filipino people in observance of Tribal Filipino Week this October. May we be strengthened by the wisdom of our forebears, who nurtured the land and developed our indigenous knowledge systems for the sustainable use and conservation of nature.
 
We have much to learn from the collective wisdom of the different indigenous peoples in the country. Lampisa, lapat, innabuyog and many other indigenous knowledge systems are often romanticized, deemed as backward, or brushed aside as insignificant. But for indigenous peoples who use this knowledge in their daily lives, it is a way of life, one that has proven appropriate and sustainable, ensuring their food security and continued survival for generations.
 

However, at present, we are all victims of disasters caused by inappropriate development strategies that have raped Mother Nature and contributed to climate change leading to floods, landslides, storm surges and other catastrophes in our communities.
 
Inappropriate development is seen in such projects as mining, logging, mega-dams and plantations, accompanied by militarization, that displace indigenous peoples from their ancestral land and exploit their natural resources. These destructive development projects and extractive industries are disastrous for indigenous peoples because they destroy local livelihoods and the environment, and wipe out the basis for the continued practice of indigenous knowledge. Without the land as the material base of the continued practice of indigenous culture, these practices would soon die out. The experience of the Aeta people who were displaced from the ancestral lands by the Mount Pinatubo eruption teaches us that land is life for the indigenous peoples and that it is imperative that their indigenous culture be transmitted to the younger generation for the good of the whole community.
The government is aggressively pushing large-scale mining projects in different regions of the country for the benefit of foreign mining corporations and to the disadvantage of mining-affected communities, most of whom are indigenous peoples. Mining has caused so much displacement, pollution and destruction of land, water and forest resources, which contribute significantly to climate change. The disastrous impacts of mining are clearly felt in the experience of the Ibaloy and Kankanaey people of Benguet in the Cordillera, who have endured large-scale mining since the early 1900s. Today, the people of Benguet are saying NO! to more mining exploration by foreign mining companies in the province.
 
Agriculture modernization started by the Green Revolution and trade liberalization of rice, vegetables and other agricultural products in compliance with government’s commitments to the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) Agreement on Agriculture have caused so much suffering for indigenous farmers. Intensified use of agrochemicals and genetically modified seeds destroy the fertility of the soil, pollute the environment and undermine the people’s health. Rising production costs of modern agriculture have caused bankruptcy of small farmers who are forced into debt by the capital-intensive and input-dependent model of agriculture being promoted by the Department of Agriculture and agro-chemical transnational corporations. The imposition of modern agriculture has also weakened the practice of indigenous sustainable agriculture while the promotion of hybrid and terminator seeds has caused the extinction of superior traditional varieties of seeds and plants.
 
A comparative study conducted among indigenous peasants in lowland Kalinga reveals the superiority of traditional methods over modern technology on three counts. First, traditional agriculture uses basic principles of natural science in farming practices, which are disregarded in the use of modern technology. These include the practice of gathering seeds from the best of the yield to sow for the next season; maintaining soil fertility with the use of organic matter; the use of plants with insecticidal properties to prevent outbreaks of pest infestations; and a water management system for the control of weeds.
 
Secondly, traditional agriculture ensures food security by providing households with a diverse and balanced diet consisting of cereals, root crops, legumes, and a variety of vegetables and fruits. Thirdly, the practice of crop diversity and crop rotation in traditional agriculture reduces chances of losing a whole cropping season in times of disasters, which often happens with monocropping and chemically-based farming methods.
 
Despite the proven advantages of indigenous knowledge and traditional agriculture, discrimination by western-based knowledge still prevails. Thus we have for instance the branding of indigenous knowledge and rituals as pagan or uncivilized, as well as the non-recognition of local indigenous governance by the mainstream political system. However, indigenous socio-political institutions such as the Timuay Justice and Governance system of the Teduray and Lambangian in Upi, Maguindanao, for instance, have shown their resilience and continuing viability up to today.
 
Let us care for the environment in the tradition of the indigenous peoples. Let us protect and promote indigenous knowledge for the benefit of humankind. Let us work for the recognition of the indigenous peoples’ inherent rights, now enshrined in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). Let us assert and defend the rights of indigenous peoples to land, food sovereignty and self-determination within a truly democratic and sovereign Philippines. ***
 
 
For Reference:
 
Jill Cariño
Convenor
EED Philippine Partners’ Task Force for Indigenous Peoples’ Rights (EED-TFIP)
(02) 4168068
www.eedtfip.org
 
Quezon City
7 October 2009