Oxfam Asia Blog

Bangladesh GROW Week in full swing

It has been an amazing week for GROW campaign in Bangladesh, with series of activities and events to from talk show and GROW theme song to human chain, seminar and farmers’ hearing to raise awareness on and call for climate justice and the rights of female farmers, who have been identified as the ‘victims’ as well as ‘managers’ of household food security.

As Gareth Price-Jones, Oxfam Country Director in Bangladesh, has emphasised in his message for the World Food Day,  ”By ensuring the rights of female farmers and the climate justice we can grow more food more fairly and more sustainably. Governments and companies must take urgent action to reform bad policies, to preserve scarce resources and share them fairly.”

Oxfam in Bangladesh, in collaboration with numbers of organisation, organised various events both at national level and local level as part of the GROW Week 2012.

MOU signing
Prior to GROW week, National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and Oxfam signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to work together towards a shared vision to raise awareness on the right to food. See more details here.

Farmers’ Hearing
Oxfam and the Campaign for Sustainable Rural Livelihood (CSRL) jointly organised the Farmers’ Hearing at the Institution of Diploma Engineers Bangladesh (IDEB) auditorium. Experts urged farmers to be united to get fair price of their agricultural products and realise the demand of distributing khas land to the landless farmers. Read the news or  a live blog from the event here.

Talk show with the university students:
Oxfam and Daffodil International University Debating Club jointly organised a talk show with the theme “The Right to Food: A Fundamental Human Right” mainly to bring the youth under the GROW umbrella. The talk show was attended by experts and a house full of students.

In solidarity with Anti Poverty Platform for “Food for all”
Oxfam expressed its solidarity with Anti Poverty Platform, a coalition of civil society organisations for the demand “Food for all.” They placed the demand at the discussion titled ‘Food for All’ organised by Anti Poverty Platform on 15 October in the capital.

GROW theme song
In collaboration with United World Artists, Oxfam in Bangladesh also launched a GROW campaign theme song!! The song was  written by Asaduzzaman and Rubayet Coudhury, composed by Foad Nasser Babu a renowned musician of Bangladesh and sung by two very famous young artists from Bangladesh, Ronty and Rinku.

Human chain and street show with the GROW theme song:
Oxfam in association with SUPRO, staged a human chain and a street show on the World Food Day with a call for ‘Developing Agricultural Cooperative’ to ensure food security for all. The vibrant event took to a busy street of the capital where a human chain was formed, followed by a street show with Bangladesh GROW theme song.

Seminar on ‘The Way of Ensuring Safe Food free from Chemical and Adulteration’Anti Poverty Platform in collaboration with Oxfam organised the seminar, tilted ‘The Way of Ensuring Safe Food free from Chemical and Adulteration’, marking the World Food Day. Law Minister Mr Shafiqul Ahmed while addressing as the chief guest asked the victims of adulterated foods to sue the adulterators to help the government enforce the existing laws and protect people from health hazards.

Dialogue with Dhaka university students on “Food Security in Emergency Context”
The Institute of Disaster Management and Vulnerability Studies of Dhaka University with support from Oxfam organised the dialogue, to mark the World Food Day. The seminar highlighted the importance of food security in emergency context.

Mass gathering to address urban poverty:
To address the issue of urban poverty Oxfam with the Anti Poverty Platform, organised a mass gathering in Dhaka’s Korail slum on 16 October. Speakers at the gathering demanded rationing system for the urban poor to address their food security.

The Anti Poverty Platform in collaboration with Oxfam organised a mass rally in front of the Central Shaheed Minar in the city on 17 October, marking the International Poverty Eradication Day.

Roundtable on “Post 2015: Food Security and Nutrition”
A roundtable was arranged on 17 October to discuss about food security and nutrition after 2015.

Bangladesh GROW campaign also reached to the expatriates in Australia
Australians and Bangladeshis united beneath both flags at the Australia Bangladesh Friendship Fair held in Sydney, in October. Oxfam hosted its stall at the event to speak with Bangladeshi Australians about the GROW campaign, including Oxfam’s work with farmers in Bangladesh. Many visitors also signed postcards to Australia’s Prime Minister asking that she commit to doing more to fight hunger.

Events at local level to launch the GROW week:

Rally in Rajshahi on the occasion of International Rural Women’s’ day
Oxfam led Campaign for Sustainable Rural Livelihood (CSRL) organized a rally at Charaghat, Rajshahi district to mark the International Rural Women’s day on 15 October and to launch the GROW week at the same time in Rajshahi. Barendra Unnayan Prochesta (BUP) as part of CSRL organized this rally.

Human chain and cycle rally in Jessore to save Beel (wetlands) and ensure food security
Ulashi Sreejony Sangha (USS), a partner of Campaign for Sustainable Rural Livelihood (CSRL) organized a mass gathering of male and female farmers to launch the GROW week, with a call for saving their natural resources, Beel (wetlands) to ensure food security. A cycle rally followed by submission of memorandum to the local administration was also arranged.

A caravan of youth in Barind tract
A caravan of youth was organized on 18 October with a demand of more investment to agriculture and re-excavation and renovation of the existing derelict ponds and canals in the vast Barind Tract particularly in Godagari, Tanore and Nachole in Rajshahi district. Barendra Unnayan Prochesta (BUP) and Campaign for Sustainable Rural Livelihood (CSRL) jointly organized the event as part of the GROW week celebration. Click here to see more details of this event.

Demonstration against hunger and poverty in Noakhali
To achieve a Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) for ensuring food security and employment, Participatory Research Action Network (PRAN) a partner of CSRL, organized a demonstration in Noakhali district, on 17 October. The colorful demonstration was attended by many students and different youth groups of Noakhali.

Rural livelihood fair in Kishorganj to mark the GROW week
A three-day long Rural Livelihood Fair was organized from 14-16 October by SAD Bangladesh a member of Haor (wetland) group of CSRL in Kishorganj district as a part of GROW week celebration. SAD a member of Campaign for Sustainable Rural Livelihood (CSRL) in association with Oxfam organized the event that featured different activities of male and female farmers, students and villagers.