WTO Kills Farmers – a message from Korea
by - 15.03.2004 13:18
The world was shocked when the Korean farmer, Kyung-Hae Lee, deliberately sacrificed his life during a demonstration against the WTO in Cancun, Mexico, in September 2003. Lee had struggled all his life for the survival of small farming and against WTO. This is the text that he distributed in Geneva, during a month-long hunger strike in front of WTO, in March 2003.
Lee
WTO Kills Farmers – a message from Korea
"The world was shocked when the Korean farmer, Kyung-Hae Lee, deliberately sacrificed his life during a demonstration against the WTO in Cancun, Mexico, in September 2003. Lee had struggled all his life for the survival of small farming and against WTO. This is the text that he distributed in Geneva, during a month-long hunger strike in front of WTO, in March 2003."
-----
Recognise the Truth and Exclude Agriculture from WTO !
I am 56 years old, one of the farmers from South Korea who have strived to solve our problems ourselves with a great hope in organizing farmers’ unions, but who have failed mostly, like many other farm leaders elsewhere.
Soon after the Uruguay Round Agreement was settled, we Korean farmers realized that our destinies were out of our hands already. Powerless, we could only watch the waves that destroyed our lovely rural communities which had come down over hundreds of years. To make myself be brave, I have tried to find the real reasons for, the major forces of those waves. Reaching my conclusion now, here in Geneva, at the front gate of the WTO, I am crying out to you my words that have boiled so long in my body.
- For whom are you negotiating now? For the people or for yourselves?
- Stop your WTO negotiations with their fallacious logic and diplomatic gesticulations!
- Exclude Agriculture from the WTO system!
I was born on a farm, and was a young farmer who developed a dairy farm with his own hands on a harsh, mountainous land, after graduating agricultural high school and university in Korea. In the lower valley, I also had small paddy land for rice farming, inherited from my father. With other fellow farmers in the group, I tried to contribute to my village, my community and my country by carrying on my lovely occupation – farming. With such modest hopes and dreams, we worked hard from dawn to moon rising, and were not lazy about learning innovative technologies and managements. We succeeded somehow in our goals, and re-invested from that success for continuous growth. We had pride, as young, forward-looking farmers, believing ourselves to have an important role, contributing to our country’s food security and rural vitality. (What about now? My dairy farm was closed because of my debts, but a piece of paddy land remains.)
However, after learning the possible impacts of the Uruguay Round (1995), our innocent, small hearts were put into a pot of boiling fears. We couldn’t sleep, and decided to come to Geneva. We met Mr. Arthur Dunkel, the former WTO Director General. To him, we talked earnestly but very carefully of our difficulties. Of course, our request was cordially rejected with diplomatic words. Our voices were too small and timid to break the ‘great wall’ confronting us. At that moment, I suddenly felt in a flight of the imagination, that I was looking at a mass of my fellow farmers, demonstrating in the street. Unconsciously, my hand was holding a knife (a Swiss Army knife I think) that was cutting my abdomen. Anyway, I rejected this kind of irrascible and uncontrolled action. However, for me, it is so unfortunate to watch again today the very same situation – ‘the untruthfulness of WTO talks, totally deaf to farmers’ sufferings and warnings’. What shall I do?
Let me go back to the story about the situation in Korea. Our fears became reality in the marketplace. We soon realized that our efforts could never meet the import prices. Similarly, we had to see that our farm size (1.3 ha on average) was a mere one-hundredth of those of large exporting countries. Imported products were flooding the market everywhere, and we had to run from crop to crop in search of new “niche” markets. But almost always, we met the same friends, producing the same crop as us.
It is true that Korean agricultural reform programs increased the productivity of individual farms. However it is also a fact that increased productivity simply added more volume to over-supplied markets on which cheaper imported goods were driving down the prices. Since then, we have never been paid more than our production costs. Sometimes, prices dropped suddenly to one fourth of the normal level. What would be your emotional reaction if your salary dropped suddenly by a half without your knowing clearly the reason?
One part of those farmers who gave up earlier their farming went to urban slums. The others who had struggled to escape from the vicious cycle finally met bankruptcy from accumulated debts. Of course, some more fortunate people could survive, but not all of them may do so long, I suspect. As for me, I could only observe their vacant old farmhouses and falling into ruins. Sometimes I would go by to check, hoping that they would be back. Once I ran to a house where a farmer had abandoned his life by drinking a toxic chemical - because of his uncontrollable debts. But all I could do was to hear the howling of his wife. If you were me, how you feel?
At one point, I became a Provincial (North Jeon-La) Congressman representing the farm sector. There, I had many opportunities to talk with consumers unions. What I learned from them was that consumers want safe and good quality (mostly ‘good-looking’, actually), and do not always prefer cheap imported food. The major reason for this is that the consumers’ food prices, especially of fresh goods, is just a small part of their cost of living. For example, consumer’s price of one bowl of cooked rice is the same as a pack of chewing gum; and the price of 1.75 kilogram of tomato is the same as a cup of coffee, and so on. Therefore, they said that except for restaurant-owners and food processors, most consumers prefer for safe food, in terms of freedom from – pesticides, dioxin, microbial agents, BSE, GMO etc.
All right ! We went back to our farm and put in more time (by cutting our night’s sleep) and money to produce safe-safe produce. But unfortunately the consumers cannot prefer safe food unless packed it is distinctly labeled with big-big characters. Beef has been the worst case, simply because we can’t do labelling on meats. In the metro of Seoul where about one-fourth of Korean population resides, new establishments are largely for the restaurant and fast-food chains, especially at crowded places. Consumers can seek, in fact, conveniences rather than others. Who shall keep our food safety?
If you walk through rural Korean villages, we will see many ruined structures - mostly livestock shelters and green (mostly glass) houses, which swallowed such big amounts of money. If you go into some houses, you will likely meet elderly and often sick people. Rural amenities are judged at a glance as people drive by on the road. In fact, well paved road systems has encouraged the spread of large apartments (often lodging a thousand people), buildings and factories in Korea. Those lands now paved over mostly were the paddies that were constructed during thousands of years and which provided livelihoods – foods and materials - in the past. Now in the contemporary society, the environmental functions of paddies, ecologically and hydrologically, are even more crucial. Who shall preserve our rural areas’ vitality, community traditions, amenities and environment?
I don’t have much time to tell the story of the ‘farmer’s rights over seeds’ and the issues around the ‘WTO’s Intellectual Property Agreement on Life Forms’. I will just regret that Korea sold the six major domestic seed companies to the multinationals on the recommendation of the IMF, at the time of the financial crisis of 1998. Who shall keep our genetic heritages?
With the help of a farmers union, I had the chance to travel abroad to see how farmers outside are doing for their competitiveness - or for survival at least. It was good to see that European Union farmers had pride in keeping their community settings, foods, traditional heritages and cultures. Seeing their strong feeling of social responsibility, union-ship, and their strong social support, including from governments, I was realised that they would not easily give up tilling their lands. So far they have been efficient enough to manage such size with a limited family labor force. But without the price supports, they may not be able to continue farming and turn to tourism. Difficulties of small farmers were similar with ours. Farms in the U.S looked big and more calculating, but looked more risky in other ways. While they wanted to export more, they always worried about possible bankruptcy. I was wonder why they were not very happy, with such big farms and good machines. Many of them told me that in this situation with prices dropping since so long, they just earn their agricultural labourer’s salary – even if the statistics keep showing ever-increasing exports. “Besides, stomachs of our business partners (grain dealers, agro-industries, processors) become bigger and bigger”, they said. In conclusion, they told me that many farmers in U.S. will meet bankruptcy soon, unless there be additional subsidies, because of their possible failures to pay the interests on loans invested in increasing their size and inputs. I had the interest to go Australia too not only to find answers to the questions that I carried, but also for my personal imagination that I saw in the movie- ‘the wild wild South’. But unfortunately I had no more money at that time. Since Japan is quite close, I have been there from time to time, and confirmed the similar situation with us – same ecology, similar farming system and structure and farmers’ difficulties. The difference was in the very well organised (but looked sophisticated for me) and sensible state interventions. Competition may be good, but whose interest for?
I believe that farmers’ situation of many other developing countries to be similar - althoug maybe with different internal problems. However generally, the problems of dumping-priced import surges, inadequate government budgets, and too large a population are a common background. For them, protection by tarifs would be the practical solution. I have been so sorry watching TV news and hearing that starvation is prevalent in so many Less Developed Countries, although the international price of grain is so cheap. Earning money by trade is not a viable way for them to secure food. But securing land and water resources would be their way, I think. Whenever I watched humans suffering this kind of disaster, I naturally recalled the over-stuffed people in some urbanized countries of the North. Charity ? No! Just let them work again!
Once, I also directed a small newspaper in Korea- ‘Farmers-Fishers Newspaper’. At that time, I spent much time discussing with civil society, government officials, to know what was happening around the WTO and its negotiations. From those experiences, especially on learning some behind-the scenes stories about the Seattle Ministerial and the stories about arm-twisting at the Doha summit, I again saw a gloomy future for us and other fellows in the rest of world. And today, I am see the childish numbers game in the text of Mr. Harbinson. Just like during the Uruguay Round, I observed the cheatings of big exporting and developed countries.
My warning goes to the all citizens that human beings are in an endangered situation, that uncontrolled multinational corporations and a small number of big WTO Members’ officials are leading us into an totally undesirable globalisation which is inhumane, environment-distorting, farmer-killing and undemocratic. It should be stopped immediately otherwise the false logic of the neo-liberalism will destroy the diversities of global agriculture and bring disaster to all human beings.
I am saying very definitely –
Uruguay Round was the fraudulent gambling party of an ambitious group of politicians who needed to export their head-aches and problems to other countries, playing together with multinational corporations and some half-blind intellectuals.
Recognise the truth now, go back to the start and exclude agriculture from WTO.
- March 2003 at the WTO front gate –
Kyung-Hae Lee, a Korean farmer (former President of the Korean Advanced Farmers Federation)
http://www.kaff.or.kr
"The world was shocked when the Korean farmer, Kyung-Hae Lee, deliberately sacrificed his life during a demonstration against the WTO in Cancun, Mexico, in September 2003. Lee had struggled all his life for the survival of small farming and against WTO. This is the text that he distributed in Geneva, during a month-long hunger strike in front of WTO, in March 2003."
-----
Recognise the Truth and Exclude Agriculture from WTO !
I am 56 years old, one of the farmers from South Korea who have strived to solve our problems ourselves with a great hope in organizing farmers’ unions, but who have failed mostly, like many other farm leaders elsewhere.
Soon after the Uruguay Round Agreement was settled, we Korean farmers realized that our destinies were out of our hands already. Powerless, we could only watch the waves that destroyed our lovely rural communities which had come down over hundreds of years. To make myself be brave, I have tried to find the real reasons for, the major forces of those waves. Reaching my conclusion now, here in Geneva, at the front gate of the WTO, I am crying out to you my words that have boiled so long in my body.
- For whom are you negotiating now? For the people or for yourselves?
- Stop your WTO negotiations with their fallacious logic and diplomatic gesticulations!
- Exclude Agriculture from the WTO system!
I was born on a farm, and was a young farmer who developed a dairy farm with his own hands on a harsh, mountainous land, after graduating agricultural high school and university in Korea. In the lower valley, I also had small paddy land for rice farming, inherited from my father. With other fellow farmers in the group, I tried to contribute to my village, my community and my country by carrying on my lovely occupation – farming. With such modest hopes and dreams, we worked hard from dawn to moon rising, and were not lazy about learning innovative technologies and managements. We succeeded somehow in our goals, and re-invested from that success for continuous growth. We had pride, as young, forward-looking farmers, believing ourselves to have an important role, contributing to our country’s food security and rural vitality. (What about now? My dairy farm was closed because of my debts, but a piece of paddy land remains.)
However, after learning the possible impacts of the Uruguay Round (1995), our innocent, small hearts were put into a pot of boiling fears. We couldn’t sleep, and decided to come to Geneva. We met Mr. Arthur Dunkel, the former WTO Director General. To him, we talked earnestly but very carefully of our difficulties. Of course, our request was cordially rejected with diplomatic words. Our voices were too small and timid to break the ‘great wall’ confronting us. At that moment, I suddenly felt in a flight of the imagination, that I was looking at a mass of my fellow farmers, demonstrating in the street. Unconsciously, my hand was holding a knife (a Swiss Army knife I think) that was cutting my abdomen. Anyway, I rejected this kind of irrascible and uncontrolled action. However, for me, it is so unfortunate to watch again today the very same situation – ‘the untruthfulness of WTO talks, totally deaf to farmers’ sufferings and warnings’. What shall I do?
Let me go back to the story about the situation in Korea. Our fears became reality in the marketplace. We soon realized that our efforts could never meet the import prices. Similarly, we had to see that our farm size (1.3 ha on average) was a mere one-hundredth of those of large exporting countries. Imported products were flooding the market everywhere, and we had to run from crop to crop in search of new “niche” markets. But almost always, we met the same friends, producing the same crop as us.
It is true that Korean agricultural reform programs increased the productivity of individual farms. However it is also a fact that increased productivity simply added more volume to over-supplied markets on which cheaper imported goods were driving down the prices. Since then, we have never been paid more than our production costs. Sometimes, prices dropped suddenly to one fourth of the normal level. What would be your emotional reaction if your salary dropped suddenly by a half without your knowing clearly the reason?
One part of those farmers who gave up earlier their farming went to urban slums. The others who had struggled to escape from the vicious cycle finally met bankruptcy from accumulated debts. Of course, some more fortunate people could survive, but not all of them may do so long, I suspect. As for me, I could only observe their vacant old farmhouses and falling into ruins. Sometimes I would go by to check, hoping that they would be back. Once I ran to a house where a farmer had abandoned his life by drinking a toxic chemical - because of his uncontrollable debts. But all I could do was to hear the howling of his wife. If you were me, how you feel?
At one point, I became a Provincial (North Jeon-La) Congressman representing the farm sector. There, I had many opportunities to talk with consumers unions. What I learned from them was that consumers want safe and good quality (mostly ‘good-looking’, actually), and do not always prefer cheap imported food. The major reason for this is that the consumers’ food prices, especially of fresh goods, is just a small part of their cost of living. For example, consumer’s price of one bowl of cooked rice is the same as a pack of chewing gum; and the price of 1.75 kilogram of tomato is the same as a cup of coffee, and so on. Therefore, they said that except for restaurant-owners and food processors, most consumers prefer for safe food, in terms of freedom from – pesticides, dioxin, microbial agents, BSE, GMO etc.
All right ! We went back to our farm and put in more time (by cutting our night’s sleep) and money to produce safe-safe produce. But unfortunately the consumers cannot prefer safe food unless packed it is distinctly labeled with big-big characters. Beef has been the worst case, simply because we can’t do labelling on meats. In the metro of Seoul where about one-fourth of Korean population resides, new establishments are largely for the restaurant and fast-food chains, especially at crowded places. Consumers can seek, in fact, conveniences rather than others. Who shall keep our food safety?
If you walk through rural Korean villages, we will see many ruined structures - mostly livestock shelters and green (mostly glass) houses, which swallowed such big amounts of money. If you go into some houses, you will likely meet elderly and often sick people. Rural amenities are judged at a glance as people drive by on the road. In fact, well paved road systems has encouraged the spread of large apartments (often lodging a thousand people), buildings and factories in Korea. Those lands now paved over mostly were the paddies that were constructed during thousands of years and which provided livelihoods – foods and materials - in the past. Now in the contemporary society, the environmental functions of paddies, ecologically and hydrologically, are even more crucial. Who shall preserve our rural areas’ vitality, community traditions, amenities and environment?
I don’t have much time to tell the story of the ‘farmer’s rights over seeds’ and the issues around the ‘WTO’s Intellectual Property Agreement on Life Forms’. I will just regret that Korea sold the six major domestic seed companies to the multinationals on the recommendation of the IMF, at the time of the financial crisis of 1998. Who shall keep our genetic heritages?
With the help of a farmers union, I had the chance to travel abroad to see how farmers outside are doing for their competitiveness - or for survival at least. It was good to see that European Union farmers had pride in keeping their community settings, foods, traditional heritages and cultures. Seeing their strong feeling of social responsibility, union-ship, and their strong social support, including from governments, I was realised that they would not easily give up tilling their lands. So far they have been efficient enough to manage such size with a limited family labor force. But without the price supports, they may not be able to continue farming and turn to tourism. Difficulties of small farmers were similar with ours. Farms in the U.S looked big and more calculating, but looked more risky in other ways. While they wanted to export more, they always worried about possible bankruptcy. I was wonder why they were not very happy, with such big farms and good machines. Many of them told me that in this situation with prices dropping since so long, they just earn their agricultural labourer’s salary – even if the statistics keep showing ever-increasing exports. “Besides, stomachs of our business partners (grain dealers, agro-industries, processors) become bigger and bigger”, they said. In conclusion, they told me that many farmers in U.S. will meet bankruptcy soon, unless there be additional subsidies, because of their possible failures to pay the interests on loans invested in increasing their size and inputs. I had the interest to go Australia too not only to find answers to the questions that I carried, but also for my personal imagination that I saw in the movie- ‘the wild wild South’. But unfortunately I had no more money at that time. Since Japan is quite close, I have been there from time to time, and confirmed the similar situation with us – same ecology, similar farming system and structure and farmers’ difficulties. The difference was in the very well organised (but looked sophisticated for me) and sensible state interventions. Competition may be good, but whose interest for?
I believe that farmers’ situation of many other developing countries to be similar - althoug maybe with different internal problems. However generally, the problems of dumping-priced import surges, inadequate government budgets, and too large a population are a common background. For them, protection by tarifs would be the practical solution. I have been so sorry watching TV news and hearing that starvation is prevalent in so many Less Developed Countries, although the international price of grain is so cheap. Earning money by trade is not a viable way for them to secure food. But securing land and water resources would be their way, I think. Whenever I watched humans suffering this kind of disaster, I naturally recalled the over-stuffed people in some urbanized countries of the North. Charity ? No! Just let them work again!
Once, I also directed a small newspaper in Korea- ‘Farmers-Fishers Newspaper’. At that time, I spent much time discussing with civil society, government officials, to know what was happening around the WTO and its negotiations. From those experiences, especially on learning some behind-the scenes stories about the Seattle Ministerial and the stories about arm-twisting at the Doha summit, I again saw a gloomy future for us and other fellows in the rest of world. And today, I am see the childish numbers game in the text of Mr. Harbinson. Just like during the Uruguay Round, I observed the cheatings of big exporting and developed countries.
My warning goes to the all citizens that human beings are in an endangered situation, that uncontrolled multinational corporations and a small number of big WTO Members’ officials are leading us into an totally undesirable globalisation which is inhumane, environment-distorting, farmer-killing and undemocratic. It should be stopped immediately otherwise the false logic of the neo-liberalism will destroy the diversities of global agriculture and bring disaster to all human beings.
I am saying very definitely –
Uruguay Round was the fraudulent gambling party of an ambitious group of politicians who needed to export their head-aches and problems to other countries, playing together with multinational corporations and some half-blind intellectuals.
Recognise the truth now, go back to the start and exclude agriculture from WTO.
- March 2003 at the WTO front gate –
Kyung-Hae Lee, a Korean farmer (former President of the Korean Advanced Farmers Federation)
http://www.kaff.or.kr