(First of two parts)
“The discovery of agriculture was the big first step towards a civilized life” – Arthur Keith
I recently attended the 14th General Assembly and People-to-People forum in Tokyo, Japan of the Asian People’s Fund for Mutual Benefit (APF). This year’s general assembly was hosted and facilitated by Japanese consumers’ cooperatives mainly undertaken by Alter Trade Japan. I represented the Alter Trade Philippines Foundation as an official member of the APF. I was joined by Norma Mugar and Virginia Demaisip, chairman of the board and president of Alter Trade Philippines, Inc. and Alter Trade Employees Cooperative respectively.
The timely and important event was made more meaningful by the people-to-people forum with the attendance of more than a hundred members and officers of consumers groups from Japan and Korea.
APF’S PURPOSE
This year’s assembly focused on three major concerns: one, the threat of the climate crisis as a “boiling point”; two, is the linkages’ development with Europe and, third, how APF programs and funds can effectively help partner countries in the south through people-to-people trading. A major concern that the assembly also discussed was the latest “occupation” of Israel on Palestine. Palestine is a member of APF represented by an alternative business entity exporting olive oil to Japan and Korea.
The APF is an Asian aggrupation of NGOs, alternative business groups promoting people-to-people and fair trade relationships in Asia. Its inception was borne out of the sugar crisis that badly hit Negros in the 1980’s. The APF is based in Tokyo Japan and was established for the purpose of assisting less developed countries of the south to recover and pursue a trading relationship propelled by mutual benefit. More importantly, extending financial loans in their agricultural production and processing them and to trade them to their more developed northern counterparts.
The APF is composed of countries in Asia that includes Palestine, East Timor, Papua Indonesia, Indonesia, Pakistan, Nepal, Philippines, South Korea and Japan. This year it will start connecting to networks in Europe as agreed in this year’s assembly. Hosting of the annual assembly is on a rotation basis. It was held in the Philippines in 2019 hosted by Alter Trade.
PEOPLE-TO-PEOPLE TRADING RELATIONSHIP
This alternative trading business was triggered by the Negros sugar crisis via the short-lived NGO Negros Relief and Rehabilitation (NRRC) a relief NGO founded in the 80’s and the Japan Committee for Negros Campaign which was the fore runner of the APF. Relief assistance was the main purpose why Japanese consumers campaigned aid for most especially for the “dying children of Negros”. Major beneficiaries were the sugar workers and internal refugees of Negros hit by the crisis aggravated by the Negros internal war between insurgents and the military.
In 1987, conscious that relief goods is a form of a dole out aid – into a thinking process evolved that the relationship between Negros and Japan must continue but on a different form and substance yet a sustainable one. A concept was developed that there should be a marketing arm of the people’s products – products which are integral to their existence and survival that can facilitate the overcoming hunger and poverty, thus the birth of people-to-people trading relationship.
From the slogan “Feed the hungry of Negros” a new paradigm of “Trade not aid” came to life that paved the way for the birth of Alter Trade – a marketing arm of the people’s products. The people’s products that shall be the main source of their survival, livelihood and sustainability. After 37 years, Alter Trade being part of the APF continues to undertake its mission.
Over the years, people-to-people expanded to other countries where Alter Trade in Japan markets their products to the well-informed and like-minded consumers of Japan and Korea.
BALANGON AND MASCOBADO
Undertaking alternative trading relations, the Alter Trade is bannered by its two major products – balangon banana and mascobado sugar. These are major products that strengthen the trading relations with consumers in Japan and Korea.
In Negros, Alter Trade caters to the small agrarian reform beneficiaries whose main product and source of income is sugar production and marginal farmers in the hills and uplands of Negros that plant balangon.
These are special products because they are especially suited to the Japanese and Korean palates. This is now the clear manifestation and evolution of trade not aid paradigm.*
