Department of International Relations and Governance Studies Organizing Seminar on Grassroots Science for Agri-food Systems Change : lessons from 40 years of organizing global movement

The Department of International Relations and Governance Studies, Shiv Nadar University, Delhi-NCR cordially invites you to an online Seminar on Grassroots Science for Agri-food Systems Change : lessons from 40 years of organizing global movement by Dr. Marcia Ishii, Pesticide Action Network, California on Thursday, 7 April 2022, 7:30 PM to 9:00 PM. This lecture is the third in a four-part lecture series on The Knowledge Politics of Agri-food Systems in Asia organized by the IRGS department and curated by Dr Rajeswari Raina, Professor, Department of International Relations and Governance Studies, Shiv Nadar University, Delhi- NCR.

Amidst today’s converging climate, biodiversity, health and food system crises, small-scale and peasant farmers practicing agroecology, Indigenous peoples defending land and water, and rural-urban coalitions are building solutions and alternative systems from the ground up. However, corporate agrifood industry consolidation of power and influence over governments, the UN and other public institutions continues to undermine democratic policy-making processes and block change. Social movement responses from around the world demonstrate the evolving strategies, power of and challenges communities face in advancing the much-needed political and ecological transformation of our agrifood systems. Founded in Malaysia in 1982, Pesticide Action Network (PAN) has grown into a global network of over 600 groups in 90 countries, representing farmers, farmworkers and health, labor, environmental and human rights concerns. Lessons learned from PAN’s 40 years of transnational coalition organizing, rooted in grassroots science, advocacy and movement-building across the five regions where PAN is active will be presented.

Marcia Ishii is Senior Scientist at Pesticide Action Network North America, director of PANNA’s Grassroots Science Program and Acting Regional Coordinator for PAN North America. Her work includes building food democracy, food sovereignty and agroecology movements in the U.S. and globally; challenging corporate consolidation, power and influence over agriculture; and policy advocacy for equitable and sustainable agrifood systems. Before joining PANNA in 1996, she worked in Asia and Africa for 14 years, developing farmer field schools and women’s health, literacy and community-led rural development projects. Ishii holds a PhD in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from Cornell University and a B.A. in Gender and Politics from Yale University. She has written extensively on the ecological, social and political dimensions of agriculture and was a lead author of the UN-sponsored International Assessment of Agricultural Knowledge, Science and Technology for Development.