[Anthropgrad] RMAP RESEARCH SEMINAR - Dr. MA. Yunita T. Winarto - 12.30-1.30pm Tuesday 22 April 2008

[RMAP Seminars]

BISA DÈWÈK: WE CAN DO IT OURSELVES. A COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH AND FILM 
PRODUCTION-DISSEMINATION.

Dr. MA. Yunita T. Winarto

Tuesday 22 April 2008, 12.30-1.30pm
Seminar Room B (Arndt Room) Coombs Building, ANU

Abstract
“Before, we were the selectors of local seeds. Throughout the Green 
Revolution, we have only been the buyers and planters of government 
seeds. Now, we want to be plant-breeders, producing our own ideal 
seeds,” said farmer-breeders in the Regency of Indramayu, West Java 
Province, Indonesia. These statements encapsulate their experience in 
the history of rice planting, namely from “free-producers and 
innovators” to “planters and targets of government rice intensification 
programs” (in the past four decades) before arriving at the present 
where they reach out for the freedom of producing their own ideal seeds. 
A farmers’ skill, technology and knowledge in plant breeding are a very 
significant phenomenon in the history of rice cultivation in Indonesia 
which for long been appropriated by “state agricultural 
plant-breeders/scientists”. How did the farmers acquire such skills? 
What are the advantages gained by being plant-breeders? Recognition and 
legitimacy of their skills and products, however, remain a distant 
possibility. The seminar will present the collaborative research and 
film production-dissemination between the anthropologists from the 
University of Indonesia and the farmers as part of a 
research-documentary program and farmers' struggle in gaining 
recognition as ‘plant-breeders'. The 43-minute ethnographic film of BISA 
DÈWÈK will be presented.

Bio
Yunita has a PhD in Anthropology (1997) from the Australian National 
University (RSPAS) and an MSc in Environmental Technology (1985) from 
the Imperical College of Science, Technology and Medicine, London. She 
was Editor-in-Chief of the Journal ANTROPOLOGI INDONESIA published by 
the Department of Anthropology, University of Indonesia (1998-2004) and 
currently holds the Academy Professorship Indonesia's position.

-- 
Resource Management in Asia-Pacific Program
Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies
The Australian National University

Home: http://rspas.anu.edu.au/rmap/index.php
Seminars: http://rspas.anu.edu.au/rmap/seminars.php
Blog: http://rspas.anu.edu.au/blogs/rmap
Parking: http://transport.anu.edu.au/index.php?pid=93

Should you wish to unsubscribe from the distribution of RMAP seminar series notices, please email rmap.seminars at anu.edu.au with ‘unsubscribe’ in the subject line.

Please confirm attendance with RSVP in the subject line. 


-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: Winarto220408.pdf
Type: application/pdf
Size: 274190 bytes
Desc: not available
Url : http://mailman.anu.edu.au/pipermail/anthropgrad/attachments/20080416/ea770690/Winarto220408-0001.pdf