The Campaign for Sustainable Rural Livelihoods (CSRL) is a platform of about 200 local, national and international organisations in Bangladesh. Since its inception on September 26 in 2007, the platform has been heavily active as regards food, agriculture, climate change, and trade and economy. CSRL has played a significant role in conserving the interests of the Bangladeshi people at the international level. Thousands of reports in Bangladesh’s local and national media convincingly indicate the extent of this platform’s initiatives. Its numerous endeavours include drawing up a Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Programme, National Agriculture Convention 2008, 3-day National Agriculture Symposium 2009, Climate Hearing 2009 and a symbolic Climate Tribunal 2010. CSRL has voiced Bangladesh’s need for assistance in tackling climate change at different international forums including the European Parliament, Dutch Parliament, the Commonwealth Parliamentarian Association, Asia-Pacific Tribunal on Climate Change and the International Climate Hearing at Copenhagen.

Every day 925 million people go to sleep hungry. It is not that there is a shortage of food in the world or that there is a shortfall in production. The world continues to produce enough food to go around for everyone. But the distribution chain has been broken down. Climate change on the other hand will affect future global food production negatively. Triggered by a rising population, higher food demand will only worsen the situation. Oxfam’s new global campaign, GROW began its journey on June 1 aiming to resolve this impending food crisis, ‘breaking’ into world media. As its foremost objective GROW demands that agricultural investment around the world be significantly increased so that small and marginal farmers, mostly women, may produce sufficient food for themselves as well as for others. Secondly, Grow demands that through distribution network, limiting corporate machinations, plugging loopholes in national and international policies and empowerment of families and communities so that they are able to cope with disasters. GROW’s third demand is that economy and lifestyle be reformed and reconstituted towards building a world safe from the fallouts of natural disasters and the impacts of climate change. Across the world, and more than anything else GROW is like a fellow comrade in CSRL’s onward battle.