Food sovereignty: A new model for a human right

On 4 May UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food Olivier De Schutter highlighted the unique role of the UN Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) in current discussions about the future of agricultural development. His statements were made during a presentation at the 17th session of the commission, which is focused on agriculture, rural development, land, drought, desertification and Africa.

De Schutter stated that in order for agricultural development to be sustainable, a focus on human rights is essential, and for that reason it is necessary to move towards a model in which the right to adequate food is a human right. This is what the Universal Declaration of Human Rights establishes, as well as the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.

De Schutter's proposal promotes a model which prioritises the needs of the most vulnerable people, which defines its reference points not only by the levels of production achieved but also by its impact on the diverse methods of food production, and which bases decision-making processes on participatory mechanisms.

'Increased investments in agriculture, particularly in Africa, are necessary, yet this must be thought out seriously. The experience gained from the crisis showed that the key question is not merely that of increasing budgets allocated to agriculture but rather that of choosing from different models of agricultural development which may have different impacts and benefit various groups differently', stated De Schutter to the CSD.

This new model must protect, promote and ensure the access to and the control over small farmer and peasant land. It should also promote agrarian reform, ensure access to production resources and protect people against large-scale transnational acquisitions.

This model needs to put into practice alternatives for production that do not contribute to climate change. 'Increasing agricultural production must go hand in hand with increasing the incomes of the poorest, particularly small-scale farmers, and switching to modes of production which do not contribute to climate change', De Schutter highlighted.

All in all, it is a model that promotes and ensures, in a sustainable way, the right to food as a fundamental right of communities to produce food and to define what food they want to consume. A model which is 'more about "how to help the world feed itself" than about 'how to feed the world', he added.

TIME FOR RECOMMENDATIONS

In his recommendations to the CSD, De Schutter included 'the need not only to increase food production but to reorient agro-food systems and the regulations that influence them at national and international levels, towards sustainability and the progressive realization towards the right to food'.

He also recommended a reorientation of the agrarian sciences, policies and institutions and a need to anticipate the effects of climate change in agriculture, and emphasised the need for a diversity of agricultural systems able to cope with climate disruptions, including agro-ecological systems.

In addition, De Schutter called for a world food summit with a broad agenda to encourage the international community to address the structural causes of the food crisis and fill in the gaps left by the fragmentation of current global governance. The agenda should also include, according to the special rapporteur, issues related to the insufficient or inadequate investment in agriculture, the deregulation of markets, financial speculation on the futures markets of agricultural commodities, the weak protection of workers of the sector and a search for adequate regulation of the agri-food chain.

He also urged the CSD to promote the adoption of national strategies to the right to food that are comprehensive and meant for the creation of sustainable agri-food systems, including production, transformation and consumption.

Finally, De Schutter highlighted the fact that the CSD must contribute to improving the international community's recognition of small farmers' right to access land. He added that for that to happen it is necessary to highlight the unique role of agrarian reform and adopt international guidelines on large-scale, offshore land purchases.

OUR PATH: FOOD SOVEREIGNTY

There are many common opinions on De Schutter's presentation shared by La Vía Campesina and Friends of the Earth International.

We are agreed in defending the right of the people to adequate food, highlighting that this implies a recognition that food must be sufficient, nutritious, healthy and produced in an ecologically and culturally appropriate way. It also implies the right to produce food and the right of peasants and small farmers to produce food for themselves and their communities. Peasants, small farmers and artisan fishers have to play a central role in any strategy to resolve the problem of hunger and poverty.

We are also agreed on the need to ensure the right of the people to access land, and with that aim it is crucial to put an end to offshore land takeovers. We understand that massive land takeovers or acquisitions meant for agro-fuel production, animal feed, tree plantations to produce pulp and paper and for wood and mining projects are taking from indigenous peoples, fishermen and small farmers the possibility of accessing these resources. In addition, these acquisitions are the cause of dangerous effects on the environment and on communities' ability to maintain sustainable lifestyles. In short, on their food sovereignty.

But furthermore, the right to access water must be ensured and it must be recognised that people should control their own territories. This implies much more than the search for mechanisms to promote their participation in decision-making processes; it entails the control of these processes.

Moreover, we agree on promoting genuine solutions to help the world feed itself, to enable communities to produce their own food rather than simply adhering to the 'solutions' of those who aim at feeding them. This is because we defend the rights of the people to define and control their food and food production systems, whether local, national, ecological, fair and sovereign. This is food sovereignty, the ability for people to choose what and how to produce and how to trade the result. This includes the need for regulation to push back the influence of the corporate sector, a sector whose goal is 'to feed the world' through their industrial and destructive model of production.

Likewise, we support De Schutter when he prioritises the most vulnerable people. Those who produce and consume food must be centre-stage in food policy, and should be prioritised over trade and business interests in order to emphasise local and national economies. It is about giving priority to food sovereignty and the right to food over trade agreements and other international political and economic instruments.

In the same way, we agree with the special rapporteur on the need to promote production models that do not contribute to climate change. This means, among other things, promoting agri-food systems that are less dependent on fossil fuels and thus on agro-chemicals, machinery and systems reliant on genetically modified organisms. Equally, food should not travel long distances from its site of production to where it is consumed due to the polluting emissions this causes.

We also want to bring again to your attention the important recommendations of the International Assessment of Agricultural Knowledge, Science and Technology for Development (IAASTD). In this respect, we stress the need to promote sustainable agri-food systems in their production, transformation and consumption stages. We believe such sustainability lies in local and diversified agro-ecological food production, and on the urgency of moving from an intensive, large-scale industrial agricultural system to local and regional systems that are environmentally sound and diverse. In the urban context, such sustainability entails the possibility of buying this kind of food in a network of diverse retail markets, creating bridges between people and food and links between those who produce it and those who consume it.

Sustainability is completely impossible if the right of the people to recover, defend, reproduce, exchange, improve and grow their own seeds is not recognised. Seeds must be the heritage of the people to the service of humankind.

INTERFERING ACTORS

Clearly, there are key actors that militate against food sovereignty, like the export-oriented production model led by big transnational corporations. International financial institutions such as the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and regional development banks, along with multilateral organisations promoting free trade like the World Trade Organization (WTO), are key actors against food sovereignty. The policies of the United States and European Union also run against food sovereignty

In addition to this, there are a series of initiatives we refer to as 'false solutions' which go against people's food sovereignty. Among these are the certification schemes which aim at implementing unsustainable production models, along with mechanisms that aim at the commodification of nature (such as the clean development mechanisms of the Kyoto Protocol on climate change), carbon trading, Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD), agro-fuels themselves and the new 'green revolution' driven in Africa by the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA).

NEXT STEPS

This is the time to defend a sustainable and egalitarian production and consumption model and bring to an end the production model driven by big corporations and promoted and financed by the World Bank, the IMF and the WTO.

Such corporate control of our agri-food systems must end.

There is a need to unmask and resist the promoters of false models which block the right to food and food sovereignty. These policies have led us to the current crisis, and these actors should not be part of the 'international community' looking for solutions.

We call for a collective defence of the right of the people to access land, seeds and water and to push for agrarian reform.

* Vía Campesina can be contacted at [email protected], while Friends of the Earth International can be reached at [email protected].
* Please send comments to [email protected] or comment online at http://www.pambazuka.org/.