The 16 Days of Global Action on Agroecology 2021 kicks off today with the theme, Celebrating diverse, agroecological food systems, or the people’s alternative to the current corporate-driven and agrochemical-intensive food system. Coming at the
heels of the successful Global People’s Summit on Food Systems, the 16 Days of Global Action highlights the need for just, equitable, healthy, sustainable, and diverse food systems
amidst the corporate capture of the recently concluded UN Food Systems Summit.
Held every year from 1 to 16 October by PAN Asia Pacific and its partners, the 16 Days of Global Action on Agroecology advances agroecology and people’s food sovereignty. It culminates on October 16, marked by peasant movements and food
sovereignty advocates as World Hunger Day.
Neoliberal food systems contribute to the global health, climate, environmental, and economic crises. Almost one-fourth
of greenhouse gas emissions are from industrial agriculture. Pesticide use is a major driver of biodiversity loss,
particularly the decline of nearly half of insect species which are crucial to ecosystems and food production. Yet, the
use of hazardous pesticides continues to grow under a system that prioritizes yields and profits at the expense of
people and the planet. Land grabbing, deforestation, and the unprecedented control of seed and agrochemical corporations
over agriculture give rise to monocultures and loss of agro-biodiversity and traditional seeds and knowledge worldwide.
“Global food production that is dependent on toxic, commercial inputs is increasingly unsustainable, homogenized, and
unsafe. It destroys farmers’ livelihoods and ecosystems and increases hunger, social inequity, and disease. We need a
radical paradigm shift. A truly modernized agricultural and food system is not just economically viable and socially
just, but an ecologically sustainable one. Agroecology — a productive, resilient, and sustainable approach to farming—
integrates cutting-edge science with local and Indigenous knowledge and practice,” said Sarojeni Rengam, PANAP executive
director.
Local food festivals, an online film festival, petition signing to stop the FAO-CropLife #ToxicAlliance, and a social
media rally will be the highlights of this year’s 16 Days of Global Action on Agroecology. It will be participated in by
CGFED (Research Centre for Gender, Family and Environment in Development) in Vietnam, BARCIK (Bangladesh Resource Center
for Indigenous Knowledge), Thanal Agroecology Centre and Society for Rural Education and Development in India, JVE-Côte
d'Ivoire, Magsasaka at Siyentista Para sa Pag-unlad ng Agrikultura (MASIPAG) or Farmer-Scientist Partnership for
Development, KMP (Peasant Movement of the Philippines), Unyon ng mga Manggagawa sa Pilipinas (Union of Agricultural
Workers in the Philippines), Sibol ng Agham at Teknolohiya (SIBAT) or Wellspring of Science and Technology, Coalition of
Cambodian Farmer Community (CCFC), KHOJ Society for People's Education, Pakistan Kissan Mazdoor Tehreek (PKMT) and Roots
for Equity in Pakistan, Sustainable Agriculture & Environment Development Association (SAEDA) in Laos, and Youth for Food Sovereignty.
“In many parts of the world, rural communities are fighting for and upholding diverse, agroecological food systems
through collective farming, replacing pesticides with non-chemical alternatives, seed conservation and sharing, and
staunchly defending their rights to land and resources. By celebrating diverse, local, and agroecological food systems,
we celebrate the strength and resilience of rural communities that are holding the line, protecting the heritage and the
future of food and farming,” Rengam concluded.
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