corporate control in african agriculture

GENEVA (14 April 2022) – The UN Special Rapporteur on the right to food, Michael Fakhri, draws attention to the struggles of peasants and others which have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic alongside the rise of extrajudicial violence against peasants and armed conflicts around the world. On the International Day of Peasants' Struggles, he issues the following statement: 

“On the International Day of Peasants' Struggles the world  recognizes the essential contribution of peasants and other people working in rural areas such as small farmers, pastoralists, artisanal fishers, landless rural workers, and Indigenous Peoples to feeding communities and ensuring food systems flourish all over the world. I call for a stronger recognition of their crucial contribution to the global and local food security and their indispensable role in combatting hunger.

The endless extensions to the State of Disaster, initially declared two years ago, has provoked criticism from medical experts and calls for its end from public-interest groups and an increasingly fed-up citizenry. Recently, the government announced that the restrictions were finally to be lifted. 

However, during this time, a draft amendment to the National Health Act was published, which transfers all the extraordinary powers of the Disaster Management Act to our health legislation. And in another sleight of hand, an amended labour legislation Code of Practice was gazetted on the same day, opening a back door for mandating vaccinations in the workplace. 

“The type of seed system you decide to support will determine your ability to tackle hunger, famine and nutrition.”

In his report and presentation at the 49th Regular Session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), on 14 March, UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, Michael Fakhri, outlined two types of seed systems.