The Committee on World Food Security (CFS) held a high-level forum in Rome on May 12, focusing on addressing the climate crisis, biodiversity loss, and land degradation through the right to food. The International Planning Committee for Food Sovereignty (IPC) represented small-scale food producers and highlighted the dangers of corporate-led false solutions that threaten land rights and contribute to ongoing crises, including hunger and ecological disasters.
Zainal Arifin Fuat of IPC emphasized that the world is still far from achieving the Sustainable Development Goal of Zero Hunger, with undernourishment levels stagnating since COVID-19. He identified five key factors exacerbating these issues: land grabbing, concentration, chemical agriculture, and liberalized trade that prioritize global commodity production.
Fuat criticized corporate initiatives like carbon markets and biodiversity offsets, advocating instead for peasant agroecology as a sustainable solution that supports rural communities. The IPC stressed the need for a global conference to discuss these issues, with the upcoming ICARRD+20 in February 2026 being a vital platform.
This conference should connect various international frameworks on land and rights to promote equitable resource distribution and participatory public policy. Social movements asserted that addressing land distribution is crucial for tackling the intertwined crises of food insecurity and environmental degradation, advocating for a human rights-based approach.
