By Kalinga Seneviratne<\/p>\n\n\n\n
SYDNEY (IDN) \u2014 The Heads of State and Government from more than 90 countries are expected to announce their commitments to transform food systems to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) at the historic UN Food Systems Summit this week held virtually from New York. But many civil society and farmers\u2019 groups are sceptical about the international community being able to recognize the rights of small-scale farmers to their land and peoples access to affordable food, which are essential to achieving food security and associated SDGs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The World Food Systems Summit (WFSS),<\/a> the first of its kind and takes place during the UN General Assembly in New York on September 23, is due to hear from world leaders on how they would tackle the growing problem of food security, especially in the post-COVID pandemic recovery era.<\/p>\n\n\n\n United Nations Secretary-General Ant\u00f3nio Guterres in a pre-summit message to the world leaders has reminded them that food security is essential to achieving the SDGs by its target year of 2030. \u201cA well-functioning food system can help prevent conflict, protect the environment and provide health and livelihoods for all. In food, there is hope,\u201d he said, adding: \u201cFood can help us accelerate actions and bring in solutions to achieve all of the Sustainable Development Goals and recover better from COVID-19\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Guterres\u2019 optimism is not shared by the Malaysia-based Third World Network (TWN). \u201cThe Summit regrettably does not address the COVID-related food crisis, nor the structural causes of unsustainable, unhealthy and unjust food systems,\u201d notes TWN, which accuses the UN of pandering to corporate interests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A handful of transnational companies dominate the current global food and commodity trade. Two multinational companies\u2014Dow Dupont and Monsanto-Bayer Crop Science\u2014hold a 53 per cent market share in the seed industry, while just three firms own 70 per cent of the global agrochemical industry that manufactures and sells chemicals and pesticides used on crops. While they control the food production and consumption chain, these corporations are now entering into partnerships with Big Tech firms to digitalise the global food system to cement their dominance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Meanwhile, smallholder producers, including indigenous peoples and local communities are responsible for producing 60-80 per cent of the food worldwide. The International Land Coalition argues that land inequality directly threatens the livelihood of an estimated 2.5 people involved in smallholder farming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYet, when it comes to defining the future of our food system, guess who gets invited by the UN to conceive and construct the plan, principles and content of the global summit. It is big agribusinesses\u201d, warned Elizabeth Mpofu, small-scale organic farmer from Zimbabwe and Edgardo Garcia, from the Nicaragua Land Workers\u2019 Association in a commentary published by Al Jazeera.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Citing a policy brief from FIAN International, the Malaysian think tank TWN argues that the WFSS needs to make a clear policy decision for the global community that the human right to adequate food and nutrition entails state obligations. TWN thus asks governments to \u201cput public interest first by recognizing food systems as matter of public interest and food as a commons. Public institutions and communal organizations must be strengthened, and corporate power dismantled, and corporations and financial capital must be regulated\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A civil society process has been gathering steam during the year, and especially in July, when over 40,000 people from across the world met virtually in about 850 dialogue sessions preparing policy briefs and statements to assist in this week\u2019s Summit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to Michael Quinn Patton of Blue Marble Evaluation Network, major themes that emerged encompass \u201ctransformations (that) means major, significant, deep and broad change beyond piecemeal reforms\u201d. This means making equity a priority and treat everyone as stakeholders in the food system, including empowering historically excluded voices such as women farmers, indigenous people and smallholder farmers. \u201cDialogue participants consistently emphasized localized food systems, in which different solutions will be needed for different contexts,\u201d says Patton.<\/p>\n\n\n\n