Statement of the CSOs – Nyéléni Europe and Central Asia Food Sovereignty Network
Agenda Item 12 - Implications on world food security and agriculture, including global food prices, arising from the aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine
While the large-scale war in Ukraine has led to violations of human rights, in particular those who work the land and ensure food security, we would like to emphasise the importance of resilience of local food systems and their potential to withstand any shock, even in the times of war. Military actions had catastrophic consequences for large segments of the population not only in Ukraine but also around the world, creating hunger, instability and increasing inequality. In the context of the humanitarian crisis caused using food as a weapon, civil society organisations are trying to find solutions together with other actors that, in addition to overcoming these consequences, focus on the rights of peasants as people who play a central social role and have priority in recovery and development.
While long food chains are easily disrupted due to wars, pandemics and other incidents, local supply chains, peasant food webs, and family farms have proven that they can deliver food security, especially of vulnerable populations in times of need. Several research reports examining the impact of Russia’s war in Ukraine on farmland and food security in Ukraine show that despite severe hardships, family farmers and rural households appeared to be more resilient in times of war, which is confirmed by the studies of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) of Ukraine and FAO’s report on the impact of the war on agriculture and rural livelihoods in Ukraine. Local food producers are less dependent on external resources and international trade, they have their own equipment, machinery, and storage facilities, they often use organic fertilisers and local seeds varieties, they process and sell their food on local markets and via informal networks, and they depend on household/local labour. These qualities – as well as mutual support and solidarity – allowed Ukrainian smallholders to adapt to the most difficult of circumstances and produce food for their families, communities, the Ukrainian army, and internally displaced persons. During the hard COVID period, most access to food was provided by small scale local food producers (ISTAT, 2023). We call for member states to implement tight rules on the global value chain and process of free trade agreements on food and agriculture commodities to limit their impact on the smallholders.
Special attention should be given to local seeds systems in resilient food systems. The importance of these peasant and localised seed systems was demonstrated during the ongoing war in Ukraine which triggered huge disruptions in the circulation and access to seeds. Civil Society in Ukraine has been helping many small producers in the exchange of farmers’ seeds. Small scale seed savers served as the local seed banks, allowing farmers to continue growing food despite the crisis. Agroecological approaches, including permaculture and biodynamic farming also helped farmers in the face of the disruption to synthetic inputs (such as fertilisers) in Ukraine.
The impact of war on food prices has been felt not only in Ukraine, but also throughout the entire region, where in some cases food insecure population exceeds 30%, affecting population in general, but especially socially vulnerable groups, women, and children. In this context, Civil Society calls member states to use food sovereignty as a holistic strategy for food security at local, national, and regional level. One of the features of agroecological food systems and food sovereignty is access to healthy school meals throughout our region, especially important for children and families facing economic hardship brought about by inflation and who are unable to access adequate meals at home. Specific attention also needs to be paid to nutrition and gender and care for the elderly who are increasingly suffering from malnutrition. All too often those in financially challenged situations opt for high calorie foods such as UPFs (ultra-processed foods) that in turn lead to overweight and health issues, rather than cooking healthy meals that may cost more. This is why we also call member states to prioritise policies that put small scale producers at the heart of food supply chains, creating favourable legal and fiscal regimes that help them to reduce costs, cooperate and be included in public procurement, especially providing with the fresh and local food kindergartens, schools, and hospitals. Public procurement putting food quality at the heart can reduce malnutrition, address food insecurity, promote healthy diets by putting on market more diverse and more nutritious foods. At the same time this will strengthen small scale farmers capacity, increase their incomes, make quality food more accessible and promote sustainable development in rural areas.