MANILA–Filipino climate campaigners, led by labor leaders Leody de Guzman and Atty. Luke Espiritu, protested in front of the Department of Agriculture in Quezon City on October 21, 2024 as part of Asia-wide demonstrations, demanding that Asian governments prioritize building sustainable and climate-resilient food systems that guarantee adequate and affordable food for all.
These calls come in response to the devastating effects of climate change, including record-breaking typhoons, floods, and landslides, which have ravaged the agricultural sector, heightened food insecurity, and resulted in billions in losses. Similar protests took place in several countries, including Indonesia, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Sri Lanka. The mobilizations were timed with the first day of the UN Committee on World Food Security’s annual plenary session, where global food security policies are to be discussed and endorsed.
This year’s session is particularly significant as it marks the 20th anniversary of the Right to Food Guidelines, a framework adopted by the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) to ensure access to adequate and sustainable food.
Coinciding with the protests is the Annual Meeting of the World Bank (WB) and International Monetary Fund (IMF). Campaigners criticized the WB-IMF for promoting neoliberal economic policies that have weakened food systems across the Global South, allowing corporate ownership of seed systems and foreign investment in land tenure arrangements. Protesters called for the return of control over food, land, and water systems to the people, reparations for harmful policies, and the cancellation of unsustainable debts to free up resources for climate action and essential services.
As COP29 approaches in November, campaigners also demanded climate finance from Global North governments as reparations for the destruction of food, land, and water systems in the Global South.
The upcoming climate negotiations will focus on establishing a new climate finance goal, and activists are pushing for adequate, public, and non-debt-creating finance to support food and agriculture adaptation strategies.
Photos by Lei Ventenilla
