29 September 2022. When COVID-19 erupted over two years ago, the Civil society and Indigenous People’s Mechanism for Relations with the Committee on World Food Security (CSIPM) conducted popular consultations and reached out to different constituencies in all regions. Based on peoples’ evidence, published in 2020 in the report Voices from the Ground: From Covid-19 to Radical Transformation of Food Systems, the CSIPM advocated for the strengthening of human rights-based solutions to the global food crises, by placing the United Nations Committee on World Food Security (CFS) at the centre. The CFS did not adopt this role, and in 2022 the war in Ukraine added another layer to the systemic food crises, as food and fuel prices spiralled, exacerbating hunger. In response, in 2022 the CSIPM reached out to its grassroots members once again with another round of popular consultations on grassroots impacts of COVID-19, conflicts, and crises on the right to food and food sovereignty. The consultation, which took place by means of an online questionnaire and 20 hours of video conferencing sessions, garnered 539 contributions from 63 countries across the globe, in Thai, Arabic, Urdu, Filipino, Russian, Portuguese, Spanish, French and English.
The new global report Voices from the ground 2: transformative solutions to the global systemic food crises sheds light on global action taken since 2020. It underlines the inadequacy of government and multilateral responses that have resulted in increased inequalities, and heightened the fragility of the global food system. It synthesises the rich analysis and recommendations that emerged from the consultations. It gives voice to the reality lived by people and communities around the world, and provides evidence that contrasts strongly with the dominant narratives regarding the nature of the current food price crisis.
The report outlines clear demands to governments and the UN system, identifying actions which need to be undertaken to transform a dangerously unfair and unsustainable system that is perpetuating hunger and poverty.
Download the summary:
Join the online conversation with hashtag #VoicesFromTheGround
Watch the launch webinar held on 29 September 2022