MANILA–Around 700 Filipinos gathered in front of the Department of Agriculture in Quezon City on Monday, urging the government to build sustainable, climate-resilient food systems as part of Asia-wide protests.
This comes as typhoons and climate impacts continue to devastate the agricultural sector, intensifying food insecurity.
The protest was led by the Asian Peoples’ Movement on Debt and Development (APMDD), along with labor leaders Leody de Guzman and Atty. Luke Espiritu, and coincided with the UN Committee on World Food Security’s annual plenary session.
Demonstrations also took place in Indonesia, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Sri Lanka.
The session marked the 20th anniversary of the Right to Food Guidelines, a framework to ensure access to adequate and sustainable food.
Campaigners emphasized that climate change is worsening the situation in agriculture, with typhoons, floods, and landslides causing billions in losses.
In September, Typhoon Yagi claimed over 800 lives in Southeast Asia and caused $15.8 billion in damages. Earlier, the Philippine government suffered agricultural losses amounting to 9.89 billion pesos due to El Niño, severely affecting rice farmers.
By the end of the season, almost 200,000 farmers and fisherfolk required financial aid, according to APMDD regional coordinator Lidy Nacpil.
The protesters also called out the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) for promoting neoliberal policies that have weakened food systems in the Global South.
They demanded the return of food, land, and water systems to the people, as well as reparations and debt cancellation to create fiscal space for climate action.
With COP29 approaching in November, campaigners are also demanding climate finance from Global North governments to compensate for the destruction of food, land, and water systems.
They stressed the need for non-debt-creating climate finance to fund adaptation plans in agriculture.
In a media statement, Nacpil highlighted the plight of smallholder farmers, who spend $368 billion of their own money annually to adapt to climate change.
Despite being the least responsible for the climate crisis, these farmers are burdened with the cost of adaptation, while only 7.5% of climate finance goes toward adaptation, with even less for agriculture.
Nacpil added that industrial agriculture is a major driver of the climate crisis, contributing over a third of global greenhouse gas emissions.
She urged governments to phase out carbon-intensive practices and prioritize local food production to reduce dependence on imports.
The Southeast Asian Climate Outlook Survey revealed that 70% of respondents reported food insecurity due to high prices, climate change, and poor government policy, according to APMDD.
The call to action also included a demand for Asian governments to protect agricultural land, reject corporate land-grabbing, and support food sovereignty to ensure a more self-sufficient food system.
Photo by Lei Ventenilla
