1.9 Food Sovereignty and Security

Food sovereignty

Food sovereignty is the right of peoples to healthy and culturally appropriate food produced through ecologically sound and sustainable methods and their right to define their own food and agriculture systems. It comprises the right to choose the food technology used. Food technology essentially means the production, distribution and consumption methods. It works on cutting the role of middle man and aims to provide full benefit to the actual producers.

Concept of food sovereignty started in 1996 at farmers movements
Mali conference on food sovereignty Philosophy
Emphasis on sustainable and environment friendly production mechanism
Equitable food rights
Empowerment in sector of knowledge, skill, management and research
Right to farmers and reduce room for middleman
Food system should be localize and not internationalize.

Legal provisions: Constitution of Nepal (Every citizen shall have the right to food sovereignty), Policy of state (To pursue a policy of establishing the right of all citizens to education, health, housing, employment and food sovereignty.)

Food security

Food security means that all people at all times have physical and economic access to adequate amounts of nutritious, safe and culturally appropriate food, which are produced in an environmentally sustainable and socially just manner and that people are able to make informed decisions about their food choices.

1996 world food conference declared four pillars of food security
Access, availability, food use and stability

Difference between food sovereignty and food security

Food sovereignty secures food security but not vice versa.
Food sovereignty established farmer right and security is all about availability.
Food sovereignty is self-dependent approach but food security can be achieved via help/donation.
Food sovereignty doesn’t imagine middleman but food security may have a middle man.
Food sovereignty puts its emphasis on sustainability but security doesn’t.
Sovereignty is theoretical but security is practical.

Policy mechanism

Constitution of Nepal 2072
Consumer protection act 2054
Agriculture perspective plan, 2007
National agriculture policy, 2001
MDG goals of reducing food, scarcity

Bodies

Ministry of agriculture development
Nepal Khadya Sanstan
SASRC Food Bank

Problems of food security

Lack of right of concerns
Lack of rules & regulation regarding food sovereignty & security
Perennial food crisis on hilly & mountain region
Import of agricultural goods despite being an agricultural country 36% GDP contribution.
Low production and diminishing interest of youth in agriculture
Ineffective food distribution mechanism
Huge role of middleman and no initiatives to curb this
Geographic remoteness causes another problem
Subsidized good mostly exploited by few elite groups
Fertile land increasing used for settlement, housing etc.
Irrigation problem and reliance on rainwater for cultivation