The Right to Food and Seed Sovereignty

By Thabang "TMS" Letela, Coordinator KKM

Food sovereignty is still a dream for many sovereign states, including those in the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) region. This is a reality despite their governments` ratification of the UNHCR International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights which was adopted in 1966 - the year when Lesotho became independent of colonial rule - and came into force in 1976.

The Right to Food

The right to food is a birthright. However, this does not mean for anyone to just sit back and ask for free food. People individually and collectively must do all they can to practice their own right to food. Governments that are party to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights are morally obliged to ensure their people freedom from hunger, even if legally they are not required to do so.

The right to adequate food is realized when every man, woman and child, alone or in community with others, has at all times the physical and economic access to adequate food or to means for its procurement. Governments have to answer to this right by adopting policies and by taking actions that allow people to either grow or buy sufficient food, i.e., the amount and variety of food sufficient to meet all one`s nutritional needs for a healthy and active life.

Lesotho Food Security Policy

Lesotho`s Food Security Policy, which was approved by the Cabinet in 2005, defines food security as

1. Availability – There must be enough food to feed the whole population adequately, from fields, gardens, shops, emergency supplies or other sources;
2. Access – Everyone must be able to obtain the food that is available:
   • they must be able to reach sources of food in the local area;
   • nobody should be excluded from the food supplies for social reasons such as gender, age or membership of a particular group in society;
   • everyone must have the money or other economic resources or social networks to get food the they need.
3. Stability – Food should be available and accessible all the time – supplies or access to supplies should not be interrupted by droughts or times of economic hardship, for example;
4. Effective use – Food should have the desired effect upon the human body, by always being safe and nutritious

But in reality, producing enough food to feed the whole population is difficult when residential settlements continue to increase on the agricultural land. Access to food is blocked when the land tenure system still allows fields to lie fallow because their birthright owners are unable to produce from them. And due to alarming unemployment rates many lack the money to access food by buying it.

The Right to Seed Sovereignty

Food stability should, by right, begin with seed sovereignty. When a country cannot adequately produce, multiply and preserve its indigenous seeds, it can be highly debated if it can stand against forces of drought and times of economic hardships. At the global, regional and local levels, there has been much ado about GMOs, their dangers on the human body and the risk for poor countries and their farmers of a perpetual dependence on imported seeds and foods. Policy-makers should listen and draw the lesson that the current situation cannot guarantee that food will be safe and nutritious.

A woman farmer prepares for planting

Most obviously, GMO seeds and foods are not prohibited entry into the region. Being 100% surrounded by South Africa, which is one of the main producers and distributors of GMOs, poor farmers in Lesotho will always struggle to achieve food sovereignty, especially with regard to multiplication and preservation of indigenous seeds.

One of the challenges facing poor farmers and advocates for food sovereignty is to conduct research on how much GMO seed and products enter into the country and how much land is grown with GMO seeds. Meanwhile, a call is made to countries and companies that export GMO seeds and products to other countries in the guise of increased yields to stop.

Who benefits from gm crops?

In its 2009 report "Who benefits from gm crops? Feeding the biotech giants, not the world’s poor" , Friends of the Earth International states that “none of the GMO crops on the market are modified for increased yield potential” (p.7) and "moreover, the vast majority of GMO crops are not grown by or destined for the world`s poor. They are used for animal feed, biofuels, or highly processed food products in rich countries… It is widely accepted that GM crops do not increase yield, and in some cases yield less than conventional crops (p5).

KKM workshop on indigenous seeds and organic farming

In May, the KKM Network held a workshop for Lead Farmers from six districts. Lead Farmers  are outstanding farmers who play an exemplary role in their respective communities. The workshop served to raise their awareness about GMOs, the health risks on the human body and the danger they pose on the long-term fertility of the soil and preservation of indigenous seeds. When they return to their communities the participants will disseminate the message to their fellow farmers. After the workshop the Lead Farmers marched to create awareness among the community about the importance of indigenous seeds and organic manure.

Welcome to our new Companionship Facilitator!

With open and warm arms the KKM Network welcomed this winter the arrival of the new Joining Hands Companionship Facilitator, Rev. Bridgette Hector. We look forward to having a happy, fruitful and enriching relationship with “Mme Liteboho” (Madam Thanks) as we did with her predecessor Cindy Easterday, whom we still remember with fond memories. We also thank Douglas Tilton who served as interim CF before the arrival of Bridgette.

A Presbytery Book Study on GMO's

Spurred by KKM's Program Theme "Discourage GMO's to Promote Indigenous Seeds", Los Ranchos JH Team members started to educate themselves by studying the chapter in Christian Environmental Ethics, by Martin-Schramm and Stivers, which deals specifically with issues of GMO seed development and use in Africa. Gathering sufficient information and knowledge they will present an educational session to the Presbytery of Los Ranchos later this year, explaining the impact of GMO on our mission partners around the world.