More than a commemorative gathering, the webinar provided a space for exchange between peasant and rural organisations as well as social movements working in diverse contexts across Asia and Africa. It focused on sharing lived experiences of struggle and resistance, while also examining how ongoing geopolitical and geoeconomic shifts are affecting rural communities. Contributors included members of La Via Campesina and partner organisations such as SPI (Indonesia), CBOP (Burkina Faso), MONLAR (Sri Lanka), CAJF (Sudan), and PKRC (Pakistan). The event also featured the participation of Shalmali Guttal, expert member of the UN Working Group on UNDROP for the Asian region.

Watch the full webinar below (conducted in a multilingual format, with participants speaking in English, Bahasa Indonesia, or French) :

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Ghana: Rural transformation risks leaving peasants behind, political will needed to move forward, say UN experts

ACCRA – Ghana stands on the cusp of an agricultural transformation, but there is an urgent need to ensure small-holder farmers, artisanal fishers, and pastoralists are not left behind through the country’s implementation of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Peasants and Other People Working in Rural Areas (UNDROP), the Working Group on the rights of peasants and other people working in rural areas said in a statement today.

“Ghana has a robust human rights framework and has demonstrated genuine willingness to engage with its commitments through the Fisheries and Aquaculture Act 2025, the Social Protection Act 2025, the Affirmative Action (Gender Equity) Act 2024, and the ratification of ILO Work in Fishing Convention (No. 188),” the Working Group said in a statement at the conclusion of their official visit to the country.

“However, there is a persistent gap between the law and policy and their meaningful implementation on the ground. Small-holder farmers, artisanal fishers and pastoralists, who constitute the actual backbone of food production, continue to suffer from poverty and exclusion,” they said.

The experts warned that the government’s drive toward mechanised, export-oriented agriculture risks entrenching a dual food system. This model heavily serves large-scale, input-intensive commercial agriculture, while the family-based agrarian sector is left increasingly marginalised.

Land tenure insecurity is an ongoing challenge, as the country’s dual tenure system exposes subsistence farmers to sudden dispossession with limited legal recourse.

“Women, youth and elderly farmers face compounded disadvantages within both statutory and customary systems. Despite their critical roles throughout farming and fishing, and despite strong legal protections, women remain excluded from land ownership and decision-making due to deeply entrenched social norms,” they added.

Ghana is simultaneously confronting a severe environmental emergency fuelled by illegal gold mining, or “galamsey”.

“Galamsey is the most acute, rapidly expanding and politically charged environmental emergency facing the country. The contamination of rivers, destruction of farmland and the spread of heavy-metal contamination reach far beyond mining sites,” the experts said. Sustained by powerful interests, it has become a national security, food and nutrition security, and public health emergency intertwined with elite capture.

The experts also highlighted the deep, multi-dimensional exclusion of pastoralists.

“Their nomadic way of life renders them structurally invisible to governance systems designed around settled tenure. Many in Fulbe communities face barriers to citizenship documentation, effectively placing them outside the reach of any legal protection framework.”

The erosion of grazing pastures, worsened by climate pressure and agricultural expansion, is generating an escalating cycle of conflict between pastoralists and settled farmers.

Economic barriers such as intermediary dominance, poor rural road infrastructure, and an absence of cold-chain facilities lead to catastrophic post-harvest losses, which are compounded by climate change shocks. Smallholder farmers and artisanal fishers are additionally excluded from finance by their inability to provide conventional collateral.

“The policy and legislative framework that Ghana has assembled constitutes a strong foundation that commands respect for human rights. Yet implementing laws to address all these issues demands genuine political courage that challenges entrenched interests, and a commitment to deeper social norm change without which legal frameworks remain aspirational,” the experts said. UNDROP calls for nothing less, on behalf of peasant farmers, fisherfolk, pastoralists and other rural workers.

The Working Group will present a report on the visit including findings and recommendations to the UN Human Rights Council in September 2026.

See the End of Mission Statement on the country visit to Ghana below:

The Working Group on Peasants and other people working in rural areas is comprised of five independent experts from all regions of the world. The Chair-Rapporteur is Carlos Duarte (Colombia), other members are Geneviève Savigny (France); Shalmali Guttal (India), Uche Ewelukwa Ofodile (Nigeria) and Davit Hakobyan (Armenia).

Special Rapporteurs/Independent Experts/Working Groups are independent human rights experts appointed by the United Nations Human Rights Council. Together, these experts are referred to as the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. Special Procedures experts work on a voluntary basis; they are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work. While the UN Human Rights office acts as the secretariat for Special Procedures, the experts serve in their individual capacity and are independent from any government or organization, including OHCHR and the UN. Any views or opinions presented are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of the UN or OHCHR.

Country-specific observations and recommendations by the UN human rights mechanisms, including the special procedures, the treaty bodies and the Universal Periodic Review, can be found on the Universal Human Rights Index https://uhri.ohchr.org/en/

UN Human Rights, country page – Ghana

For inquiries and media requests, please contact: Cynthia Prah (prah@un.org) Public Information Officer in Accra, or Stee Asbjornsen (stee.asbjornsen@un.org) in Geneva.

For media inquiries related to other UN independent experts please contact Maya Derouaz (maya.derouaz@un.org) or Dharisha Indraguptha (dharisha.indraguptha@un.org)

Follow news related to the UN’s independent human rights experts on Twitter: @UN_SPExperts.

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Since taking power through a coup d’état in September 2022, Captain Ibrahim Traoré has assumed the presidency of Burkina Faso, leaving no one indifferent: for some, he embodies a historic turning point marking a break with the neo-colonial order and the beginning of a popular pan-African revolution; for others, it is yet another despotic show of force orchestrated by a military regime. This article seeks to provide an original perspective, in light of the balance of power at play, by giving a voice to Burkinabè social movements – peasants in particular.

Burkina Faso has for years faced a situation of war, mainly in the north, under jihadist threat, and since 2022 has been subjected to increased international pressure, manifested through sanctions regimes imposed by France, the World Bank, the European Union and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). Heir to a long colonial past and illegitimate debt, the Traoré government seeks to restore national sovereignty and to position itself within a new pan-African dynamic.

Together with its partners in the Alliance of Sahel States – Mali and Niger – the country is challenging the CFA franc and considering an independent or common currency, while progressively disengaging from the IMF, the World Bank and the BCEAO (Central Bank of West African States). The refusal of new Western loans signals a desire to break free from financial dependency.

On the economic front, Burkina Faso has embarked on a process of nationalising strategic sectors. In 2023, the state regained control of major gold mines. A new mining code adopted in 2024 strengthens sovereignty over resources, increases the state’s share in mining companies, imposes local processing and creates a strategic gold reserve. In 2025, a mining residue treatment centre was inaugurated.

Economic reconquest also encompasses the agri-food sector, through nationalisations and the industrialisation of factories in sugar production, dairy processing and tomato production/processing, a key sector for the country. Despite a conflict-ridden regional context, these choices constitute essential levers for establishing real sovereignty and strengthening the state’s capacity to finance social policies.

Giving a voice to peasants

In Burkina Faso, 80% of the active population works in agriculture (around 32% of national GDP), and nearly 90% of farms are family holdings of less than five hectares, illustrating the predominance of subsistence agriculture. This shows how central small-scale food producers – peasants, nomads, herders and artisanal fishing communities – are to society.

It is in this light that the government launched its “Agropastoral and Fisheries Offensive 2023–2025”, with the objective of achieving self-sufficiency and food sovereignty. Within this framework, numerous investments have been made: agricultural equipment, local processing infrastructure, and support for cereal, rice and horticultural sectors. The results are tangible: tomato, rice and maize production increased considerably between 2022 and 2024, and since then rural exodus has declined¹.

Beyond the figures, it is the commitment of rural communities that stands out. Long marginalised, they now form the core of the new societal project, recognised as political agents of change. Two grassroots leaders, Mr Alassane Nakande (a key figure in the West African Convergence of Struggles for Land and Water² and executive director of the African Movement for Environmental Rights) and Ms Ouédraogo Ouandegma (president of the Burkinabè Coordination of Peasant Organisations, member of La Via Campesina and of the Agropastoral Workers’ Union) testify to the profound changes under way. These changes, particularly the progress achieved, help promote a peasant agenda consistent with the provisions and principles of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Peasants and Other People Working in Rural Areas (UNDROP), which recognises fundamental rights such as the right to land and the right to seeds.

Strengthening local peasant production

For Ms Ouandegma, the initiative to protect and promote local production “is positive, in that it concretely supports peasant organisations in consolidating their means of production, supply chains, peasant cooperatives and local markets”. The peasant representative points to “government efforts” which have “enabled access to tools and materials for agricultural production and processing (rice processing units, tractors…)”. Thanks to this initiative, “it is small producers and local peasant cooperatives that directly supply their products to hospitals, municipalities, school canteens, prisons… This has made it possible to implement short supply chains, open markets to the smallest producers, and promote local products”.

Land policy and the right to land

Historically, Burkina Faso has faced large waves of land grabbing by private and financial operators who have benefited from a vague and permissive legal framework. In response, Mr Nakande notes that “thanks to the authorities’ willingness to tackle this phenomenon through the revision of pro-land-grabbing laws, a better redistribution of land is becoming possible”. The peasant leader adds that these legislative changes are “accompanied by support measures, notably in the form of installation kits for young peasants”. The process is part of “a broader logic of strengthening food security and sovereignty”, with other ongoing initiatives – action research, feasibility studies, concrete measures – aimed at “enhancing the role of agricultural producers and restoring their central place in public policies”.

For her part, Ms Ouandegma states that the authorities’ land policy “helps strengthen security and legal recognition of land tenure rights for women and men peasants”. She also welcomes the government’s commitment to allocate at least 30% of land titles to women producers.

Agroecological policies

In the field of agroecology – a key concept and set of practices promoted by the international peasant movement – Mr Nakande notes that “within the National Assembly and the Senate, a joint commission has been created to address the challenges surrounding the promotion of agroecology. In the same vein, a law has been adopted promoting the use of biological inputs”.

In its national strategy (SND-AE 2023–2027), the Burkinabè government supports the intensification of agroecological practices, in collaboration with peasant organisations, in order to sustainably ensure food and nutritional security in a context marked by climate crises – declining rainfall, soil and water resource degradation, loss of biodiversity, droughts, floods, etc.

Another major agroecological initiative concerns the demand, expressed by rural actors, for the gradual abandonment of chemical pesticides. To this end, new spaces for negotiation and advocacy have been opened. Ms Ouandegma notes a “shared willingness, both on the part of the rural movement and the authorities, to resolutely steer the country towards a tangible agroecological transition”.

Protection of peasant seeds

Regarding phytogenetic resources and the protection of peasant seeds, Mr Nakande observes positive developments. First, with the “creation of a Commission dedicated to phytogenetic resources, which provides a political framework enabling work in favour of peasant proposals”. Secondly, with the adoption of a new agropastoral law recognising the status of farmer/peasant and strengthening the protection of the right to seeds. “This law lays the foundations for a favourable framework for seed conservation, notably through the establishment of a dedicated database”. For the peasant representative, this represents a real qualitative leap: “From now on, each peasant will be able to actively participate in preserving the local food system and maintaining biodiversity”.

A dialectic at work

It is clear that the peasant world must constitute a political force at the heart of Burkina’s process of social, economic and political transformation. This transformation will either take place with their involvement, or it will not take place at all. But it should be recalled that any process of political transformation is inevitably accompanied by dialectical trajectories, marked by internal tensions and constant contradictions. All the more so in a country like Burkina Faso. Yet the vast majority of external analyses tend to ignore this complexity of power relations, in favour of Manichean and decontextualised judgements, often Eurocentric.

Any transformative political process that claims to be progressive requires democratic debate. Internal as well as external criticisms – if constructive and free from any imperialist logic – can and must help steer this process towards genuine popular emancipation, and correct its course where necessary. What is happening in Burkina Faso is an unprecedented attempt at pan-African renewal, centred on a self-reliant and self-determined development model – a turning point on a continent that continues to endure the neo-colonial yoke. In this context, the Traoré government enjoys considerable popular support, particularly from social movements in rural areas and from the youth, who reject neo-colonial fatalism and demand national and popular sovereignty.

This is not about idealising. But, in a world still structured by deep neo-colonial relations of domination, any attempt at national liberation deserves to be examined and supported, especially if it is driven by the popular classes and grassroots social movements. In such processes, the only meaningful safeguard against setbacks is a didactic dialogue between popular forces and the government. The ongoing challenge for CETIM is therefore to remain a platform for popular sovereignty, rooted in the support of the popular masses, and not isolated from them.

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On November 27, 2025, the High Court of Kenya in Machakos delivered a much-awaited decision in a constitutional challenge to the Seeds and Plant Varieties Act mounted by smallholder farmers. The Court decided in favour of the petitioners on all counts, striking down various sections of the Act and Regulations.

As reported earlier on Defending Peasants’ Rights, the constitutional challenge to the Seeds and Plant VarietiesAct was filed in 2022 by a group of peasants of Seeds Savers Network against the government agency responsible for implementing the Act.

Revised in 2012, Kenya’s Seeds and Plant Varieties Act is a draconian law that prohibits peasants from saving, sharing, exchanging and selling seeds under penalty of criminal sanctions. In her decision, the judge declared that various provisions of the Act were contrary to the Constitution of Kenya, the FAO Plant Treaty and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Peasants and Other People Working in Rural Areas (UNDROP). The judge ruled that the Constitution had to be read along with Article 9 of the Plant Treaty and article 19 of UNDROP, and that Kenya was bound by its obligations under international law in general and international human rights in particular.

More specifically, the judge struck down the section of the Act that gives inspectors who reasonably believe that a breach has been committed the power to seize and dispose of seeds. The judge ruled that this violates a peasant’s right to the privacy of their person, home and property, as enshrined in the Constitution. The Judge also noted that failure to define “reasonable belief” and to provide for an independent oversight mechanism could lead to arbitrariness and abuse.

Importantly, the judge declared that several provisions of the Act are unconstitutional because they infringe on peasants’ right to save, use, share, exchange and sell farm-saved seeds. These provisions criminalize the sale of seeds unless they are certified seeds sold by registered merchants, and limit peasants’ rights over their harvest grown from protected varieties.

The judge ruled that by restricting the right to save, share and exchange seeds, these provisions are contrary to the Constitution, which affirms that the State must recognize the role of science and Indigenous technologies, and recognize and protect the ownership of indigenous seeds and plant varieties, their diverse characteristics and their use by the communities of Kenya. Given the important contribution of smallholder farmers to food production, the Judge determined that these provisions also violate the right to food guaranteed by the Constitution, and Kenya’s obligation to take legislative, policy and other measures to achieve its progressive realization. Finally, the Judge also ruled that exorbitant registration fees, coupled with strict registration requirements, amount to indirect discrimination against smallholder farmers and peasants.

Regarding the right to participation, the Judge observed that many of the issues raised in the petition could have been avoided had the government ensured the right to adequate and meaningful participation by peasants, interested parties and the public in the process of developing the legislation. The Judge directed the government to ensure the right to participation in the process of amending the law to comply with the judgment.

It is not yet known if the Kenyan government will appeal the decision. In any case, this judgment is a game changer for millions of Kenyan peasants and sets a powerful precedent for peasants’ rights and the right to seeds globally.

***

Judgment of the High Court of Kenya, available here:
https://new.kenyalaw.org/akn/ke/judgment/kehc/2025/18166/eng@2025-11-27

Constitution of Kenya (in particular, arts. 11, 21(2) and 43(1):
https://kenyalaw.org/kl/fileadmin/pdfdownloads/TheConstitutionOfKenya.pdf

Kenya’s Seeds and Plant Varieties Act:
https://upovlex.upov.int/en/legislation/text/506145

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It is part of a series marking the 70th anniversary of the 1955 Bandung Conference. A turning point in anti-colonial and South-South solidarity, Bandung’s legacy endures in today’s global struggles for justice and self-determination. Read the rest of the series here.

Good afternoon everyone. I am Shalmali Guttal. I am a member of the Working Group (WG) on the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Peasants and Other People Working in Rural Areas (UNDROP). I am joining you from India.

UNDROP was adopted by the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) and the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in 2018. The WG for its implementation was established in April 2024.

For me, it is a double honour to be invited to speak at this commemoration event in Indonesia, whose leaders birthed and enabled the Asia-Africa Conference in Bandung in 1955, and UNDROP several decades later. There are some important parallels between the two that I would like to highlight.

It was an Indonesian leader, Ali Sastroamidjojo, who proposed a conference of leaders from newly decolonized countries in Asia and Africa, which, after a planning meeting in Bogor in December 1954, resulted in the Asia-Africa Conference in Bandung from 18-24 April 1955. The Bandung conference led to the Non-Aligned Movement, the creation of the G77, and new sensibilities of South-South solidarity and cooperation across all the regions of the Global South.

And it was an Indonesian leader, Henry Saragih, from the Federation of Indonesian Peasants, who launched discussions in the early 1990-s with social movements and civil society organisations on the importance of articulating, realizing and defending the rights of peasants. These discussions intensified in La Via Campesina (LVC) in the following years and resulted in a charter on peasant rights drafted by SPI in 2002, and then a broader declaration on peasant rights collectively drafted by other LVC member organisations, which was presented by LVC in the UN Human Rights Council in August 2008.

From 2008 onwards, SPI and LVC built alliances with and won the support of numerous other social movements, CSOs, human rights experts and UN member states from the South. After a period of intense negotiations in the UN Human Rights Council from 2013-2018, UNDROP was adopted by the HRC and UNGA in 2018.

UNDROP is regarded as a “United Nations Declaration” after having been endorsed by the United Nations, but it remains first and foremost a “peasants’ bill of rights.” It was not States who launched the process, but peasants themselves, with the support of their representative organisations. And it was not States who shaped its content, but peasants, based on their knowledge and first-hand experience of the discrimination, oppression and social exclusion they have been subject to. This is evident in the inclusion in UNDROP of food sovereignty; agroecology; regulation of markets; rights of rural women; rights to seeds and biodiversity; rights to land, water and natural resources; protection of rural and migrant workers regardless of their status; right to participation; rights to justice; and numerous other civil, political, social, economic and cultural rights.

The UNDROP WG pays tribute to all social movements who have been involved in the negotiating process of the Declaration for their resolve and clear-sightedness. The Declaration would not have seen the light of day without their unwavering commitment to the equal and effective realisation of the human rights and fundamental freedoms of all individuals and groups who live and work in rural areas. In keeping with this spirit, the WG elected as our first Chair-Rapporteur, Ms. Genevieve Savigny, who is a peasant herself, and was closely involved in the negotiations that resulted in the adoption of UNDROP.

Just as the 29 independent nations represented at the Bandung Conference in 1955 constituted more than half the world’s population. UNDROP’s rights holders also constitute more than half the world’s population: they include peasants, fisherfolk, Indigenous Peoples, forest peoples, herders, nomadic rural peoples, rural and migrant workers in agricultural and food systems, rural women, and their families. Article 1 of UNDROP lays out the breadth and diversity of UNDROP’s rights holders. Rural women are highlighted as those facing persistent, intersectional discrimination and rights violations.

The ”Bandung Spirit” became—and remains to this day—a banner for the ideals of anti-colonialism, anti-imperialism, peace, sovereignty, self-determination, solidarity, and South -South cooperation to build robust domestic economies based on equality, justice and dignity of all peoples.

These ideals were not dreamed up by the state leaders who participated in the Bandung conference; they emerged from and were shaped by the struggles of the peoples in Asia and Africa, who were at the forefront of struggles for liberation from colonialism and resistance to imperialism, who gave their lives for liberty. These included peasants, Indigenous Peoples, fishers, workers and working classes, intelligentsia, women from numerous classes and backgrounds, local merchants, lawyers and many more.

The heroes of the Bandung Spirit were, very regrettably, not at the Bandung conference in 1955. Women were noticeably absent even among the leaders, although so many were at the forefront of freedom struggles back home. Even more regrettably, the decades after Bandung did not bring peace, liberation from settler colonialism and self determination to everyone. In many countries, the benefits of liberation and independence were enjoyed by particular classes, castes, races, ethnicities and religions, with women usually at the end of the line.

As former colonizing powers regrouped in the subsequent decades, the Bandung spirit was undermined by political demonization and persecution, criminalization of liberation ideologies, and the weaponization of debt, trade, and other economic and financial policies that recreated global structures of colonialism, imperialism and slavery.

The Bandung ideals of Asia -African cooperation on agriculture, rural development, technology sharing, and industrialization fell off the table. National development models were subverted by neoliberalism, and the expansion of corporate power in the economy, finance and governance. Countries of the South have grouped again through BRICS and regional formations, but competition has replaced cooperation and solidarity. The ten Bandung principles have been captured and reinterpreted on the basis of geopolitical and geoeconomic interests.

Reviving the spirit of Bandung in the present context demands urgent attention to long standing priorities: agrarian reform and rights of rural working classes to land, water and territories; food sovereignty and the right to food and nutrition; stable, secure employment and workers’ rights; social protection, and secure access to essential goods and services; economic and political systems that serve and respond to the needs of vulnerable peoples, and address the structural conditions of vulnerability to prevent vicious cycles of poverty and deprivation from recurring; protecting environments, eco systems and biodiversity; tackling debt and climate change through the principles of justice and historical responsibility; dismantling structures of historical discrimination among races, genders, ethnicities; and ending settler colonialism and extractivism that continue to dispossess people.

UNDROP and other international human rights instruments are important tools in rebuilding the spirit of Bandung in the present political, economic and environmental context. As multilateralism itself is faltering under the pressures of multistakeholderism, unilateral actions by a powerful few and cynical alliances among some countries, the international human rights architecture offers people all over the world a strategic tool to rebuild peoples’ multilateralism based on justice, equality, non-discrimination, peace, dignity and self-determination. UNDROP and other human rights instruments can serve as ethical benchmarks and criteria for assessing national, regional and international laws, policies, agreements, institutions and actions

In the present context, those at the forefront of struggles for liberation from the multiple, cascading and inter-meshed crises of our times–hunger, poverty, inequality, climate change, biodiversity loss, authoritarianism, military occupation and conflicts, gender based and other social-cultural violence and injustice, and extractivism–have been working classes, peasants and small-scale food providers, workers, Indigenous Peoples, women, students, journalists, lawyers, academics, parliamentarians and civil society organisations.

Despite facing persecution from authoritarian, fascist, patriarchal and oligarchic regimes, today’s heroes–like the heroes who fought for our liberation from colonial subjugation and rule–are not abandoning the terrains of struggle. UNDROP and other human rights instruments make these heroes visible, offer ways to protect their lives and efforts, and provide a basis for reviving the spirit of Bandung.

For us in the WG, UNDROP constitutes a new starting point, a paradigm shift towards a more inclusive society that recognises and values the essential contribution of peasants and people working in rural areas in the fight against poverty, hunger, exploitation and persecution in all their forms and dimensions; to the protection of the natural environment from pollution and degradation; to the nurturing and regeneration of biodiversity crucial for sustaining life; to the economic and social progress of our societies; and to the realisation of peaceful, just and inclusive societies where everyone’s rights are equally protected.

On behalf of the UNDROP WG, I urge governments, social movements, civil society, academics, parliamentarians and all those committed to equality, justice, peace, dignity, human rights and self-determination, to join us in implementing UNDROP.

Thank you.

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On July 24th, 2024, the case will be heard by the Court, it could be a precedent making case that deserve attention and support. This action is a very good example of how a legal strategy can be rooted in peasant struggle and led directly by them.

Kenyan farmers have filed a lawsuit alleging that the Seeds and Plant Varieties Act (CAP 326), which criminalizes the sharing or sale of farmers’ varieties, violates various provisions of Kenya’s Constitution.

A restrictive and criminalizing law environment for peasants’ seeds systems.

Kenya was among the earliest African adopters of legal arrangements designed to support commercial breeding and privatize seed. Kenya passed Seeds and Plant Varieties Act in 1972 and, in 1999, became the second African nation to join the UPOV Convention which provides intellectual property protections for new varieties of crop cultivars. In 2012, Kenya’s original 1972 seed law was repealed and replaced with an updated version that brought it into accord with the stricter requirements of UPOV-91. Revision of the law was negotiated by government agencies and private sector seed companies without meaningful participation from farmers and was undertaken primarily to create an “enabling environment for a growing and innovative crop seed sector”.

Kenya’s Seeds and Plant Varieties Act Cap 326 (SPVA) is now among the world’s most restrictive seed marketing laws. The Act establishes an “Index of names of plant varieties” that are approved for sale. To be placed on the index, varieties must be uniform, stable, and have undergone official performance trials. The selling of any seeds not on this national list is prohibited. Notably, selling is broadly defined not just as “offering or exposing for sale,” but also encompasses “barter” and “exchange” (CAP 326:2). Anyone growing or selling seed must be registered (CAP 326:3:1:c) with the “prescribed authority” (CAP 326:3:3:e). Anyone selling seed that contravenes any provision is committing an offense subject to a fine of up to one million shillings [about US$ 7,500] or imprisonment of up to two years (CAP 326:10:4).

While the law reinforces and strengthens “plant breeder’s rights,” the common and time-honored rights of Kenyan farmers to share and exchange seeds are legally prohibited and effectively criminalized. The genetically diverse landraces developed and cultivated by farmers do not fit the DUS (distinct, uniform, stable) requirements for listing on the national index. Most farmers have neither the financial nor the administrative resources for performance testing, registration, and strict record keeping. But if farmers share, exchange, and barter – much less sell – seed which is the product of their own labor and ingenuity, they face onerous fines and even prison. Kenya’s Seeds and Plant Varieties Act (CAP 326) is a direct and unjust assault on the rights and livelihoods of Kenya’s farmers.

Emergence of the fight against the loss of seed sovereignty

Smallholder farmers in Kenya have been increasingly unwilling to submit to the disenfranchisement occasioned by the imposition of the Seeds and Plant Varieties Act. They have been encouraged and catalyzed in their resistance by Seed Savers Network Kenya (SSNK). SSNK is a non-profit organization that applies the principles of agroecology and participatory education in support of farmer managed seed systems and farmers’ rights. SSNK has developed a network of seventy community seed banks and its modest campus hosts an almost constant stream of farmers who come for training courses.

This flow of participants from diverse communities and regions of Kenya has been a fertile forum for sharing information and ideas. From discussions among farmers and SSNK staff there emerged a conviction that something needed to be done to halt the erosion of seed sovereignty and to preserve farmers’ freedom to share and preserve their genetic heritage. A key insight was the realization that the restrictions imposed by the Seeds and Plant Varieties Act appear to violate key provisions of the Kenyan Constitution. Dominic Kimani, SSNK Advocacy, Monitoring & Evaluation Officer, explains:

“The Kenyan 2010 Constitution is progressive and supports a farmer managed seed system. This is well enshrined under article 11 which focuses on culture where indigenous seeds are valued for their contribution to economic development. Our constitution provides for recognition and protection of indigenous seeds and being the supreme law of the land, the attempts by the Seed Act to limit use of indigenous seeds by farmers contravenes it. There is dire need to get a judicial interpretation to ensure farmers’ rights are safeguarded”.

A Petition rooted in the Kenyan Constitution and Human Rights

Over the course of two years, SSNK staff facilitated the organization of a coalition of groups from seven of Kenya’s counties. SSNK established a working relationship with Greenpeace Africa which led to the acquisition of formal legal representation. In September 2022, a petition was filed with the High Court of Kenya at Machakos in the Constitutional and Human Rights Division. Of the seventeen petitioners, fifteen were smallholder farmers from seven of Kenya’s counties. Each farmer petitioner filed on their own behalf and on behalf of groups of local farmers in their respective counties and sub-counties. Greenpeace Africa and Seed Savers Network Kenya joined the farmers as the sixteenth and seventeenth petitioners.

The petition appears to be very strong. It claims that the Seeds and Plant Varieties Act of 2012 contravenes a number of the Constitution’s articles. In brief, some of the most important points include:

• Article 2(6) of the Constitution provides that international treaties ratified by Kenya shall form part of the law of Kenya. The petition suggests that the SVPA is not consistent with recognition of farmers’ rights as established by the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Agriculture.
• Article 43(1)(c) of the Constitution establishes the right “to be free from hunger.” The petition suggests that the SPVA’s restrictions on seed sharing and exchange unreasonably increase food insecurity.
• Article 11(2)(c) of the Constitution mandates the promotion of the “intellectual property rights of the people of Kenya.” The petition suggests that the SVPA fails to accord farmers’ varieties any protection.
• Article 11(3)(a) of the Constitution requires that communities receive compensation or royalties for the use of their cultural heritage. The petition suggests that farmers’ varieties are form of cultural heritage and that the SVPA fails to reward communities for their appropriation and use.
• Article 11(3)(b) of the Constitution is perhaps the most powerful of all. It directs Parliament to “recognise and protect the ownership of indigenous seeds and plant varieties, their genetic and diverse characteristics and their use by the communities of Kenya.” The petition suggests that the SVPA violates this article by criminalizing – rather than recognizing and protecting – food sovereignty practices such as seed saving and sharing.

The “human rights” angle seems especially powerful given the increasing recognition of peasants’ right to seeds in international human rights law.

Francis Ngiri is one of the petitioners and is a leader of the Makongo Farmers Network in Machakos County. He explained the situation like this:

“So, our constitution guarantees us freedom of our seeds, that we should be benefiting from our natural resources including seeds. And we feel that the 2012 Act which criminalizes selling of our seeds, or exchanging or even gifting, was wrong and we went to court for interpretation so that the court can interpret and maybe ban that bad law which is prohibiting us from owning our seeds.” Francis Ngiri

Kenyan farmers are not alone in resorting to the courts to defend their right to seeds. A coalition of farmers and civil society organizations in Nigeria filed a lawsuit in 2021 seeking an injunction on constitutional grounds that would restrain implementation of a plant variety law allowing Nigeria to join UPOV-91. And in Honduras farmers sued to have a 2012 seed law declared unconstitutional. They lost in 2016 and again in 2018, but in 2021 the Honduran Supreme Court of Justice finally agreed with them and struck down the law.

The wheels of Kenyan justice have been turning very slowly, and some suggest that this has been by design. It is hypothesized that the government is taking the suit quite seriously and is working to delay proceedings to gain time to make some reformist adjustments to defuse seed activism. Another hearing has been scheduled for July 24. The farmers behind the legal challenge are anxious for progress and are organizing to bring a large number of farmers to the hearing. According to Beatrice Wangui, one of the petitioners and a member of the Nakuru Seed Savers Network, “We are looking forward to getting reactions from the Attorney General and KEPHIS [Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Service] through their lawyers. Farmers will also be represented and are looking forward to a positive verdict following this hearing.”

Unaccountably, the Kenyan farmers’ lawsuit has received little coverage either in Kenya or internationally. The damaging effects of restrictive seed legislation based on UPOV and similar models are now well recognized and documented. What is needed is more awareness of and attention to new platforms for resistance and to the concrete actions that are being taken in pursuit of farmers’ rights and seed freedom.

Seed Savers Network Kenya would like to ask for international solidarity and support for creating awareness around their lawsuit defending farmers’ rights. Financial support is especially needed to allow farmers to travel to the hearing and for further prosecution of the case. Those interested in providing support should contact SSNK by email at info@seedsaverskenya.org or by phone at +254712451777 for more information.

La entrada Kenyan Farmers Challenge the Constitutionality of Seed Law se publicó primero en Defending Peasants' Rights.

The objective of this event was to discuss the impact of the neoliberal political and economic system, with its racist and (neo)colonial character, on the peasantry and rural communities, and how peasants’ organisations conceive the fight against this oppressive system. Six panelists, members of La Via Campesina from countries of the south (Niger, Colombia, Haiti, Palestine) and from the north (Switzerland and France) presented their visions and experiences.

“Capitalism and colonialism are two sides of the same coin,” recalled Raffaele Morgantini of CETIM, opening the discussion with a reminder of the impact of the current capitalist and neocolonial system on the people of the Global South, in particular peasants. Thus, “the anti-capitalist struggle necessarily involves the anti-colonial struggle, two struggles in which the rural world is on the front line.”

Colombia

Joana Pinzón representing the Asociación Nacional Campesina José Antonio Galán Zorro (ASONALCA) and the Coordinador Nacional Agrario, one of LVC’s member organisations in Colombia, began by discussing the international division of labor which relegates Colombia to the impoverishing role of producer of raw materials, in this case from the mining industry, which causes damage both to the environment and to peasant and indigenous populations.These populations are also entrenched in extremely hostile territories with the majority of
land monopolized by rich landowners. For this reason in particular, integral and popular agrarian reform is necessary but has never been implemented because it goes against the capitalist interests of the dominant elites. Control of land is the country’s central issue and it is because of this that the armed conflict emerged, the first victims of which are rural and indigenous communities. A dirty war is being waged against them by both private and public actors. Indeed, opposing land grabbing and destructive economic projects means putting one’s life
in danger; communities and social movements are persecuted, threatened with death, imprisoned, forcibly displaced, exiled, assassinated. “When people talk to me about “development”, what I hear is the word “death”. Because in the name of development, private companies have destroyed a lot. »

“Another world is possible” claimed Joana, emphasizing the importance of social mobilization and giving examples of community-run schools, public health projects, local businesses and other public services set up in the Northeast of the country (Regions of Santander and Casanare). “If we want change, we must make it ourselves,” she concluded.

Niger

The representative of the Plateforme paysanne du Niger, member of LVC, recalled the numerous abuses that the African continent has suffered and the fact that, despite the independence won 60 years ago, Africa remains in a situation of dependence. “We have been freed from our chains but we continue to be held differently. Today a wind of sovereignty is blowing in the minds of all Africans who have understood that we must fight for it, in particular for food sovereignty.” The obstacles to the development of Nigerien agriculture are many and complex: double standards do not allow small producers to compete with agribusiness. Chemical fertilizers manufactured in Europe impoverish the soil, making it dependent on those very products, and further weakening peasant organizations. The international division of labour also relegates Africa to the role of supplier of raw materials exported and transformed in the West to be resold at a higher price. “We are not given the means to access the processing of products and when in turn, we want to export processed products we come up against so-called European quality standards. This reinforces the poverty of our farms. Our producers sell at a low price the same product sold more expensively elsewhere,” stated the Nigerien representative. Furthermore, as there is no food sovereignty without economic sovereignty, “we spend a lot to access a little (…). This economy keeps us in poverty,” he stated. In addition, every state order for agricultural equipment, seeds and fertilizer has to go through the Bank of France.

Another problem is that of the next generation of farmers. “Young people are leaving family farms, taking boats and dying at sea for the European dream. They think that Europe is an El Dorado, that success comes down to higher education, an office, a tie. We must return to our African values. »

Insecurity due to armed groups like Boko Haram also harms Nigerien farmers confronted by their violence. “Ten years ago we were poor, but at least we were at peace.” Finally, following the coup d’état of July 26, 2023, Niger was the victim of unilateral coercive measures which seriously impacted the country. Its farmers saw their products blocked at the border, they had to sell them at a loss and had to draw on food stocks which were already insufficient.

Palestine

Yasmeen El-Hasan of the Union of Agricultural Work Committee (UAWC, Palestine), also member of LVC, testified via video. She made a horrifying assessment of the situation in Gaza, declaring that Palestinians who did not die from the bombs would die because of starvation, lack of water and healthcare. She denounced the use of famine as a weapon in the ongoing genocide. “Israel has engineered a starvation operation by destroying Palestinian food systems in Gaza and the West Bank. » However, national food sovereignty is intrinsic to the right to self-determination. “Our relationship with our land is not just symbolic but symbiotic. It is not just about what we get from it, but what we give to it. We are the natives of this land, we are its guardians” recalled Yasmeen. She considers that a return to the colonialist status quo is not possible and that we must work together to dismantle it to create a fair system for all.

For more information, see CETIM’s article “CETIM’s article “Palestine: no food sovereignty without national sovereignty”.

Haiti

Micherline Islanda Aduel, representing Tet Kole Ti Peyizan Ayisyen, an LVC member in Haiti, was due to join the peasants’ delegation in Geneva but was unable to leave the island because of the state of emergency declared following the violent criminal gangs’ takeover of the country’s social and institutional fabric. She therefore also spoke by video message. She denounced the current situation: “Local production is undermined by oligarchs who import North American products and protect transnational companies. Local gangs and collaborators have created chaos, the Haitian people live in a state of insecurity, targeted political assassinations, assumed government banditry and planned kidnapping. It is urgent to end the support that the United States, Canada and France offer to criminal governments that are not supported by the people. » The sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of Haiti are undermined by the Core-Group, that is to say the intergovernmental group created by the United Nations Security Council in 2004 including in particular the United States, Canada, England, Germany and France. Supported by the so-called “Core Group”, the current provisional government, led by the Prime Minister, Mr. Ariel Henry, de facto governs Haiti against the will of its people.

In view of the above, combating the food crisis and reviving agricultural production by implementing the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Peasants and Other People Working in Rural Areas is a priority for Haiti’s farmers.

For more information on the situation on the island, see the report submitted to the UN Human Rights Council by CETIM and Haitian peasant organisations.

Switzerland

Alberto Silva, representative of UNITERRE, Swiss member of LVC, denounced the role of his country in imperialist and neocolonial mechanisms and structures although unlike France, Switzerland does not have a colonial past. “Geneva is a real hub for trading in raw materials. Everything is negotiated here, speculation is important and this has an impact on prices in Switzerland and elsewhere in the world. » The method is as follows: buy at the lowest price, store it and wait for prices to rise in order to sell at a high price, as high as possible even. In this way, many people are making profits from the war in Ukraine and the genocide in Palestine. Speculation takes place at the expense of vulnerable populations and causes agricultural markets to malfunction. Banks and transnational corporations are increasingly orienting themselves towards food production and are therefore monopolizing arable land in the countries of the South. This creates additional pressure on local populations practicing subsistence farming and increases dependence on imported foreign food. Switzerland therefore actively participates in neo-colonialism, in the oppression of the countries of the Global South via its banks, its companies, its traders… The current economic system of generalized competition of peasants in the world contributes to the disappearance of the peasantry at the local level and generates catastrophic social crises. The WTO Agreements contribute to this generalized deregulation. In the face of all this, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Peasants and Other People Working in Rural Areas is an extremely important instrument. “The development of our food sovereignty must not be to the detriment of that of other countries” concluded Alberto.

France

Pierre Maison representing La Confédération Paysanne, member of LVC in France, declared that French imperialism, France-Africa still exist. “France denounces coups d’état at the same time as it supports sham democracies and even authoritarian regimes. The objective is to keep control of the wealth of these countries ». African food systems are being undermined by Europe. A glaring example is that of powdered milk sold in Africa: “It is, in reality, a skimmed milk powder to which palm oil has been added because it is cheaper. We posed the question to the European Commission and demonstrated against speculation and the dumping of this stored milk. Our surpluses are destroying their agriculture,” he said.

Likewise, competition between different kinds of agriculture that do not have the same rules seriously harms African family farmers who are made to compete, in particular with their European counterparts who are subsidized by the CAP (Common Agricultural Policy). “The global market is based only on profit and enriches big companies which export without conditions and make so-called developing countries dependent. To protect themselves, these countries should have the freedom to impose customs duties. However, this is no longer the case with free trade agreements. In Europe we hear the proponents of productivism declare that Europe must feed the world. But why? And who? In addition, the seed industry is controlled by a few transnational companies which impose sterile seeds and GMOs in African countries to make them dependent because these seeds work with pesticides and fertilizers that must be repurchased every year. This whole system is imposed by force while African peasant seeds are perfectly adapted to their territory. In Europe, there are practically no more peasant seeds. And yet, it is these seeds that can adapt to territories and global warming. Another scourge is that of the carbon credit system: “Companies from Northern countries buy up arable land in Africa with the complicity of States, expel farmers to plant forests so that we can continue to pollute in Europe and so that companies can claim to be neutral, which is completely false. » concluded Pierre.

These testimonies were followed by a rich discussion with the audience, then a buffet of local farmers’ products.

La entrada Anticolonial struggles in the Global South: A peasant perspective se publicó primero en Defending Peasants' Rights.

This video was included in an article of Capire about Defending Peasants’ Rights, you can find it here. Capire is an international feminist online media that emphasize and carry the voices of feminist struggles around the world.

La entrada In defense of peasants’ rights and popular peasant feminism – Voices of Peasant Women of La Via Campesina se publicó primero en Defending Peasants' Rights.

The indigenous nomadic peoples’ organization Wamip, which you will find throughout this newsletter, took an active part in the UNDROP negotiation process at the Human Rights Council alongside La Via Campesina. Wamip is calling for 2026 to be declared the International Year of Rangelands and Shepherds, and we relay its appeal here.

“Our way of life has existed since time immemorial, evolving together with the landscape. But today pastoralism is threatened as never before by the forced industrialization of livestock farming. We have to stop the loss of grazing land, “land grabbing” and the restrictions on mobility that make it impossible to maintain a viable pastoralist system. Currently we are defining a possible campaign on Pastoralists Rights.“

La entrada Nyeleni: Introducing the message of pastoralist communities – a voice from the land se publicó primero en Defending Peasants' Rights.

On July 26, 2023, the Nigerien military overthrew the President of Niger, Mohamed Bazoum. In response, a number of international organizations took coercive economic measures, such as blocking the banking system and imposing trade embargoes.

Unilateral coercive measures and human rights

A biennial “Panel discussion on unilateral coercive measures and human rights” was held during the 54th session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva. Panelists included the UN Special Rapporteur on Unilateral Coercive Measures, Alena Douhan; the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mr. Volkan Türk; the President of Experts Mechanism on the Right to Development, Mr. Mire Kanade; and other experts. Fatimatou Hima from the Plateforme Paysanne du Niger, a member of Via Campesina, intervened on behalf of CETIM to declare and denounce the consequences of economic and financial sanctions against Niger and its people, particularly the impact on Nigerien peasants

In her statement in the plenary of the Human Rights Council, Mme Fatimatou Hima, president of the women’s college of the Plateforme Paysanne du Niger, denounced the planned military intervention in Niger and criticized the coercive measures taken by regional institutions and international organizations such as ECOWAS, UEMOA, the African Union, the World Bank and the European Union, which have an impact on the human rights of the entire population of Niger, particularly the consequences for Niger’s peasants, in rural areas.

Disproportionate impact on rural populations

These measures are designed to have a negative impact on Niger’s economic, social and political spheres. The population is facing a food crisis due to the widespread increase in food prices, difficulties in accessing agricultural, livestock and fishing inputs, and limited access to resources through financial institutions. In addition, rural development aid activities have been suspended, and power cuts are causing economic slowdowns and halting agricultural production. These sanctions have resulted in a disastrous worsening of the agro-sylvo-pastoral and fisheries situation in Niger.

According to Mme Hima from Plateforme Paysanne du Niger, “the approval and preparation of a military intervention by ECOWAS, with France’s obvious willingness to support the project, is extremely worrying. A possible war against Niger and its people will lead to further violations and misery, not to mention the loss of human life and the number of refugees who will leave the country, as well as destabilizing the region. The people of Niger categorically reject all coercive measures imposed on them, as well as any plans for military intervention”.

In her conclusion, Mrs. Hima, on behalf of the peasant members of the Plateforme Paysanne du Niger, urged the Human Rights Council and its relevant mechanisms to demand the immediate and unconditional lifting of all coercive measures imposed on the people of Niger, and the resumption of development aid funding, in particular for rural areas.

In accordance with Human Rights Council resolution 52/13, the Special Rapporteur on the negative impact of unilateral coercive measures on the enjoyment of human rights will prepare a report on the round table discussions, to be submitted to the Council at its fifty-fifth session. This report will provide the Council with information on how to proceed in its examination of the impact of coercive measures on human rights.

La Via Campesina and CETIM will continue to closely monitor the situation in Niger and refer human rights violations to the relevant UN mechanisms, from the perspective of the most vulnerable and in light of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Peasants and Other Rural Workers.

Find La Via Campesina’s call here.

Watch the intervention of Mrs Fatimatou Hima of the Plate Forme Paysanne du Niger (starting from 1h:19m: 00 sec)

La entrada La Via Campesina and CETIM denounce the sanctions against Niger se publicó primero en Defending Peasants' Rights.

This Researche Brief is the summary of a longer publication on The Right to Seeds in Africa, you can find it on our website here.

The implementation of UNDROP represents a unique opportunity to redress the imbalance between, on the one hand, the lack of support for peasant seed systems worldwide, including in Africa; and, on the other, the massive support for commercial seed systems. This is essential for the protection of the lives and livelihoods of hundreds of millions of peasants. It is also in the interest of all, to ensure the rights to food and food sovereignty, preserve crop biodiversity, and tackle climate change.
In 2018, the great majority of African countries voted in favour of adopting UNDROP, which is based on binding international human rights treaties. In accordance with the need to apply international instruments adopted by the UN General Assembly in good faith, and to give priority to human rights norms in international and national laws, reflected in UNDROP Articles 2.4, 15.5 and 19.8, the African Union (AU) and African states shall ensure that their regional and national laws and policies, as well as the international agreements to which they are party, do not lead to the violation but, on the contrary, to a better protection of the rights of peasants, including their right to seeds.

La entrada Reasearch Brief: The Right to Seeds in Africa se publicó primero en Defending Peasants' Rights.

For the International day of Peasants’ Struggles, La Via Campesina and Defending Peasants’ Rights organized a webinar on the uses of UNDROP in peasant’s struggles since its adoption. La Via Campesina members around the world are using UNDROP in their struggles, the aim of the webinar was to present these examples to inspire others. To this end, eight peasants presented how their movements incorporate UNDROP in their struggles. You will find videos of each of these presentations below.

Zainal Arafin Fuad – SPI – Indonesia

Zainal Arafin Fuad is a member of the Indonesian peasant union Serikat Petani Indonesia. He is also a member of La Via Campesina’s International Coordinating Committee. Zainal took part in a large part of the negotiations for the Declaration. In this video, he presents the progress made in Indonesia since the adoption of UNDROP, in particular the launch of food sovereignty zones by his union.

Nury Martinez – FENSUAGRO – Colombia

Nury Martinez is a member of the Federación Nacional Sindical Unitaria Agropecuaria. In her presentation, she looks back at the process of integrating peasants as subjects of rights in the Colombian Constitution.

Jessie MacInnis – National Farmers Union of Canada – Canada

Jessie MacInnis is Youth President of the National Farmers Union of Canada. She is also a member of La Via Campesina’s youth group. In her talk, she explains a Canadian court ruling based, among other things, on UNDROP.

David Cidi Otieno – Kenyan Peasants League – Kenya

David Cidi Otieno is national convenor of the Kenyan Peasants League. In his talk, he describes, among other things, his organization’s fight to maintain Kenya’s ban on GMOs, and how UNDROP is used in this context.

Hortense Kinkodila – CNOP-Congo – Congo

Hortense Kinkodilla is a member of Coordination Nationale des Organisations Paysannes et des Producteurs Agricoles. She tells us about the initiatives taken by her organization to transmit the Declaration to the peasants of the Congo and their participation in the negotiations on the next Agricultural Orientation Law.

Ramona Dominiciou – Ecoruralis – Roumania

Ramona Dominiciou is a member of the Ecoruralis organization. She took part in the negotiations for UNDROP at the UN Human Rights Council and at European level. In her speech, she recalls the peasants struggles in several Eastern European countries: Romania, Moldavia and Ukraine. She also reviews the concerted efforts of peasants in this region at the FAO.

Pramesh Pokharel – All Nepal Peasant’s Federation – Nepal

Pramesh Pokharel is President of the All Nepal Peasant’s Federation of Nepal. He is also a member of La Via Campesina’s Youth International Coordination Committee. He tells us about the progress made for peasants’ rights in Nepal and the ongoing struggle for the approval of a law protecting peasants’ rights, obtained after three years of negotiations in committee.

Alberto Silva – Uniterre – Switzerland

Alberto Silva is a member of the farmers’ union Uniterre. He tells us about the creation of the coalition Friends of the Declaration in Switzerland and the work this coalition of organizations is doing to implement the Declaration.

La entrada Videos of our webinar : The UNDROP Alive and Kicking, Peasants’ Rights in practice – A regional perspective se publicó primero en Defending Peasants' Rights.