Seeds, right to life and farmers’ rights

Interactive Dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food

 Documentation

 The Council has before it a report (A/HRC/49/43) on seeds, right to life, and farmer’s rights by the Special Rapporteur on the right to food.

 Presentation of Report

 MICHAEL FAKHRI, Special Rapporteur on the right to food, said for over 10,000 years, seeds had always been something sacred and central to human lives.  For over 10,000 years, farmers’ seed systems had been the key to ensuring that food systems were biodiverse, resilient and just.  The type of seed system supported would determine the ability to tackle hunger, famine and malnutrition.  The more ecologically diverse the food system, the more options there were when it came to develop plants that were resilient to climate change.  Unfortunately, in the last 60 years, more and more countries had been promoting the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides and reduced their biodiversity, and countries today were faced with two types of seed systems.  On one hand, there were farmers’ seed systems, systems that fulfilled people’s right to life and the right to food.  Farmers’ seed systems allowed farmers to grow food in a way that responded and adapted to change, making communities stronger and food systems more resilient.  These systems relied less on chemical fertilizers and pesticides and therefore protected the lives of agricultural workers and communities, and enhanced biodiversity.

 

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