Defending the Commons and the Right to Land, Water and Food

Effective agrarian reform, according to the Global Campaign for Agrarian Reform (GCAR) includes “ a bundle of policies that ensure that agricultural land is distributed to landless peasants and smallholders swiftly and equitably.” Such redistribution is necessary to combat growing hunger and landlessness worldwide. In fact, nearly one billion people around the world are now suffering from hunger and malnutrition – about half of which live in smallholder farming households.  This crisis of world hunger is set to deepen as livelihood resources such as land and water continue to be transferred from such groups to the financially powerful in ever larger areas and longer timeframes.

The Land Research Action Network (LRAN), a Grassroots International ally launched its second series of briefing papers in contribution to the Global Campaign for Agrarian Reform (GCAR).  This series takes up the theme of Defending the Commons, Territories and the Right to Food and Water.  The resource includes articles that address issues of food, finance, energy and climate crises through food sovereignty and agrarian reform and presents some of the experiences of activist researchers working to defend the commons and vulnerable territories. Grassroots was privileged to support this work.

For more information, visit Focus on the Global South.