This oral statement was broadcasted at the 58th Session of the Human Rights Council Interactive Dialogue with Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food.
My name is Nica Castillo from the Asian-Pacific Resource and Research Centre for Women (ARROW). I am here to make a statement in response to the Special Rapporteur’s report on the right to food.
The Asia-Pacific region has rich, fertile land that could feed its people, but ironically, a 2023 UNFAO report stated that 370 million of its people are hungry, and women are unable to afford a healthy diet far worse than men while one billion lack healthy diets due to poverty
UNDP has noted that equal access to resources should empower female farmers to boost global agricultural output by up to 4%, towards food security. Thus, we support the call for a large-scale food system shift towards agroecology, territorial markets, solidarity economy, and food sovereignty.
This shift should have female farmers at the front and center. We urge governments to heed the call of the Special Rapporteur to develop a Right-to-Food Action Plan and bolster urgent global coordination.
