Public Statements

Dear donor representative, We, 35 organizations from the Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa (AFSA) and 165 allied organizations in 40 countries around the world, call on your agency to cease funding the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) and other Green Revolution programs and to support African-led efforts to expand agroecology and other low-input farming systems. AFSA, the continent’s largest network of civil society organizations, wrote to AGRA donors in May 2021 asking for evidence of the program’s positive impacts. The network received few replies and no evidence.

UNITY STATEMENT CALLING TO JUNK THE PERMIT FOR COMMERCIAL PROPAGATION OF GOLDEN RICE AND OPPOSE ALL DEVELOPMENTS THAT WILL ADVANCE THE GREEN REVOLUTION AND THE CORPORATE CAPTURE OF FOOD SYSTEMS Last July 21, 2021, the Department of Agriculture of the Philippines approved the permit for the commercial propagation of the highly contested GM yellow rice, called ‘Golden Rice’ (GR). We, the undersigned, vehemently condemn this rail-roaded approval and fully commit ourselves to relentless efforts to oppose the corporate capture of our food systems. No more lies, Golden Rice!

“UNESCO and Tanzania’s plan is detrimental not only to the Maasai but also for the conservation of wildlife. It is a repeat of the myopic actions of the British colonial government, and our challenges have continued.” “We, Ngorongoro residents do not have food. We are permanently starving because of bad policies.” Maasai Elders Take Action Today & Stand With the Maasai SIGN THE PETITION Years of restrictions imposed in the name of “conservation” have driven an ongoing hunger crisis for Indigenous pastoralist communities living within the Ngorongoro Conservation Area in Tanzania.

TO: Ms. Grete Faremo, Executive Director, UNOPS, Chair High Level Committee on Management (HLCM) Ms. Kelly Clements, Deputy High Commissioner for Refugees, UNHCR, Vice-chair HLCM Ms. Katinka Rosenbom, Chief Contracting, UNICEF, Chair HLCM Procurement Network Ms. Elisabeth Eckerstrom, Head, Procurement Division, ITU, Vice-chair HLCM Procurement Network Ms. Neris M. Baez Garcia de Mazzora, UN Procurement Division Director Mr. El Cid Butuyan, Ethics Office Director, UNICEF Ms. Bonnie Green, Chief Ethics Officer, World Food Programme Ms.

We strongly object to any interference by U.S. government officials or agribusiness interests in a sovereign state’s right to enact policy measures to protect the health and well-being of its people. We urge your agencies to resist and reject these ongoing efforts.

We write as concerned members of the civil society organisations, academia and trade unions to call upon the World Bank's board of executive directors to end the publication of the World Bank's Doing Business Report.

Almost 56 years ago, Martin Luther King Jr. said these words at the conclusion of the Selma to Montgomery March. This January 18th — MLK Day — we stare into the face of this brutality again. America reels from violent insurrection led by a mostly white mob at the behest of a president, while readying itself for more in the comings days. Core values and basic principles of equity, democracy, decency, and freedom came under attack. Donald Trump is responsible for this.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has announced that this week a series of invitation-only ‘U.S. National Food System Dialogue’ events will be launched ahead of the United Nations Food System Summit (UNFSS), slated for later in 2021.

Dear President-Elect Biden and Vice-President-Elect Harris, Congratulations on securing the people’s vote. As you know, your election is a testament to the tireless work of many people who believe a better world is possible and necessary. This is why we are calling upon you and your administration to walk the walk of real climate leadership. We, the undersigned public-interest organizations, represent millions of people across the United States who demand a climate just future, including youth, women, low-income communities, racially diverse communities, faith communities, and others.

From 9-12 November 2020, 450 finance institutions from around the world will gather for the first international meeting of public development banks, dubbed the “Finance in Common” summit, hosted by the French government. The institutions, which range from the World Bank to the China Development Bank, collectively spend $2 trillion a year on so-called development projects — roads, power plants, agribusiness plantations and more. Much of this spending is financed by the public — us — which is why they called themselves "public development banks".