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Constitutionalise right to food, NGO urges African govts

Constitutionalise right to food, NGO urges African govts
By Kabanda Chulu
Thu 12 Nov. 2009, 04:00 CAT

RAPDA coordinator Hugguetie Dossa has challenged Zambia and other African governments to include the right to food in their national constitutions.

During the regional training of trainers’ workshop for peasant farmers on the right to food in Lusaka, Dossa said providing for the right to adequate food and the fundamental right to protect vulnerable groups from hunger is a question of international law that should be respected by all countries.

“The right to enough food will be achieved when each man, woman and child alone or in a community have physically and economically access at all times to quality food in a sufficient amount to means of getting it, said Dossa. “Unfortunately, though signatories to food agriculture and organisation voluntary guidelines, most African countries have not seen to it that the right to food is included in their constituencies.”

RAPDA is a continental organisation that coordinates the African Network on the right to food.

And RAPDA deputy coordinator Sheikh Lewis yesterday challenged African governments to create enabling environments for civil society organisations to work with peasant farmers in attaining the right to food.

Lewis said there was need to represent the silent majority and the voiceless on issues relating to food availability and best methods of farming.

“African civil society organisations have therefore an important responsibility of spreading, popularising and promoting the right to food, particularly among the most vulnerable groups hence governments should provide for an enabling environment for the civil society to work with peasant farmers in attaining the right to food,” Lewis said.

He said the organisation was established in 33 African countries covering all regions and that plans were under way to include all countries by 2012.

Lewis said the aim of the Lusaka workshop was to prepare national focal leaders whose training would in turn filter down to other peasant farmers.

Labels: CONSTITUTION, FOOD, NGOs, RAPDA

posted by MrK @ 8:15 AM